US News, Washington Monthly, MilitaryFriendly.com name Stetson a top school

Stetson University again has earned national recognition for its rigorous academics, commitment to social mobility and service, and military friendliness by ranking among the top universities in recent national surveys.

“At Stetson, we take pride in being recognized as an academically rigorous institution that places a high value on global citizenship, personal growth and social responsibility,” said Stetson President Wendy B. Libby. “Stetson provides a personalized learning experience to each student, based on top quality faculty and focused on learning outcomes. We challenge our students to go beyond success – to become significant in their communities, nation and the world.” (Biology professor Cindy Bennington, Ph.D., is pictured, right, helping two Stetson students in the biology lab.)

Among the recent rankings are:

• U.S. News & World Report’s 2014 edition of “Best Colleges” ranked Stetson 5^th in its list of Best Regional Universities (South), 5^th on the list of Best Value – Regional Universities (South), and 222^nd on the list of Best Undergraduate Business schools, a list that includes schools from all over the country. Stetson’s category in the first two rankings includes universities that provide a full range of undergraduate majors and master’s programs, but few, if any, doctoral programs. The 625 universities in the category are ranked by region. The third list includes all universities in the U.S. that offer undergraduate business education.
• Washington Monthly ranked Stetson 6^th among all universities on its list of 2013 Master’s Universities. Schools are rated based on their contribution to the public good in three broad categories: social mobility (recruiting and graduating low-income students), research (producing cutting-edge scholarship and PhDs), and service (encouraging students to give something back to their country).
• MilitaryFriendly.com has included Stetson on its list of 1,868 of schools throughout the country that exhibit leading practices in the recruitment and retention of students with military experience, and are committed to providing a supportive environment for military students.

“While we are interested in national rankings, we always encourage prospective students and their parents to visit Stetson for a broader, well-rounded perspective of all that Stetson has to offer,” said Libby.

Stetson emphasizes active learning and has a low student/teacher ratio of 12:1, and 56 percent of classes have fewer than 20 students. Only 0.2 percent of classes have 50 or more students. Other factors leading to a top ranking include a 60 percent acceptance rate of applicants, and 58 percent of students finished in the top quarter of their high school graduating class.

“We are very pleased to be ranked so highly among our peers,” said Greg Carroll, vice president of Stetson University Marketing, “and we are excited about the future. Some of the statistics in the U.S. News data were gathered prior to the launch of many significant changes implemented in 2009 and later. Stetson has made great strides over the past few years in attracting students who are a great fit for the institution and that has already begun to impact student retention and graduation rates as well as enrollment.”

Stetson’s undergraduate enrollment this year is 2,729 compared to 2,516 in 2012. For the first time in recent history, students were put on a waiting list, and the university was forced to rent rooms for students at a nearby hotel because residence halls were full. In addition, Stetson has hired 30 new faculty members to ensure its low 12 to 1 student/teacher ratio.