VSU continues scoring high among historically Black colleges across the country: U.S. News

ETTRICK — The annual college rankings by U.S. News & World Report are now out, and Virginia State University remains ensconced in the top 50 historically Black colleges and universities across the country.

U.S. News put VSU 29th among the nation's HBCUs for 2021, down a few spots from 2020 when the school ranked 24th. However, there was a five-way tie for the 24th position in this year's list, which could account for the slight drop.

In assigning the rankings, U.S. News takes into consideration factors such as student retention, alumni giving, faculty resources, student debt and overall academic excellence.

Everyone in Ettrick was pleased with the ranking. VSU provost and vice president of student affairs Dr. Donald Palm said it shows the university is doing everything it can to provide students with the best experiences possible.

"Our graduation rate has increased over the the last five years [47% in 2020-21], and we are providing great opportunities with internships and finding jobs for our graduates," Palm said.

Across the nation, there are 107 HBCUs, according to the U.S. Education Department. Fifty-six of them are private, while the remaining 51 — including VSU — are public.

Palm also cited various initiatives that VSU has launched in the last couple of years as contributing factors in its high rankings. Those initiatives include the John Mercer Langston Institute for African American Political Leadership, the VSU Public Health Institute to assist marginalized communities with public-health access, and the HBCU Center for Policing Leadership and Social Justice that was developed to bridge the gap between law enforcement and communities of color.

In addition to the high ranking among HBCUs, U.S. News also ranked VSU:

• in a tie for 40th among top regional public colleges across the South;
• in a tie for 42nd among top performers in social mobility across the South; and
• 84th among overall regional universities in the South.

The social-mobility listing examines how well schools graduates students typically from low-income households over a six-year time frame. One hundred thirty-six schools across the South were ranked.

“Recognition as a performer on social mobility and cost value provides further validation of VSU as an opportunity and access university,” VSU president Dr. Makola Abdullah said in a statement released by the school.  “At VSU, we believe in equity and there is no greater opportunity to balance the scales than by providing our students access to a quality education.” 

Other state HBCUs performing well in the U.S. News survey include Hampton University at fourth, Norfolk State University at 20th, and Virginia Union University in Richmond at 48th. The top three HBCUs nationwide are Spelman College in Atlanta, Howard University in Washington, and Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans.

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Veteran journalist Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is the regional daily news coach for the USA TODAY Network Southeast Region's Unified Central group, which includes Virginia, West Virginia and portions of North Carolina. He is based at The Progress-Index in Petersburg, Virginia. Contact Bill at batkinson@progress-index.com, and follow him on Twitter at @BAtkinson_PI.