Washington — When U.S. News & World Report judged Elizabeth City State University in its annual college rankings, the magazine rated the North Carolina HBCU as No. 30 in the best regional colleges in the South.
But in an alternative set of rankings released recently by Washington Monthly, the college fared even better — as the No. 1 baccalaureate college, to be exact.
The fact that the institution has been highly rated by two publications that take a decidedly different approach to college rankings shows that it is achieving success on different fronts, Robert G. Gaines, special assistant to the Chancellor at ECSU, told Diverse, which also ranked the institution as the second-top granter of math and statistics degrees to students of color in its 2011 rankings.
“I think it’s important because it shows that we’re doing things well from both avenues,” Gaines said.
“When you look at your traditional population of students that are attending school, we’re doing well with those type of indices, as well with those indices that are more innovative, looking at other aspects of the entire market.” In the Washington Monthly rankings, ECSU was also singled as a “best-bang-for-the-buck” college for educating students for a net price of $1,442.
“The fact that outsiders can validate that we’re producing quality graduates at a reasonable cost, I think, is important for all families to understand in their markets,” Gaines said.
Gaines made his remarks during an interview Wednesday after his participation in a panel discussion titled, “Making College Cheaper and Better.”
