U.S. News & World Report Gives Ithaca College High Rankings

By Dave Maley, September 10, 2018
IC earns marks for teaching, innovation and value.

U.S. News & World Report has once again included Ithaca College on its list of the top colleges in the country. In its just-released “Best Colleges 2019” rankings, the publication also cited IC for the quality of its teaching, for its innovation, and for being a good value.

Ithaca College was ranked as the #9 Best College in the North region among the 196 institutions of its kind. The rankings evaluate colleges and universities using statistical measures that education experts have proposed as reliable indicators of academic quality, falling into seven broad areas: first-year student retention and graduation of students; peer assessment; faculty resources; admissions selectivity; financial resources; alumni giving; and graduation rate performance.

Ithaca also earned high marks in several rankings categories:

  • #2 for Best Undergraduate Teaching, a list that identifies “schools where the faculty has an unusually strong commitment to undergraduate teaching.”
  • #11 for Most Innovative Schools, which includes institutions that are making the most innovative improvements in terms of curriculum, faculty, students, campus life, technology or facilities. U.S. News said that this list features “schools that the public should be watching because of the cutting-edge changes being made on their campuses.”
  • #14 for Best Value, meaning the school provides a quality education at an affordable cost. The higher the quality of the program and the lower the cost, the better the value.

“Our continued presence in the top 10 on the best colleges list speaks to our learning community’s deep commitment to academic excellence and to the strength of our dedication to student success,” said Ithaca College President Shirley M. Collado. “Being acknowledged for our undergraduate teaching and innovation this year specifically honors the bold work and original thinking of our talented faculty and staff. We are doing amazing things at Ithaca College, and I am so pleased to see our efforts recognized on a national stage.”

IC has consistently made the top 10 on the U.S. News list of regional universities, which the publication says are those that offer a broad scope of undergraduate degrees and some master’s degree programs, but few, if any, doctoral programs (Ithaca College offers one doctoral program). For this category, the rankings are divided into four regions — North, South, Midwest and West. The magazine also has separate rankings for national universities, national liberal arts colleges and regional colleges.

“Our ranking in the teaching category is reflective of our faculty’s commitment to excellence in teaching, informed by active research and scholarship,” said Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs La Jerne Terry Cornish. “I invite the entire IC community to join me in applauding our faculty for this tremendous recognition, and I look forward to highlighting the many accomplishments of our faculty as they continue to excel inside and outside of the classroom.”

Learn More

For more information on the rankings, visit www.usnews.com.