Howard University Soars to No. 80 on U.S. News & World Report Rankings List
Dear Howard University Community,
I am pleased to announce that Howard University soared to No. 80 on the latest U.S. News & World Report 2021 rankings list of the best national universities, announced today. The achievement marks the University’s best record to date.
We are delighted to see that our strategy to focus on student outcomes and fostering an environment that enhances the student’s ability to stay on track toward on-time graduation are being recognized through the rankings of U.S. News & World Report. Excelling to No. 80 among national universities is an outstanding achievement for our faculty and staff who are fully committed to our students’ academic success in the classroom as well as their personal success in the workforce. We are especially thankful to our world-class faculty who prioritize the educational experience of our students on a daily basis.
The rankings align with the University’s Howard Forward 2024 strategic plan to enhance academic excellence through focused programs to increase retention and graduation rates. National universities offer a full range of undergraduate majors, plus master's and doctoral programs, and emphasize faculty research or award professional practice doctorates.
The data used in these rankings pertain to fall 2019 and earlier. Consequently, the COVID-19 pandemic could not impact the data schools submitted to U.S. News. Nonetheless, to account for the huge disruption to higher education, U.S. News re-introduced test-blind schools in the rankings and placed reduced emphasis in the rankings on admissions data and alumni giving data. U.S. News groups schools into 10 ranking categories based on their academic missions. Within each category, the sum of weighted, normalized values across 17 indicators of academic quality determine each school's overall score and, by extension, its overall rank.
Since the beginning of my presidency, we implemented several new programs to increase each student’s ability to stay on track to graduation. Students are encouraged to graduate early and on time with tuition rebate programs. Additional supports include improvements in technology to enhance students’ ability to stay on track to graduation and the installation of an Office of Undergraduate Studies, primarily focused on advising, providing tutoring services and enhancing the student academic experience. These efforts, focused on academic success and the student experience, have led to increased student retention and graduation rates.
This strategy has yielded great improvements as reflected in our new ranking. In 2014, Howard’s average first-year retention rate was 82%; and the four-year graduation rate was 40%. Today, Howard’s average first-year retention rate is 88%; and the four-year graduation rate is 52%. The University was ranked No. 145 in 2014 and climbed 65 spots to achieve the No. 80 rank.
Additionally, U.S News recognized Howard in other major categories, including:
Best National University: No. 80 (No. 29 among private institutions)
Top Historically Black Colleges and Universities: No. 2
Social Mobility - National Universities: No. 3 among private institutions (No. 11 overall)
Undergraduate Teaching - National Universities: No. 31
Best Colleges for Veterans - National Universities: No. 50
Most Innovative Schools - National Universities: No. 58
Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs: No. 102
Best Undergraduate Business Programs: No. 116
The largest factors contributing to the institution’s improved score this year are its increase in first-year student retention rate, which is above the national average; and its increased graduation rate, which was 7% higher than the anticipated rate. Changes to the rankings methodology include the introduction of two outcome measures related to graduate indebtedness: total graduate indebtedness and the proportion with debt. Federal loans made to students who borrowed while enrolled at the institution and co-signed loans make up these figures. Howard’s graduate indebtedness proportion shows a consistent decrease in the last five years. Additionally, Howard continues to meet 100% of need for students who were awarded any need-based aid. Howard University is a champion for student success and exemplifies this by providing sources of funding to help students pay for their education. Howard also received an increase in its institutional reputation score among presidents, provosts and deans of admission at peer schools.
Last year, U.S. News & World Report began to factor in a school’s success at promoting “social mobility” by graduating students who received federal Pell Grants (those typically coming from households whose family incomes are less than $50,000 annually). In alignment with its mission, Howard University has a long track record of proficiently graduating Pell Eligible students, leading to this year’s No. 3 ranking among private institutions (No. 11 overall).
I don’t believe any one educational assessment tool can truly capture the nuances of the work it takes to accept, retain and graduate the dynamic student body that Howard University is committed to training each year. However, I appreciate that U.S. News & World Report continues to refine their methodology to reflect the intricacies of the diverse student. The entire campus community should take pride in this recognition because it is a team effort to exude Howard’s mission of truth and service from the classroom to the laboratory and beyond.
Congratulations!
Excellence in Truth and Service,
Wayne A. I. Frederick, M.D., MBA
President