Five Minutes with the President

Five Minutes

President Sidney A. McPhee touts the benefits of an affordable, quality education at MTSU— recently named a top college in the U.S. by the Princeton Review— to prospective students at a True Blue Tour stop.

A brief conversation on recent events with MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee

MTSU was recently rated as a top university in the U.S. by the Princeton Review in the 2020 edition of its guide, The Best 385 Colleges, a designation only 13% of America’s four-year colleges have earned. MTSU also received honors again as a top college in the Southeast Region. Tell me more about this impressive ranking. This is the best showing by MTSU in the annual review. We are among only six new institutions making the national Best 385 Colleges list. In previous years, we have only appeared on the Best of the Southeast Region list.

The Princeton Review does not rank schools overall from 1 to 385. Instead, this list appears in alphabetical order.

MTSU is the only Tennessee locally governed institution on the Best in the U.S. list and the only public institution other than the University of Tennessee–Knoxville noted in the state.

This is significant, as there are more than 5,300 colleges and universities in the United States. We are now recognized as one of the best in the nation. The survey that serves as the basis for the list asks students about their school’s academics/ administration, campus life, student body, and themselves. Tell me about some of your favorite responses, starting with academics. The listing described MTSU as a “go-to choice” for those wishing to receive a quality and affordable education close to home. It stressed that the school offers more than 180 degree programs for undergraduates—some that are not seen in other universities, such as Animation. One student said, “You can literally major in Fermentation [Science] and learn about the process of brewing beer.” And Princeton Review noted that students find these “highly specialized programs are closely tied to their industry, which means really good job placement.”

As far as professors go, they “like to be on a first-name basis” with students and often “make it a point to get to know you.” Students call our faculty “very helpful and fair” and “thorough in every aspect of the subject matter.” One of our students shared:

“A professor of mine teaches by walking around to every individual student and making sure they understand the subject matter.” Faculty also are “willing to circle back around if anyone in the class gets off track.” Students who do find themselves needing extra assistance with coursework or concepts can rest easy: “There are a lot of programs in place to help you, such as free tutoring,” and students also have “plenty of opportunities to gain a mentor” for more focused guidance during their college careers. Many say this “advising is top notch” and that MTSU takes the time to “foster an environment of care for each and every student.” Overall, students agreed: “This school is amazing, and it is such a hidden gem.”

What did respondents say about the student body? One student stated: “At a school as large as MTSU, you see all types of students from different ends of the spectrum,” as everyone “is very open to whoever comes into the school.” Another said that at MTSU you’ll find “a mixed bag of fresh-out-of-high-school students, . . . parents, . . . returning military veterans, and foreign students.” No matter who they are, people at MTSU are “extremely friendly and inclusive,” “pretty laid back,” and “nice, courteous, and really helpful.” “Though everyone is different here, it is still easy to find people like yourself who are studying the same things or taking similar classes,” another student said. How about campus life? One of our students said that while “the campus is big,” it feels like a “comfortable and home-like school” environment where people “sit on the quad by the library and talk with their friends, play music, and skateboard.” Overall, students find themselves to be quite busy, but the good kind of busy—as one student puts it: “Despite how busy I am, I am happy doing it.”

What’s next at MTSU? To be relevant, our strategic plans and our goals must change with the times. Our original Quest for Student Success, implemented in 2013, set ambitious goals that led to significant improvements in student retention and graduation rates over the past five years. These achievements have set the stage for us to bolster our Quest for years to come and further define our Academic Master Plan.

To launch this process, I convened several members of our faculty and staff, under the leadership of Provost Mark Byrnes, to glean our best and boldest ideas of how we can continue to strengthen our efforts toward helping students to become academically successful. The resulting Quest for Student Success 2025 plan focuses on student success marked by a deeper and broader academic and student life experience that extends learning beyond graduation. It underscores the University’s core mission: to produce graduates who are prepared to thrive professionally, committed to critical inquiry and lifelong learning, and engaged as civically, globally responsible citizens.

MTSU was recently rated as a top university in the U.S. . . . a designation only 13% of America’s four-year colleges have earned.

Other bold ideas for the future will rely on public/private partnerships, corporate investments, and governmental support. We will aggressively endeavor to pursue three big bold ideas:

First, we aspire to actively work toward the goals of Quest 2025. Second, we aspire to create a campus district to bolster student experience and tourism by transforming the area surrounding our campus into a vital and active educational, cultural, and commercial district.

Third, we aspire to build a business partnership hub closer to Nashville by developing a facility, strategically located near major corporate headquarters and large employers, that would offer programs and services that support career development, career advancement, and further respond to business and industry demands for employee education.