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U.S. News and World Report has ranked Pensacola State College among the nation’s best postsecondary institutions in its 2021 annual report.
The College was the No. 1 Top Performer on Social Mobility and No. 2 in Least Debt in the Regional Colleges South category in the publication’s “Best Colleges 2021 Edition.”
In the All Regional Colleges category, Pensacola State also ranked No. 5 in Least Debt, and the College was a top achiever in several other rankings.
Published annually, the 2021 report ranks more than 1,400 private and public colleges and universities and is a guide to help parents and students select schools.
According to the “Best Colleges 2021 Edition,” economically-disadvantaged students are less likely than others to finish college. However Pensacola State is among the colleges that are successful at advancing social mobility by enrolling and graduating large proportions of students awarded Pell Grants. Most federal grants are awarded to students whose adjusted gross family incomes are under $50,000, U.S. News reported.
Pensacola State also was among the colleges where students graduated with the “Least Debt.”
Many college students have to borrow money and take on debt to pay for their educations, but fewer Pensacola State students graduate with student loans, said PSC President Ed Meadows.
“This speaks about the affordability of classes at PSC and it’s a trend that is continuing at the College,” he said. “In 2019, PSC students graduated with less student debt than any other school in the nation, according to that year’s U.S. News ranking.”
Using data gathered from the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. News and World Report reported that 2019 Pensacola State graduates incurred no student loan debts.
In the Regional Colleges South category, Pensacola State was listed No. 11 in the Top Public Schools category. The College also ranked No. 30 in the Best Regional Colleges South group among public and private schools. And PSC scored 51 percent in the Economic Diversity Score category which evaluates students from different economic backgrounds.
The magazine gathered data from each college on up to 15 indicators of academic excellence. Institutions also were ranked based on graduation and retention rates, student-to-faculty ratio, undergraduate academic reputation, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, graduation rate performance and alumni giving.
Meadows added the rankings are a testament to the excellent education that students receive at PSC.
“At Pensacola State, it is our mission to ensure we are providing the best education for our students so that they are prepared for a university or the workforce,” he said. “Each and every one of our administrators, faculty and staff contribute every day to the success of our students. It is our wish that all or our students reach their educational and career goals.”
The complete “Best Colleges 2021 Edition” report was released Sept. 14 and is available at www.usnews.com/best-colleges.
For more information, contact Sheila Nichols, Pensacola State’s executive director of marketing, at 850-484-1428 or email snichols@pensacolastate.edu.