Springfield College Rises for Seventh Consecutive Year in Top Tier of U.S. News Rankings
For an unprecedented seventh-consecutive year, Springfield College has climbed the list of highest-ranked colleges by the nation’s premier higher education rankings report. In the 2018 edition of the U.S. News "Best Colleges” report, released today, Springfield College is ranked 25 in the first tier in the category of Best Regional Universities – North.
This year’s ranking of Springfield College is up two spots from 2017, four spots from 2016, six spots from 2015, 12 spots from 2014, 30 spots from 2013, 35 spots from 2012, and 42 spots from 2011, when the College was ranked 67th.
“The rise in our ranking over the past seven years demonstrates that the value proposition of a Springfield College education, grounded in the Humanics philosophy, is well regarded,” said Springfield College President Mary-Beth A. Cooper. “I am extremely proud of the hard work, dedication, and commitment of our faculty, staff, and students to advancing the Springfield College mission. We have accomplished a great deal in recent years and we are proud to receive continued recognition for our outstanding academic offerings and rich co-curricular life.”
The rise in the rankings by Springfield College is spurred by improved graduation rates and improved retention of first-year students. The Springfield College traditional, undergraduate enrollment for fall 2017 reached an all-time high for the college at 2,200, including 660 first-year students.
The ratings are based on such variables as peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, student selectivity, class size, alumni giving, and student-faculty ratio.
Springfield College also ranked top college for best value and for veterans
In addition to the general ranking, the College is ranked 17th in the U.S. News Best Value Schools for Regional Universities – North. This is the second consecutive year the College has been listed in the Best Values category, which takes into account a college's academic quality and net cost of attendance. According to U.S.News, the higher the quality of the program and the lower the cost, the better the value.
The College also is ranked 10th in the U.S. News Best Colleges for Veterans for Regional Universities – North.
Springfield College moving up the rankings for Seven Consecutive Years!
Springfield College facts:
- Springfield College welcomed its largest incoming class of first-year undergraduate students in the College’s history this fall. This year’s incoming class is the strongest academic profile of any entering class in the College’s history as well as the largest and most diverse. Springfield College celebrates an enrollment growth of approximately 22 percent as the 2017-18 academic year begins.
- 97 percent job and graduate school placement rate of Springfield College graduates within six months of graduation. One of the best in the nation: 84 percent is the national average and 93 percent among other New England colleges.
- At the start of the 2017-18 academic year, Springfield College unveiled the new Harold C. Smith Learning Commons, a complete rehabilitation of Springfield College's Babson Library, a 57,000-square-foot building that opened in 1972. The new building includes a 6,000-square-foot reading room with 24-hour access for students, 1,200 square feet of adaptable work space for group projects, classes, presentations and brainstorming sessions, a research consultation area, cafe and a 5,300-square-foot academic success center.
- In 2016, Baseball great Cal Ripken, Jr. and the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation partnered with Springfield College to jointly design and build a one-of-a-kind intercollegiate and adaptive baseball park on the Springfield College campus, which was completed this summer. This project is the first of its kind on a college campus and fits with both the mission of Springfield College to educate students in spirit, mind, and body for leadership in service to others, and the mission of the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation to build character and teach critical life lessons to at-risk young people through sports-themed programs.
- Springfield College has partnered with the Canyon Ranch Institute to implement and evaluate a public health project on the Springfield College campus titled the Healthy Table program. The goal of the program is to improve healthy eating, cooking, and shopping habits for individuals and families living in the vicinity of Springfield College.
- Springfield College Athletics finished 39 in the nation in the 2016-2017 Division III Learfield Directors' Cup, which honors colleges and universities that maintain a broad-based program, achieving success in many sports. It marks the ninth time in the past 10 years that the Pride finished in the top 40 of the 450 Division III athletic programs in the nation.
