September 18, 2023

Columbus State University retains its status as a “best college” in several categories published on Sept. 18 by “U.S. News and World Report” in its list of “2024 Best Colleges.” This includes moving up three points to No. 64 in its “Best Regional Universities (South)” category — placing it 30th among regional public colleges and universities for the second year in a row.

This year’s rankings are the first time Columbus State appears in U.S. News’ “Best Value Schools – Regional Universities (South)” category. At No. 36, it is the highest-ranking public university in Georgia on the list. The 2023-24 academic year marks the fourth year in a row that undergraduate and graduate tuition has remained unchanged. Full-time, in-state tuition for Georgia undergraduate students is only $2,732 a semester — not including fees, room and board. Furthermore, all students from Georgia’s border states — Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee — who enroll in CSU as undergraduate students qualify for in-state Georgia tuition.

Columbus State also ranked 28th in the “Best Colleges for Veterans – Regional Universities (South).” The ranking is a four-spot move upward compared to last year’s rankings — affirming its recent No. 8 national designation as a military-friendly school in MilitaryFriendly.com’s “Small Public School” category. Advisers and counselors in the university’s recently renamed Military-Connected Student Services office assist military-connected students with resources ranging from school-life-career balance, transitioning from military life to civilian learning, transfer credit for previous academic studies and military service, and best utilizing educational and financial benefits and scholarship opportunities stemming from military service. 

Columbus State also moved up 16 spots to No. 38 on U.S. News’ list of “Top Performers on Social Mobility – Regional Universities (South).” U.S. News’ social mobility index evaluates and ranks how well students who receive federal Pell Grants progressed professionally after graduating. It assesses universities for both the graduation rates of Pell-benefiting students and how that graduation performance compares to the success of students who do not receive Pell benefits.

Counselors in the university’s Office of Student Financial Services help students and their families navigate college funding opportunities beginning as students apply to study at Columbus State, and continue that guidance through graduation. These opportunities include maximizing Georgia’s Hope and Zell Miller scholarships as well as identifying and applying for university and third-party scholarships.

National academic program rankings

Academic programs in Columbus State’s D. Abbott Turner College of Business & Technology and School of Nursing were also ranked nationally.

Undergraduate business programs ranked 403th out of the 522 programs ranked — an eight-point move upward versus the publication’s 2023 rankings. The Turner College offers 12 undergraduate programs, numerous undergraduate certifications, and nine graduate degree programs.

Undergraduate nursing programs leapt 94 spots to No. 319 nationally out of the 656 programs U.S. News ranked. Programs in the School of Nursing are designed for traditional students and working adults — and include a BSN program, an RN-BSN program, an MSN program (with nurse educator, nurse informaticist and nurse leader tracks), and a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) program.

Methodology

U.S. News evaluated nearly 1,500 U.S. four-year bachelor’s degree-granting institutions on as many as 19 weighted measures for its 39th rankings edition. The rankings methodology is available at https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/how-us-news-calculated-the-rankings.

Columbus State’s rankings profile is available on the “U.S. News and World Report” website.

Media contact:
Michael Tullier, APR, Executive Director of Strategic Communication + Marketing, 706.507.8729, mtullier@columbusstate.edu