Longwood’s reputation has been cemented in the annual U.S. News college rankings with its fifth-straight year being ranked in the top-10 public universities in the South.

The latest rankings out today from U.S. News & World Report again reflect a multi-year trend of rising reputation compared with peer institutions. Since 2013, Longwood has climbed to No. 7 from No. 12 among public institutions in the Southern regional category. Among public and private regional universities, Longwood is ranked No. 16 overall.

This year I’m especially proud to see our work with our veteran students recognized alongside our commitment to college affordability.

President W. Taylor Reveley IV Tweet This

New this year: Longwood is the top-ranked Virginia university on the list of Best Colleges for Veterans, a rapid rise due in large part to concerted efforts led by Dr. John Miller, associate professor of early American literature and member of the U.S. Coast Guard.

This is the second year that the magazine--used by millions of high schoolers when making decisions about college--named Longwood a “Best Value” among regional Southern universities.

“Rankings can never fully capture the student experience of a university, nor can they capture its spirit, but a steady rise like we have seen is because of improving benchmarks that matter very much,” said President W. Taylor Reveley IV. “ “Those benchmarks include small class sizes that are the hallmark of our Civitae Core Curriculum and our strong academic reputation. Our true strength, however, is in our community of citizen leaders who innovate and strive each day to seek new ways to push forward.”

“This year I’m especially proud to see our work with our veteran students recognized alongside our commitment to college affordability,” continued Reveley. “Both of these measures are top of my mind every day, and we know that we can make a real difference to students and families by holding tuition increases among the lowest in Virginia and providing opportunities to veterans who have served our country.”

We have ongoing conversations about how we can innovate to keep the sticker price as low as possible so more families aren’t priced out of higher education. I’m glad that work is recognized in these rankings, but more fulfilling is meeting students who benefit from our efforts.

Louise Waller MBA ‘10, vice president for administration and finance Tweet This

Among the factors that have led to Longwood’s sustained top-10 ranking are a 6-year graduation rate that exceeds predictions and nearly 60% of classes under 20 students, with Civitae Core Curriculum classes capped at 25 students.

At the same time, Longwood continues to invest heavily in full-time, tenure-track faculty—offering students smaller classes taught by professors who are making their careers at the institution. Since 2012, Longwood’s ranks of tenured and tenure-track faculty have increased by more than 40 faculty members, amounting to growth of 25 percent. That comes as universities across the country have scaled back full-time faculty hiring, relying more on adjuncts, graduate assistants and part-time staff to teach classes.

The Best Value ranking system compares overall ranking with total cost, factoring in the amount of need-based aid and average discount given. Longwood is behind only one other public university in Virginia on the regional list.

“For the past eight years we have worked extremely hard on college affordability,” said Louise Waller MBA ‘10, vice president for administration and finance. “We’ve kept tuition increases to among the lowest levels in the state, and this coming year we will actually be lowering out-of-state tuition rates. We have ongoing conversations about how we can innovate to keep the sticker price as low as possible so more families aren’t priced out of higher education. I’m glad that work is recognized in these rankings, but more fulfilling is meeting students who benefit from our efforts.”

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