North Carolina Central University was ranked tenth in the nation and first in the state according to U.S. News and World Report’s survey of historically black colleges and universities on measures of the quality of undergraduate education. It is the top-rated public HBCU in the country.

“We are taking a moment to appreciate this good news but only a moment,” said NCCU’s Chancellor Charlie Nelms. “Our objective is to become even stronger.”

The ranking was based on retention and graduation rates, class size, faculty preparedness and compensation, and the opinions of administrators among the 81 HBCUs surveyed.

Behind NCCU, North Carolina’s Elizabeth City State University placed eleventh, followed by Winston-Salem State University (17), Johnson C. Smith University (19), Bennett College (21), North Carolina A&T State University (25), and Fayetteville State University (29). Livingstone College, Shaw University, and Saint Augustine’s College were unranked.

According to U.S. News and World Report, the top ten HBCUs in the nation are:
Spellman College, Atlanta Ga. (1); Howard University, Washington D.C. (2); Morehouse College, Atlanta Ga. (3); Fisk University, Nashville, Tenn. (4); Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans, La. (5); Hampton University, Hampton Va. (6); Tuskegee University, Tuskegee Ala. (7); Claflin University, Orangeburg S.C. (8); Dillard University, New Orleans, La. (8); and North Carolina Central University, Durham N.C. (10).