HGHER EDUCATION: VIRGINIA TECH
Hokie growth Virginia Tech has a lot going for it: high rankings, new majors and new buildings
Hokies are happy, well fed and get a good return on their education investment, according to people and publications that rank universities.
by Shawna Morrison
H
appiest students. Best campus food. Best quality of life. Those are three of the categories in which Virginia Tech was highly ranked this year by publications that measure American colleges and universities. In The Princeton Review’s “Best 380 Colleges” 2016 edition, student surveys earned Tech the No. 2 spot for Happiest Students, falling behind only Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Tech came in No. 3 for Best Campus Food and No. 4 in the three areas of Best Quality of Life, Their Students Love These Colleges and Town-Gown Relations are Great. The Princeton Review listed the top 20 schools in 62 different categories. Photo courtesy Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech also gets high marks in value rankings. Money and Forbes based their rankings on factors that include affordability, debt and career earnings. After studying 736 schools, Money placed Virginia Tech in the top 50 of all institutions and the top 20 among public institutions. Forbes placed Virginia Tech at number 23 on its list of the 25 best public colleges. Rankings aren’t the only thing fueling Tech’s continued growth. Officials also look to new buildings and majors as draws for students, although the national rankings certainly help. “We always do very well on value rankings,” says Larry Hincker, the longtime associate vice president
for university relations, who retired shortly after talking with Roanoke Business for this story. “The metric that we think is important is one that’s showing us against public universities. And we look pretty good. You can get a good education in this country, but at some places it’s going to cost you a lot of money. The value rankings do a consumer service by showing those really good schools that give a top education but at a relatively competitive rate.” Another notable ranking came from the National Science Foundation. It ranked Virginia Tech No. 38 on a list of U.S. research universities and said it was the No. 1 academic research institution in Virginia, based ROANOKE BUSINESS
27