Stillman College to no longer participate in US News & World Report Best College Rankings

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WBRC) - Stillman College will no longer participate in US News and World Report’s collegiate ranking system, effective immediately, as the school’s president calls the system flawed.

Dr. Cynthia Warrick sent an email to students, faculty, and staff regarding the decision.

Warrick, Stillman College President, said she doesn’t feel the US. News Best College rankings accurately represent the impact that a Stillman College degree has on the community, voicing several criticisms.

She said there was an incomplete metric of graduation rates and missing metrics for unique populations as it related to Stillman. Warrick specifically cited how the COVID-19 pandemic affected small private colleges like Stillman.

She went even further saying the US Department of Education uses the current cohort of students who are first-time and full-time freshman in 2015 when producing graduation rates. During that year, however, Stillman went through a financial crisis when more than 200 students left the school after several sports were eliminated, including football, basketball, baseball, and track.

That created a 28 percent drop in enrollment, according to the school.

“We’ve produced PHDs from our graduates, 36 between 2010 and 2020,” Warrick said. “And so, a small institution with only 100 graduates each year, that’s significant and that puts us in the Top 20 for HBCU’s graduating and our students matriculating with their doctorate degree.”

When Stillman dropped below 50 when compared to similar institutions, she said it wasn’t fair and it would be better for Stillman to not participate in school rankings for US News.

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