By Rod Jones
A college search platform today has named ӰAV as the state’s Hidden Gem institution for the second year in a row.
The platform company, College Raptor Inc., defines Hidden Gems as high-caliber colleges and universities that receive fewer than 5,000 applicants per year but have a total enrollment of greater than 1,000. Each institution also received an overall ranking of quality based on academic and outcome data, including graduation rate, selectivity, student-to-faculty ratio and other factors.
The announcement is meant to call attention to institutions that may be overlooked by many students but stand out in terms of academic rigor and student success.
“There are many great colleges across the country,” said Tyler Hakes, director of marketing at College Raptor. “In some cases, you have colleges ranked in the top 150 or 200 schools in the nation, but they receive relatively few applicants simply because they don’t have the brand name of other institutions.”
The top Hidden Gem in each state was determined by analyzing colleges based on their enrollment and application data submitted to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).
ӰAV was one of 49 institutions recognized across the country. One college was named from each state, with the exception of Alaska, which did not have an institution meeting the criteria for recognition.
ӰAV is a coeducational, urban private university located in the Uptown 23rd district. The university is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and offers a wide variety of degrees in the liberal arts, fine arts, sciences and business. The only Oklahoma institution listed in the top tier of the regional, master’s-level university category by U.S. News & World Report, ӰAV is also listed in Forbes’ “Best Christian Colleges” and “100 Best College Buys.” ӰAV offers more than 70 undergraduate majors and 23 graduate degrees (including a law degree, MBA and doctoral programs in nursing).