U.S. News ranks Salve Regina among nation’s best

Salve Regina’s overall ranking among the best institutions of higher education in the United States climbed five places in U.S. News & World Report’s 2020 Best Colleges survey, and the University was also hailed in categories for best undergraduate teaching, best value school, best college for veterans and top performer on social mobility.

In addition to being ranked 23rd overall (up from 28th last year) in the publication’s Regional Universities – North category, Salve Regina ranked 28th in best undergraduate teaching, climbed two spots to 11th in best colleges for veterans, ranked 31st as a best value school and ranked 114th in a new category, top performer on social mobility.

College presidents, provosts and admissions deans participated in a spring 2019 peer assessment survey to determine which institutions were strongest in undergraduate teaching. Salve Regina was among the colleges receiving the most “top 15” nominations for featuring faculty and administrators who are committed to teaching undergraduate students in a high-quality manner.

To determine which colleges and universities offer the best value for students, U.S. News considered both academic quality and cost of attendance for students 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 U.S. News ranking.

The University was selected once again as a best college for veterans for its participation in federal initiatives that help veterans and active-duty service members pay for their degrees. Among its military-friendly programs, Salve Regina is certified for the GI Bill, participates in the Yellow Ribbon Program and has consistently enrolled a minimum of 20 veterans and active service members.

Salve Regina was also identified as being more successful than other universities at advancing social mobility by enrolling and graduating large proportions of disadvantaged students awarded with Pell Grants. The vast majority of these federal grants are awarded to students whose adjusted gross family incomes are under $50,000. Economically disadvantaged students are less likely than others to finish college.

Now in its 35th year, U.S. News annually rates more than 1,800 colleges and universities on 15 diverse measures of academic quality, including first-year student retention, graduation rates and the strength of the faculty.