2 South Carolina colleges gain top recognition by US News & World Report (original) (raw)

Tue, September 14th 2021 at 11:06 AM

Updated Thu, September 16th 2021 at 11:17 PM

Coastal Carolina University photo of their logo on the side of a building. (WPDE File)

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FlorenceFlorence,Province of Florence,ItalyFrancis MarionSouth Carolina,United Stateseducationu.s.news & world reportCarterDan Ennis

(WPDE) — Coastal Carolina University and Francis Marion University were both recognized by U.S. News & World Report for a 2022 release.

CCU ranked number five in a report for the Best Value School for the south.

The Best Value category calculation takes into account the school’s academic quality and net cost of attendance. Coastal has earned high rankings in the Best Value category consistently for the past 10 years; this is the fifth consecutive year CCU has been ranked in the top six, according to a release from the school.

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“We are so pleased by our placement in the Best Value category,” said Dan Ennis, CCU’s provost and executive vice president of academic affairs. “Parents are justifiably concerned about rising tuition. Too many students are compelled to take on crippling debt in order to secure the education needed for a modern economy. Coastal has taken steps to keep tuition flat and find efficiencies, and those efforts are reflected in that ranking.”

The ranking placed CCU ahead of The Citadel, Winthrop University and the College of Charleston.

Coastal Carolina was also ranked on the following six lists for the south:

• No. 48 in Regional Universities (tie)
• No. 15 in Most Innovative Schools
• No. 15 in Best Undergraduate Teaching (tie)
• No. 21 in Top Public Schools (tie)
• No. 21 in Best Colleges for Veterans (tie)
• No. 56 in Top Performers on Social Mobility (tie)

Additionally, CCU moved up 14 spots on the list of Top Performers on Social Mobility and was named to the Best Undergraduate Teaching category for the third straight year.

FMU was recognized as one of the top Regional Universities in the south as well as being acknowledged in three subcategories.

They were ranked as a Top Performer for Social Mobility, as a Top Public School, and as Best Value School.

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A release said the university's three academic programs were also recognized including the School of Nursing, School of Business and the FMU engineering program.

“We are proud that once again Francis Marion has been recognized nationally for the quality of its instruction and the distinctiveness of its programs,” says Carter. “Through the efforts of our faculty and staff, our students are receiving an extraordinary education, at one of the most affordable and accessible institutions in South Carolina.”