Forbes magazine, a national bi-weekly publication featuring business and financial news, has ranked SC State University in the top 20 percent of undergraduate institutions in the nation.
The rankings are exclusively prepared by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity (CCAP), a Washington, DC think tank founded by Ohio University economist Richard Vedder.
In Forbes’ 2011 Best Colleges List, SC State University is ranked among 650 institutions, categorized by the Carnegie Foundation as doctorate-granting universities, master’s colleges and universities or baccalaureate colleges.
In addition to being selected as one of the top institutions in the South, SC State is identified as the exclusive Historically Black College and University (HBCU) for research in the state of South Carolina.
“As a land-grant University, we pride ourselves on fulfilling the distinct mission of offering educational, research and outreach services that will have a direct benefit in our state and abroad,” said President George E. Cooper. Forbes’ exclusive rankings are based on five general categories: post graduate success (30 percent), which evaluates alumni pay and prominence; student satisfaction
(27.5 percent), which includes professor evaluations and freshman to sophomore year retention rates; debt (17.5 percent), which penalizes schools for high student debt loads and default rates; four year graduation rate (17.5 percent) and competitive awards (7.5 percent), which rewards schools whose students win prestigious scholarships and fellowships.
For more information regarding SC State University’s ranking, access Forbes’ website at www.forbes.com/colleges/ south-carolina-stateuniversity/.