SIUE News

SIUE Moves Into Top Ten Public Midwest Schools in U.S. News Rankings

(EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.) For the first time in its history, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has moved into the top 10 in the Top Public Universities Midwest–Master’s category, according to the annual U.S. News and World Report rankings released today.

SIUE moved up nine positions in the Midwest–Master’s rankings, among public and private universities, since last year. There is no Illinois public university ranked higher than SIUE in that category. The overall scores are based on several criteria including a peer assessment by university administrators who this year gave SIUE the highest score in its category of any Illinois public institution.

SIUE Chancellor Vaughn Vandegrift said he was “extremely pleased” with the new rankings. “A committed faculty of teacher/scholars, strong programs and staff support, combined with a shared sense of community, make for a great educational experience at SIUE,” Vandegrift said.

“The ‘e’ continues its momentum as we look forward next month to starting our year-long 50th Anniversary celebration and as we begin the next half-century.”

In addition, SIUE was heralded by U.S. News for a third consecutive year in the senior capstone experience category, among 13 elite universities—including Harvard, MIT, Brown, Duke and Princeton—for its comprehensive programs measuring the competency of graduating seniors.

At SIUE, the program is called senior assignment and is required curriculum for all seniors to demonstrate their degree of general education knowledge, as well as knowledge within their disciplines prior to graduation.

SIUE’s senior assignment program has been recognized on several occasions as a model for other institutions across the nation. In a report from The Association of American Colleges and Universities last year, SIUE’s program was lauded as an effective tool in gauging the comprehensiveness of academic programs.

“The Senior Assignment is the hallmark of a baccalaureate education at SIUE,” said Victoria Scott, director of assessment at SIUE. “It is all-encompassing in that it weaves together evaluation of program outcomes and general education goals.

“While involved in the Senior Assignment, students are actively engaged in their education,” she pointed out. “Each Senior Assignment is unique because departmental faculty determine the desirable characteristics that each program graduate must demonstrate.

“For example, the Senior Assignment in Computer Science may involve software design with input from external professionals; in Chemistry, students may conduct basic research which is presented to the faculty and at national meetings; in Special Education, students complete a portfolio related to student teaching demonstrating classroom impact of children with disabilities.”

In response to these recent rankings, Paul Ferguson, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, commented, “this national recognition from our peers and national associations strongly supports the commitment of SIUE to continuous quality improvement in all of our academic programs and is a wonderful affirmation of the excellence of our faculty, staff and students.”