Aug. 30, 2018

VCU recognized among ‘Top 100’ institutions for minority students

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By Raina Fields
Division for Inclusive Excellence

VCU is ranked No. 56 nationally in conferring bachelor’s degrees for all minority students, according to a report released by the magazine Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. The university ranks in the top 100 in five of 15 categories, according to the report.
VCU is ranked No. 56 nationally in conferring bachelor’s degrees for all minority students, according to a report released by the magazine Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. The university ranks in the top 100 in five of 15 categories, according to the report.

Virginia Commonwealth University has earned a spot among the nation’s “Top 100 Degree Producers” rankings of institutions that confer the most degrees to minority students, according to a report by the magazine Diverse: Issues in Higher Education.

VCU ranks in the “Top 100” in five of 15 categories, according to the report. At the undergraduate level, VCU is in the “Top 50” in the nation for awarding bachelor degrees to African-Americans (No. 16) and Asian-Americans (No. 49) in all disciplines.

VCU is ranked No. 56 in conferring bachelor’s degrees for all minorities.

At the graduate level, VCU is ranked No. 29 for awarding Asian-Americans with professional doctorate degrees.

The data is the only national analysis on the ability of U.S. colleges and universities to confer degrees to African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic and Native-American students. The analysis uses 2017-18 data from the U.S. Department of Education. The rankings detail the total number of degrees awarded at every American institution of higher education, as well as specific figures in academic disciplines.

“VCU is committed to improving the social mobility of all of its students, as evidenced by the graduation rates of our first-generation, limited-means, and racial and ethnic minority students,” said Aashir Nasim, Ph.D., vice president for inclusive excellence. “VCU’s student success story is the commonwealth’s story. And, we are proud to be a major contributor to the cultural, economic and social vibrancy of the commonwealth.”

VCU’s student success story is the commonwealth’s story.

In addition to the rankings, the magazine’s Aug. 23 edition included a profile of VCU for the number of programs and initiatives that illustrate how diversity and inclusion are a top priority on campus.

Initiatives mentioned in the profile ranged from student programs geared toward engaging first-generation students (“You First at VCU”) and Latinx students (Primeros Pasos) to faculty resources such as the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence.

To learn more about the rankings and methodology of the “Top 100” list visit: http://diverseeducation.com/top100/.