UTRGV ranked no.1 university in Texas

UTRGV has started the 2023-2024 academic year ranked as the No. 1 university in Texas by Washington Monthly’s 2023 annual college guide and rankings. 

In 2022, UTRGV was ranked second among the Top Texas Public Universities and Best Bang for the Buck, according to the magazine. 

Washington Monthly ranks four-year schools (national universities, liberal arts colleges, baccalaureate colleges, and master’s universities) based on their social mobility, research and providing opportunities for public service. 

As of Sept. 20, UTRGV’s enrollment for Fall 2023 was 31,952. Of these, 27,594 are undergraduates, 3,528 master’s students, 542 doctoral students, 225 students in the School of Medicine and 63 students in the School of Podiatric Medicine, according to unofficial results on the UTRGV website. 

In Fall 2022 there were 31,716 students enrolled at UTRGV.

UTRGV President Guy Bailey described the qualities that resulted in the university’s No. 1 ranking.

“Our rankings have improved significantly,” Bailey said. “… So, this ranking is a tribute to our students, first of all, because they’re performing well. And we’re very pleased about that. 

“And secondly, it’s a tribute to our faculty members. And so we’re very pleased, and these are over the past four years, since we’ve been in kind of a national university category. Our ranking has improved quite a bit.” 

The university has maintained the importance of making the college experience more affordable for Vaqueros by providing low-cost attendance. Tuition Advantage is a program offered by the university that fully covers tuition and mandatory fees. Students must file a FAFSA/TAFSA every academic year, have a family income of $125,000 or less and meet all of the eligibility requirements. To receive the grant, students must be enrolled in 15 semester credit hours or more. 

Affordability is a major component in UTRGV’s success and high ranking.

 “Eighty-six percent of our undergraduate students pay no tuition or fees,” Bailey said. “… And so, I think, that not only is affordability part of the ranking itself, but it’s one of the reasons our students are able to graduate at much higher rates.” 

Dean of Students Rebecca Gadson described the qualities of UTRGV being ranked No. 1.

“I think they align with the values and mission of our institution to provide an opportunity for increasing access to higher education, preparation for career and contributing after students graduate, our commitment to supporting students and having them actively engaged on and off campus,” Gadson said. “And service to the community, and making sure that we do what we can to support the affordability for students to more easily access the institution.”

In the 2022-2023 academic year, 6,622 Vaqueros acquired a degree. Specifically, 4,639 students obtained a bachelor’s degree and 1,889 received a master’s degree. 

Gadson believes supporting students is a main component.

“We attract talented faculty,” she said. “We attract staff who are committed to providing wraparound support, and to our students as they progress. And those opportunities pave the way for future growth and progress, and really have the ability to transform the Valley and the region.” 

A committee voting process expands the university’s academic programs, according to Jonikka Charlton, associate provost of Student Success and dean of the University College.

“We have major committees at the institution that focus on curriculum changes,” Charlton said. “And so, one of them is called the undergraduate committee, and the other is called a graduate committee.”

UTRGV continues to support its colleges, schools, departments and faculty by developing innovative new programs that follow the university’s core values. 

“The faculty who are going to be offering that degree get together,” Charlton said. “They create the proposal, they create the curriculum. And, they send that through their governance processes in their college. And if the dean signs off on that, then it goes to the undergraduate or graduate committees for review. And if those folks approve it, then it kind of moves through the rest of the UTRGV administration.”

In the last two academic years, UTRGV has added master’s degrees in higher education administration, human resource management and biomedical engineering, and bachelor’s degrees in human dimensions of organizations, public heritage and community engagement. It also added doctorates in materials science and engineering, physics and human genetics.

President Bailey is looking ahead to boost the quality of education and campus life.

 “One of the things that we’ll be doing over the next few years, we’re looking to add housing on our campuses, both in Edinburg and also in Brownsville,” he said. “And, then what we want to do is provide scholarship money to help more students live on campus.

“The other thing we’re trying to do is have more students work on campus. … If you look at student success rates, the students who are retained and graduate, those who work on campus have the highest retention and graduation rates. They have the best success.”

UTRGV has been developing future programs and facility expansions, according to Bailey.

 “A lot of the facility expansions will be in Brownsville,” he said. “We just bought the old Majestic [Theatre]. We’re converting that into a performing arts center. We anticipate going into the November [University of Texas System] Board [of Regents] meeting with a proposal to build a fine arts facility in Brownsville.

“We have things going on right now, the Cancer Infusion Center and Surgery Center here in McAllen. We have Collegiate High Schools going up. So, there’ll be a lot of new expansions going on over the next few years.”

Charlton said, “I’ve worked at a number of institutions over my career, and I am really proud of working here at UTRGV because we have the right kinds of commitments to the community to our students. And that gets reflected in rankings like this.”