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#24 Best Undergraduate Teaching
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#14 Best Value Schools
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#23 Regional Universities South
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#12 Best Colleges for Veterans
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#20 Top Performers on Social Mobility
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#10 Top Public Schools
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#97 Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs
At schools where doctorate not offered
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#380 Business Programs
Western Carolina University is ranked #23 in Regional Universities South. Schools are ranked according to their performance across a set of widely accepted indicators of excellence. Read more about how we rank schools.
U.S. News Overall Score
Score
60
Outcomes (35%)
Outcomes rank
11
Graduation and retention rank
19
Average 6-year graduation rate (17.6%)
59%
Average first-year student retention rate (4.4%)
80%
Social Mobility Rank
20
6-year graduation rate of students who received a Pell Grant (2.5%)
57%
6-year graduation rate of students who did not receive a Pell Grant (2.5%)
64%
Predicted graduation rate (8%)
53%
Overperformance(+)/Underperformance(-)
8
Expert Opinion (20%)
Peer assessment score (out of 5)
3.2
Faculty Resources (20%)
Faculty resources rank
92
Faculty compensation rank (7%)
22
Percent of faculty who are full-time (1%)
86.4%
Full-time faculty with Ph.D or terminal degree (3%)
81%
Class Size Index (8%)
Classes with fewer than 20 students
29.6%
Classes with 50 or more students
5%
Student-faculty ratio (1%)
17:1
Student Excellence (10%)
Student excellence rank
33
SAT/ACT 25th-75th percentile (7.75%)
20-25
First-year students in top 25 percent of high school class (2.25%)
41%
Financial Resources (10%)
Financial resources rank
89
Alumni Giving (5%)
Alumni giving rank
58
Average alumni giving rate
5.1%
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Ranking Factors
- U.S. News Overall Score
- Outcomes (35%)
- Expert Opinion (20%)
- Faculty Resources (20%)
- Student Excellence (10%)
- Financial Resources (10%)
- Alumni Giving (5%)
