STATEN ISLAND, N.Y., Sept. 13, 2011 — Wagner College was identified in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges 2012” as the only college or university in New York, New Jersey or Connecticut with 4 or more “programs to look for” — possibly a factor in Wagner’s appearance for the third year in a row on the U.S. News regional universities list of “Up-and-Comers,” and its jump from #25 to #21 in the overall northern regional universities rankings. The magazine’s annual college guide was released this morning.
For the third year in a row, Wagner College appeared on the U.S. News “Up-and-Comers” list of schools in its category — institutions identified by top administrators at other northern regional universities as those that “have recently made the most promising and innovative changes in the areas of academics, faculty, student life, campus, or facilities,” according to the magazine. “The colleges and universities [appearing on the list] were cited most often by college presidents, provosts and admissions deans who were asked to identify up to 10 up-and-coming schools in their U.S. News ranking category.” Wagner College has appeared on the “Up-and-Comers” list ever since U.S. News first published it in 2009.
Wagner College was also recognized on four U.S. News lists of “programs to look for”:
“It is no coincidence that these four program areas are precisely those given greatest emphasis by our signature curriculum, the Wagner Plan for the Practical Liberal Arts,” said Wagner College President Richard Guarasci. “Since 1998, the Wagner Plan has combined a very strong first-year program with practical internships, multiple service-learning experiences, and three learning communities placed at the beginning, middle and end of the Wagner student’s undergraduate career.”
“Wagner College’s four ‘programs to look for’ are what the American Association of Colleges & Universities terms ‘high impact practices’ — those academic components that significantly contribute to a high-quality education,” added Lily McNair, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Wagner College. “In essence, the Wagner Plan embodies such high-impact practices.”
It is worth noting that, while the “Up-and-Comers” list and Wagner’s regional ranking compare the school only with other northeastern institutions, the “Programs to Look For” lists are all based on nationwide evaluations by college presidents, provosts and deans of admission.
While a total of 98 institutions across the nation were recognized by the U.S. News survey for 1 or more “programs to look for,” Wagner College was among only 6 colleges and universities nationwide to be recognized for 4 or more of their high-impact programs.
If a regional listing of “Programs to Look For” had been compiled, Wagner College would have been the only northern regional university recognized for 4 or more programs.
And when considering all colleges and universities in the states of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey, regardless of category, Princeton University (recognized for 3 programs) was the only other institution to come close to Wagner College (4).
In the overall rankings among regional universities in the northeast, Wagner College tied for the #21 position, up from #25 last year. This is the 8th year in a row in which Wagner College has appeared on the Top 25 list in its category.