U.S.News & World Report Unveils First Ranking of Historically Black Colleges and Universities
To: URBAN AFFAIRS EDITORS
Contact: Bennett Kleinberg, Bkleinberg@goodmanmedia.com, Sabrina Strauss, sstrauss@goodmanmedia.com, Amy Jaick, ajaick@goodmanmedia.com, of Goodman Media, +1-212-576-2700; or Cynthia Powell of U.S.News & World Report, +1-202-955-2136, cpowell@usnews.com
WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Spelman College, Howard University, and Hampton University, top the list of U.S.News & World Report’s first annual ranking of the nation’s historically black colleges and universities. The “America’s Best Black Colleges” rankings were released today at www.usnews.com/blackcolleges, and are available on newsstands beginning Monday, October 1, in the magazine issue dated October 8.
The 2008 edition of “America’s Best Black Colleges” marks the first time U.S.News & World Report has released a stand-alone ranking of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), as defined by the U.S. Department of Education. These schools have been — and will continue to be — ranked within their appropriate categories in U.S. News’s annual “Best Colleges” issue, published annually in August.
The “Best Black Colleges” issue is the latest extension of U.S.News & World Report’s highly successful and expanding “Best” series which includes “America’s Best Colleges,”"America’s Best Graduate Schools,”"America’s Best Hospitals,”"America’s Best Children’s Hospitals,”"America’s Best Health Plans,” and “America’s Best Leaders.” Additional “Best” issues are scheduled to launch later this fall.
“As historically black colleges and universities continue to play a vital role in today’s higher education landscape, we decided to create a specific ranking of them to allow apples-to-apples comparisons of these schools,” said Brian Kelly, editor of U.S.News & World Report. “This unique ranking offers for the first time an independent perspective on these institutions to help students and parents make an informed choice about one of life’s most important and expensive decisions.”
Included in this listing are any HBCUs as defined by the U.S. Department of Education that were also eligible for inclusion in U.S.News & World Report’s 2008 edition of “America’s Best Colleges.” The ranking table lists numerically the schools in the top half of the 70 eligible to be ranked — 37 schools are listed, as four tied for 34th place. Those falling into the second half are listed alphabetically.
The “America’s Best Black Colleges” methodology closely resembles that of U.S.News & World Report’s annual “America’s Best Colleges” rankings. The schools are ranked using key industry standards for measuring higher education quality: peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving rates. Earlier this year, U.S. News conducted its first-ever peer survey among only the HBCUs, asking head administrators to rate the scholarship and quality of all other black colleges they were familiar with. This method enables consumers to make an educated choice based on an unbiased, side-by- side comparison of institutions. A complete detailing of the methodology can be found online at www.usnews.com/blackcolleges.
About U.S.News & World Report
Founded in 1933, the weekly national news magazine U.S.News & World Report is devoted to investigative journalism and reporting, and to analyzing national and international affairs, politics, business, health, science, technology and social trends. Through its annual rankings of America’s Best Colleges, America’s Best Graduate Schools, America’s Best Hospitals, America’s Best Health Plans and its News You Can Use(R) brand, U.S. News has earned a reputation as the leading provider of service news and information that improves the quality of life of its readers. Available online at www.usnews.com, the U.S. News website extends that brand promise and delivers the best, most accurate information on the Web, organized in a way that is accessible and easy to use.
SOURCE U.S.News & World Report
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