FAMU claimed the top position among public historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the 2012 U.S. News & World Report rankings.FAMU was number ten, overall. Spelman College came in at number one.
The rankings are based on six criteria: peer assessment (25 percent), retention (25 percent), faculty resources (20 percent), student selectivity (15 percent), financial resources (10 percent), and the alumni giving rate (5 percent).
This is the fifth year U.S. News has ranked HBCUs. The rankings started in the wake of fierce criticism that argued that the magazine’s “Best Colleges” scoring methodology placed HBCUs at a disadvantage.
While the HBCU rankings are commonly used for bragging rights, they continue to run into controversy for failing to take into consideration how factors such as family income levels influence retention rates and standardized testing scores.