Winthrop's Record of Excellence Achieved

The college guidebook, Barron's Best Buys (ninth edition), includes Winthrop in its compilation. The guide looks beyond the nation's best-known and most expensive four-year colleges to discover schools where the education dollar goes further.

 

Winthrop University was named to U.S.News & World Report's Top Ten Regional Public Universities in the South in the magazine's "America's Best Colleges" 2010 edition. It is the 18th time this publication has chosen Winthrop for inclusion in its listings.  In addition, U.S. News & World Report includes Winthrop in its 2010 listing of up-and-coming institutions headed "Keep an Eye on These Schools."  The 77 institutions cited, which are drawn from over 1,400 four-year colleges and universities of all types across America, are ones, according to U.S. News, "that have recently made the most promising and innovative changes in academics, faculty, students, campus or facilities," and that are "firmly focused on improving the jobs they're doing today."

Association of American Colleges and Universities

Core Commitments:  Educating Students for Personal and Social Responsibility

Winthrop University is one of only 23 institutions from across all sectors of U.S. higher education comprising the AAC&U Core Commitments Leadership Consortium, which is designed to bring together the most promising institutional practices related to educating students for personal and social responsibility as well as to deepen and extend these efforts.

The Princeton Review rated Winthrop among its “Best Southeastern Colleges” in its most recent print edition, based on academic excellence and what students report about their college experiences. Winthrop has been included in the regional guidebook since its initial publication in 2003.

Winthrop has been recognized as the state's top-rated university in the S.C. Commission on Higher Education's performance-rating accountability system. After exceeding standards every year since the rating system began, the university has reached a new pinnacle by scoring substantially exceeds standards every year that the rating existed. Winthrop's unmatched record of sustained high performance is reflected its 100 percent national accreditation in all academic areas for which such accreditation is available.

Click here for a listing of individual program accreditations. 

The John Templeton Foundation includes Winthrop University in its Templeton Guide: "Colleges That Encourage Character Development," which profiles higher education programs that 'inspire students to lead ethical and civic-minded lives.'

The Education Commission of the States has called Winthrop University "an excellent example of a campus committed to both quality and diversity." In addition, the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission has ranked Winthrop among the most successful state-supported institutions of higher education in meeting equal opportunity and affirmative action goals.

Winthrop's Dinkins Student Union Program Board four times has been ranked best in the nation for the quality and variety of programming-including both lecturers and entertainers-that it brings to the campus annually.

Campus Activities Magazine has chosen Winthrop as offering the “Best Campus Program” in the nation three times: 1995, 2002 and 2004. Winthrop is the only university in the nation to be on the ballot every year since this award was inaugurated in 1995.

The South Carolina Organization for Residence Education has named Winthrop University’s Resident Student Association “School of the Year” for the fourth consecutive year, 2001-2004. Winthrop is the only institution to have received the award since it was created in 2001.

Department of Education
Teacher of the Year

A total of 30 institutions--11 public and 19 private-in South Carolina train teachers. Winthrop University is the only one to have one of its alumni named a finalist in eight different years. The 2002 recipient, Christi McCollum, is a Winthrop graduate who now works with new teachers in Richland School District Two.

State Budget and
Control Board

Winthrop University is annually recognized as one of the most energy-efficient campuses with residence halls in the state-- no small feat, considering Winthrop's physical plant includes more turn-of-the-century buildings than any campus in the state.  

Winthrop University is a recipient of the 'Best College Recycling Program' Award from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. The university annually recycles more than 75 tons of paper and other recyclables--up from 3.9 tons in 1991. 

Continuing a tradition of excellence in Winthrop athletics, four Winthrop sports teams won Big South Championships and went on to make NCAA tournament appearances in 2005-06, including men’s basketball, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and volleyball. In addition, baseball made an NCAA tournament appearance after winning an at-large bid. On top of team accomplishments, 44 Winthrop student-athletes also had stellar individual years as All Conference Performers. Among them: fourteen Big South All-Academic team members; three Big South Scholar-Athletes of the Year; three Big South Players of the Year; three All-Americans; and six Big South Freshmen of the Year. Winthrop also had its highest finish since 1991 in the Big South’s overall athletics competition, the Sasser Cup.