NEW: US News Names Best Colleges 2013—How Did the Locals Do?
Tracey Minkin, GoLocalProv Features Editor
NEW: US News Names Best Colleges 2013—How Did the Locals Do?
There were few surprises at the top of the heap. Harvard and Princeton Universities once again tied for the #1 slot among the nation's National Universities, and Williams College in MA held on to its spot as #1 in Liberal Arts Colleges.
How did Rhode Island's universities and colleges do?
NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES CATEGORY
Brown University
Rhode Island's Ivy League University mainted its #15 ranking for the third year in a row among National Universities, tying this year with fellow Ivy Cornell University. Brown was also named the #14 Best Value National University in 2013, moving up one spot from its #15 ranking in 2012. with 41.9% of its student body receiving need-based grants, representing a 63% discount of total cost of attendance.
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When it comes to faculty, Brown performed in the top echelon of the nation with a #18 ranking nationally for faculty resources (moving up 2 spots from last year), and was credited for 93.7% of faculty being full-time.
It may be no surprise that 91% of Brown's freshmen were in the top 10 percent of their high school classes, another high ranking for the university. Finally, Brown's average alumni giving rate of 37% placed it at #4 nationally, a move up of 2 spots from 2012.
Finally, high school counselors gave Brown a 4.8 out of 5 score... no wonder the Fall 2011 acceptance rate was just 8.9%.
University of Rhode Island
The state's public university jumped 13 spots to take the #147 spot in US News' National Universities rankings, and has now risen 20 spots in two years from its 2011 ranking at #167.
URI's best performance this year was for graduate and retention, ranking #143, with an average freshman retention rate of 80% and a 51% graduation rate. The university ranked #160 for financial resources and #201 for alumni giving.
REGIONAL UNIVERSITIES CATEGORY
Providence College
PC performed best on graduation and retention factors, placing #3 in the region with an average freshman retention rate of 91% and a 6-year graduation rate of 87% (although PC was #2 in 2012). The private college was ranked #28 for faculty resources, with 89.8% of its faculty being full-time. On the student side, PC got a nod for student selectivity in its group, ranking #11 (40% of its freshman come from the top 10 percent of their high school classes). Loyal alums who give also kept PC at the top of the regional heap, ranking #8 in its category with an average alumni giving rate of 20%.
In the Regional University/North category, Villanova in PA took #1 honors, followed by Fairfield University in CT and Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore, which tied for the #2 spot this year. Nearby Bentley College in Waltham, MA shared the #4 spot with PC this year.
Bryant University
Bryant cracked the Top 15 this year in the Regional Universities/North category, moving up to #15 from its #16 spot a year ago.
The private university in Smithfield performed best overall in faculty resources, ranking #8 in its group (with 78.1% of its faculty being full-time). Bryant also ranked #12 for financial resources. On the student side, its average freshman retention rate (88%) and 6-year graduation rate (74%) placed it at #14 in its category for the second year in a row. Bryant also was credited for having no classes with 50 or more students.
Salve Regina University
After an upward move in 2012, Salve Regina moves down 4 notches for 2013, to an overall ranking of #38 among Regional Universities/North.
The private Newport university did best among its peers when it came to alumni giving, ranking at #6 with a rate of 20%. Salve also performed well in US News' graduation and retention ranking, rates, placing at #28 with an average freshman retention rate of 78% and a 6-year graduation rate of 70%.
Roger Williams University
This is the second year for Roger Williams being ranked in the Regional Universities/North category (in 2011 it was part of the Regional Colleges category). This year, the Bristol private institution ranked #55, dropping 9 points from its debut ranking last year at #46.
RWU moved up considerably in its financial resources ranking, up to #19 from last year's ranking at #30.
Johnson and Wales University
Johnson & Wales took a serious drop in the Regional Universities/North category in 2013, ranking at #98, a 16-spot drop from its 2012 performance.
The Providence-based private university with programs ranging from well-known culinary and hospitality departments to liberal arts and business, placed highest in its category for financial resources, at #12, but this too was a drop from 2012, when JWU ranked #8. No classes with 50 or more students helped its overall ranking.
Rhode Island College
Rhode Island College posted a rebound ranking this year (after a steep drop in 2012), placing in the Regional Universities/North category at #115, a 7-spot move up from last year's #122 (but still not back to its 2011 ranking of #105).
The state's public college's only Top 100 performance in the category was for faculty resources, where it ranked #94 overall--a move up of 4 spots from last year.
ART SCHOOLS CATEGORY
Rhode Island School of Design
Included but unranked overall in US News' Art Schools category, RISD posted only a few statistics for 2013, including an average alumni giving rate of 14%. According to the latest assessment, 53% of RISD's faculty are full-time.
For more information on how US News and World Reports assesses and ranks schools, go here.