Message from the President: Fall Rankings Recap
October 19, 2023
Dear UTRGV Community,
As I mentioned at convocation earlier this month, the competition for fall rankings does not just involve college football programs. The fall is also “rankings season” for universities, as analysts and publications release their rankings of the nation’s top institutions.
With the rankings season over, I am happy to report that UTRGV had its best showing yet. You may have heard that the prestigious publication, Washington Monthly, has ranked UTRGV as the #1 university in Texas. Let me repeat myself: UTRGV is the #1 university in Texas.
Washington Monthly also ranked us #1 in Texas for lowest net price of attendance, social mobility, and performance of our Pell Grant students.
Please note that these rankings are authentic and an emphatic achievement for any institution, especially one that has barely started its ninth academic year. Every student, faculty, and staff member who has ever called UTRGV home has contributed to this milestone and should be proud of what they have helped build.
I want to discuss why this ranking from this publication means so much. Established more than 50 years ago, Washington Monthly has been rating colleges and universities based on “what they do for the country” since 2005. What makes Washington Monthly’s rankings different is the methodology and approach. The publication ranks four-year schools based on their contribution to the public good in three broad categories: social mobility, research, and providing opportunities for public service. These rankings are particularly meaningful because they focus exclusively on a university's performance, especially in terms of student success, and they use data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) rather than self-reported data to evaluate universities, ensuring objectivity and fairness in the assessment.
More Impressive Rankings
Washington Monthly was not the only publication to acknowledge UTRGV’s success.
A few days ago, we were recognized by The Hispanic Outlook on Education magazine in its Top 100 colleges and universities for Hispanics. UTRGV ranked 2nd nationally for total bachelor’s degrees granted to Hispanics, 3rd for master’s degrees granted, and 4th for the largest total enrollment.
Additionally, when Hispanic Outlook sought a cover and cover story for this year’s rankings issue, they honored UTRGV with this opportunity. You can view our cover and cover story at HispanicOutlook.com.
Degreechoices.com, another reputable site, rated UTRGV as the state’s #1 public university for best relative economic value, as well as 15th nationally, ahead of other schools like Columbia and Vanderbilt.
We especially continue to be recognized for our ability to improve our students' economic and social prospects. U.S. News & World Report ranked UTRGV as the Top Performer in Social Mobility among public Texas universities and 12th among public and private national universities. Overall, we improved an unprecedented 72 positions in the U.S. News national rankings and were ranked 6th among Texas public universities, ahead of longer-established schools like UT Arlington, North Texas, Texas State, UTSA, and UTEP.
Finally, Third Way, a national nonprofit think tank, ranked UTRGV 6th among all 1,409 higher education institutions (public and private) in its Economic Mobility Index, making us the only UT System school in the Top 10.
What do these rankings mean?
All that said, the fact that these respected organizations rate UTRGV so highly validates everything we have done since our opening in 2015. It is a testament to your hard work and dedication. It is evidence that we are transforming the lives of our students, their families, and their communities. It is proof that when you earn a UTRGV degree, no matter where you came from or where you started, you will be better equipped to do whatever you set your sights on. That is what these rankings mean.
While it is astonishing to believe that UTRGV has accomplished this in only eight years, remember that this is just the beginning of our journey. As we raise our research profile and continue to improve our retention and graduation rates, UTRGV is poised to perform even better in future rankings. You can view these latest achievements and follow our growing reputation at utrgv.edu/rankings.
Once again, congratulations to everyone in the UTRGV family — our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and supporters — for earning these distinctions. Let us take pride in these rankings and let them inspire us to continue pursuing our mission, driving innovation, and providing the best educational experience for our students.
V’s Up!
Sincerely,
Guy Bailey
President
