University of Richmond climbs again in U.S. News rankings; noted in ‘top up-and-coming schools,’ ‘great school-great price,’ study-abroad programs
August 19, 2009
University of Richmond is ranked No. 30 in U.S. News & World Report#8217;s 2010 rankings of “Best Liberal Arts Colleges,” up three notches from last year and its highest rank since being placed in the highly competitive category in 2006.
Richmond also continued to make several of the magazine’s special lists—No. 5 (up from No. 9 last year) on “Top Up-and-Coming Schools” for liberal arts colleges with innovative, promising changes to academics, faculty, students, campus or facilities; No. 14 (up from No. 27) on “Great Schools, Great Prices” for high academic quality relative to price paid; and on the unnumbered “Programs to Look For” list, among outstanding study-abroad programs.
Factors contributing to Richmond’s higher ranking included a record year for admission applications and increasing scores for academic reputation, faculty resources and graduation rates. Statistics used by the magazine are for the 2008-09 academic year.
“It is nice to see the rankings affirm that Richmond truly is a school to watch,” said university President Edward L. Ayers, “though we are equally proud of the things the U.S. News rankings do not measure—that one in five of our incoming students this year are the first in their family to go to college, for example, or the broad range of opportunities we provide for engaging in the community.”
U.S. News groups American colleges and universities into four categories: best national universities, best liberal arts colleges, best universities—master’s (by region) and best baccalaureate colleges by region. The magazine says the 266 colleges in its liberal arts category “emphasize undergraduate education and award at least half their degrees in the arts and sciences.”
Richmond moved into the prestigious liberal arts category in 2006, where it has been annually ranked in the top tier. Previously, it had been ranked No. 1 in the South for 11 straight years in the best universities—master’s grouping. It was recently selected for inclusion in 2010 editions of The Princeton Review’s “The Best 371 Colleges” and the “Fiske Guide to Colleges.”
Earlier this year, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance and SmartMoney magazines and USA Today (in conjunction with The Princeton Review) cited the university as a top value in the nation for educational quality and commitment to affordability.