Rogers State University was ranked among the top five baccalaureate colleges in the western U.S. and the only Oklahoma institution in the category of racial diversity by U.S. News and World Report. The magazine recently released its 2010 edition of “America’s Best Colleges.”
In the college guide, RSU was named one of the top five baccalaureate colleges with the highest level of racial diversity in 13 western U.S. states. A baccalaureate college is defined as an institution that grants degrees no higher than a bachelor’s.
Thirty percent of RSU students identified themselves as having a Native American background, which contributed to the university’s high ranking in this category. RSU was the only public baccalaureate college in the western U.S. to be ranked in the category of racial diversity.
The other four schools with the highest levels of racial diversity in the western U.S. were Pacific Union College and Bethany College in California, and McMurry University and Concordia University in Texas, all private colleges.
Student recruiters at RSU work to attract more Native American students and increase racial and ethnic diversity at the university by attending college fairs and visiting high schools throughout northeast Oklahoma, said Julie Rampey, director of admissions.
RSU offers an associate in arts (A.A.) degree in liberal arts with an option in Native American studies and a minor in Native American studies. RSU also offers classes in the Cherokee language and has an active Native American Student Association. In addition, RSU holds a Native American Heritage Festival each spring for students, faculty and the community.
For more information about RSU programs and services, call (918) 343-7777 or 1-800-256-7511.