FMU named best school

“U.S. News and World Report” ranked FMU among top Regional Universities in the South for 2018. The list was made available on the magazine’s website, one of the oldest among college rating websites, on Sept. 12.

FMU has been a part of the list of best universities for nearly two decades. Each university is rated on academic excellence and various aspects of community life. Another important factor taken into consideration is alumni giving. With some universities receiving no rankings at all, only a portion of the 658 regional universities received the rank of “Best College.”

Dr. Fred Carter, president of FMU, credits the “Best College” ranking to the relationships built between staff and students.

“FMU is ranked among three lists: Chronicles of Recognition, Educate to Career and U.S. News and World Report.” Carter said. “I believe a great deal of the college’s success is because of the interaction between staff and students. Not only the relationships that are being built but also the quality of the faculty at FMU plays a large role in the university’s success.”

The “U.S. NEWS and World Report” divides rankings into categories. Regional universities, the category that FMU falls under, are universities that provide a full range of undergraduate majors and graduate-level programs.

“Many more regional universities were added to the category this year,” Carter said. “It’s hard to predict from year to year where the university’s standing will be, but we are hopeful that the rankings will be in the mid to low 80’s for next year because the university is always improving.”

FMU anticipates the first doctorate level program that will be arriving in the following year, which is a great step forward for the university.

FMU was also rated for the first time on a list for campus ethnic diversity by “U.S News.” The newspaper factors in calculations taken from a school’s 2016-2017 student body by taking note of the total proportion of minority students. The categories used in the calculations are African American, Hispanic, American Indian, White (non-Hispanic), Asian, Pacific-Islander and multiracial. The “U.S News’” formula produces a diversity index that ranges from 0 to 1. The closer a university is to 1, the more diverse the student body. FMU was ranked at 0.56.

Most ranking aspects of FMU stayed the same, but FMU’s peer ranking, a rating by other institutions of higher education, climbed higher.