![](https://www.muw.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/LEAP_Logo@2x-1024x350.png)
Make the LEAP with us.
Are you ready to become a more empowered and informed advocate for our university?
Join the Legislative Engagement + Advocacy Partnership (LEAP).
The 2024 Mississippi state legislative session showed us that we need a united front now more than ever. With discussions centering on reducing funding for IHL institutions or closing one or more regional universities in our state, we must communicate the importance of The W’s mission as one voice, clearly and with conviction.
Not only do we have a legacy as the first publicly funded university for women in the United States to protect…We have a duty to our state and our region to continue providing the most accessible, affordable, and high quality higher education experience possible.
Our students need us. And we need you.
Will you work with us to ensure that The W is around for the next 140 years?
![](https://www.muw.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/LEAP_TourPoster2024-scaled.jpg)
LEAP Task Force
![](https://www.muw.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/W_LeapTaskForce-1.png)
From top left: Linda Ross Aldy, Karen Clay, Nora Miller, Emily Myers Garner, Ricki Garrett, Sally Burchfield Doty, Laura Tubb Prestwich, Kym Golden Gore, B.R. Hawkins, Kristi Hipp Mosley
Vital Statistics
- The W leads the IHL with the highest number of Mississippians enrolled at 87%.
- W Students graduate with the least amount of debt among Southern regional universities.
- We award 33.9 degrees per 100 full-time students. That’s 42% higher than the IHL system average.
- The W is one of the most diverse institutions in the IHL system. For Fall 2023, 39.3% of students were minorities. Only Delta State University was more diverse with 46.4%.
- U.S. News & World Report 2024 Rankings: #5 in Best Value Schools for Regional Universities in the South
- For Fall 2022, 56% of our full-time, first-time students were Pell Grant recipients, and The W graduates Pell recipient students at a high rate. Our 8-year graduation rate for our IPEDS 12-month Outcome Measures Cohort has been higher than the IHL System 8-year graduation rate for the last 5 years. Our most current Pell rate is 61.1% compared to the system rate of 48.8%. The five-year average Pell rate is 54.2% for MUW compared to 49.2% for the IHL system.
- 77% of W graduates are still working in Mississippi 3 years after graduation.
- The W is ranked #4 Best Bang for the Buck in the South according to Washington Monthly.