U.S. News & World Report Names Elmira College "Best Regional College"

Elmira, NY (09/14/2020) — In its just-released "2021 Best Colleges" rankings, U.S. News & World Report ranked Elmira College sixth among the Best Regional Colleges (North). Elmira College also ranked sixth for undergraduate teaching, third for best value, and second for social mobility in the Regional Colleges (North) section.

The U.S. News 2021 Best Colleges utilizes more than 15 measures of academic quality to provide data-driven information. The statistical indicators fall into eight broad areas: social mobility; first-year student retention and graduation of students; expert opinion; faculty resources; student excellence; financial resources; alumni giving; and graduation rate performance, which is a comparison between the proportion of students expected to graduate and the proportion who did graduate.

"We are honored to once again be included among the top schools in the U.S. News & World Report's Best Colleges rankings," said Elmira College President Dr. Charles Lindsay. "Elmira College brings together a liberal arts education with professional programs, balancing the emotional with the practical and equipping students with the tools and skills to succeed in the professional world. Recognition by U.S. News & World Report is an affirmation that Elmira is fulfilling its mission to offer students an engaging, immersive, and supportive student-centered education."

The rankings for Best Undergraduate Teaching focus on schools where faculty and administrators are committed to teaching undergraduate students in a high-quality manner. College presidents, provosts and admissions deans who participated in the annual U.S. News peer assessment survey were asked to nominate up to 15 schools in their Best Colleges ranking category with a strength in undergraduate teaching.

"The ranking for Best Undergraduate Teaching is particularly meaningful as a peer review, and it speaks volumes for the dedication of Elmira's faculty and staff," said Dr. Corey Stilts, Elmira College provost.

The Best Value Colleges list takes into account a school's academic quality, as indicated by its 2021 U.S. News Best Colleges ranking, and the net cost of attendance for a student who received the average level of need-based financial aid. The higher the quality of the program and the lower the cost, the better the deal. Only schools ranked in or near the top half of their categories are included because U.S. News considers the most significant values to be among colleges that are above average academically. Top Performers in Social Mobility gives a nod to those institutions which are more successful than others at advancing social mobility by enrolling and graduating large proportions of disadvantaged students.

"At a time when affordability is a primary concern for students and their families, we are proud to be ranked highly in the social mobility category," said Lindsay. "Elmira College has one of the lowest undergraduate tuition prices of any four-year private college or university in the region, making the College accessible to a broad spectrum of students and families."

Elmira College has also been listed by The Princeton Review as a Best National College, by Money on its Best Colleges in America list, by Washington Monthly as a Best Bachelor College, and named a College of Distinction for innovative learning opportunities and expert blending of the liberal arts with professional programming in business, education, and nursing.

Media Attachments