What are the best colleges and universities in North Carolina if you reward schools for making the best use of their limited resources? Academic Stewardship asks how effectively schools manage their financial and human resources to gain the influence that makes them academically excellent. Schools that are exemplary in Academic Stewardship are doing everything in their power to help students and faculty achieve their full potential.
Colleges and universities in North Carolina deserve to be recognized when they do more with less. It’s impressive when a large wealthy school can spend money lavishly on expensive buildings and programs. But it’s even more impressive when a small school with limited means is able to train and inspire students that the larger wealthier schools tend to ignore.
The American Association of Colleges and Universities reported in late 2021 that almost 75 percent of higher-education professionals at US colleges and universities felt financial constraints prevented their schools from effectively attracting students. Distracted by the size and amenities of larger schools, prospective students tended especially to be overawed by the big research universities.
North Carolina’s smaller colleges, especially its liberal arts colleges, need effective ways of communicating their value to a world that celebrates “bigger is better” and “you need the best.” Unfortunately, most college ranking companies, such as U.S. News & World Report, define “best” in a way that devalues schools with smaller budgets and fewer students even when these schools do remarkable work in advancing their students’ education. By and large, college rankings penalize schools that serve underserved populations.
Inspired by Malcolm Gladwell, who for years now has criticized conventional college rankings for misrepresenting what’s good and valuable in education, we decided to construct a new ranking metric that highlights those schools that do more with less. That metric—called the Academic Stewardship metric—takes away both the size and the wealth advantage of schools, and focuses instead on how well schools use the resources available to them to advance the education of their students.
As a metric, Academic Stewardship is defined by a precise mathematical formula, which can be found in our Academic Stewardship white paper. Measuring the Academic Stewardship of North Carolina’s colleges requires measuring two forms of stewardship: 1) Stewardship of financial resources (using the money they have responsibility without waste) and 2) Stewardship of human resources (doing their best to help students, faculty, and administration to flourish). Together, these two types of stewardship form what we call Academic Stewardship. If you want to learn more about the factors involved in Academic Stewardship, click the more button below.
Academic Stewardship as so defined is connected to keeping tuition and other costs down, but it should not be confused with affordability or frugality. The schools that this metric ranks as exemplary academic stewards tend to be all over the map when it comes to tuition and other costs. At issue is the influence of schools given the financial and human resources they have on hand. If a school is going to charge more for tuition, then that needs to be reflected in the school having proportionately greater influence.
The benefits of attending a school with strong academic stewardship include:
Tuition + fees
$16K
Acceptance
71%
Graduation
19%
Student body
1K
Shaw University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$18K
Acceptance
69%
Graduation
28%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
845/15
Livingstone College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$41K
Acceptance
78%
Graduation
49%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1070/20
Guilford College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$41K
Acceptance
72%
Graduation
64%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1120/21
Meredith College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$32K
Acceptance
52%
Graduation
56%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1025/20
Catawba College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$19K
Acceptance
49%
Graduation
44%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
881/16
Johnson C. Smith University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$55K
Acceptance
20%
Graduation
93%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1397/31
Davidson College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$39K
Acceptance
68%
Graduation
57%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1140/24
Queens University of Charlotte’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
79%
Graduation
62%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1180/24
University of North Carolina at Asheville’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
87%
Graduation
52%
Student body
7K
Median SAT/ACT
970/18
North Carolina Central University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Acceptance
73%
Graduation
50%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
960/17
Winston-Salem State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$38K
Acceptance
81%
Graduation
56%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1130/22
Campbell University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$40K
Acceptance
77%
Graduation
69%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1175/25
High Point University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$60K
Acceptance
8%
Graduation
96%
Student body
15K
Median SAT/ACT
1525/34
Duke University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$4K
Acceptance
48%
Graduation
64%
Student body
11K
Median SAT/ACT
1110/22
Western Carolina University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
57%
Graduation
52%
Student body
12K
Median SAT/ACT
1060/19
North Carolina A&T State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
88%
Graduation
59%
Student body
18K
Median SAT/ACT
1095/22
University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
25%
Graduation
91%
Student body
25K
Median SAT/ACT
1405/30
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$60K
Acceptance
32%
Graduation
89%
Student body
8K
Wake Forest University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$39K
Acceptance
72%
Graduation
83%
Student body
7K
Median SAT/ACT
1240/27
Elon University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
80%
Graduation
73%
Student body
19K
Median SAT/ACT
1185/25
Appalachian State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
46%
Graduation
84%
Student body
31K
Median SAT/ACT
1335/29
North Carolina State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
80%
Graduation
65%
Student body
28K
Median SAT/ACT
1205/24
University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
88%
Graduation
65%
Student body
24K
Median SAT/ACT
1115/22
East Carolina University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$32K
Acceptance
61%
Graduation
38%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
1030/20
William Peace University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Among these schools are over 60 public colleges and universities, including the state’s largest school, North Carolina State University, which serves almost 30,000 students. Tuition costs average about $9,000, just below the national average, and students also have the option to enroll in over 1,000 online courses. Another notable public school is the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which is one of the country’s oldest universities.
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The 25,000 students who attend UNC will walk the same halls as Francis Collins, Thomas Wolfe, and former president James K. Polk. North Carolina’s private schools have also made a name for themselves, including the well-known Duke University located in Durham. Here, students can earn degrees in some of the top programs, like nursing, political science, and business. Additionally, students can attend one of the many small schools which serve less than 5,000 students, like Campbell University in Buies Creek, or a religiously affiliated school, like Mid-Atlantic Christian University in Elizabeth City.
From its coastal beaches to its lush forests, it’s no wonder the Wright Brothers dreamed of taking flight over North Carolina. This state is rich with history, scenic views, and famous people who once called it home, like John Coltrane and Nicholas Sparks. Students hoping to earn their associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree also have the option of choosing from over 100 schools in the Tar Heel State.
Whether you prefer ocean views or wooded forests, North Carolina has something for everyone. Discover more about the state’s higher learning options.