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Forbes Says Lawrence University is One of “America’s Top Colleges”

Lawrence University is once again prominently featured in Forbes’ annual ranking of “America’s Top Colleges.” The 2012 Forbes report, prepared by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, lists Lawrence as 63rd among 650 of the nation’s leading undergraduate colleges, 57th among private colleges, and 8th among Midwestern colleges.  For the fourth straight year, Forbes ranked Lawrence University first among 13 Wisconsin colleges included on the list.

The rankings are based on five categories, including post graduate career success, student satisfaction and retention rate, student debt, four year graduation rate, and competitive awards.

Earlier this week, The Princeton Review also named Lawrence University as one of the nation’s best, including Lawrence in its 2012 edition of “The 376 Best Colleges.”

Want to know more?  Read this story from the Appleton Post-Crescent.

Closer Look at the Forbes’ Rankings Reveals More Good News for Lawrence

In conjunction with Forbes.com’s third annual “America’s Best Colleges” report, the Center for College Affordability and Productivity (CCAP) provides additional rankings beyond the magazine’s list of the nation’s best 610 undergraduate institutions.

In its recently released 2010 study, in which Lawrence University was ranked 50th nationally, Forbes and the CCAP also ranked Lawrence favorably in two other categories.

Using the Carnegie classification “Baccalaureate Colleges – Arts and Sciences,” which is regarded by Forbes as the nation’s best liberal arts colleges, Lawrence was ranked 29th among 196 schools, placing above such peer institutions as Bates (31), Macalester (32), Grinnell (48), Connecticut (53) and St. Olaf (70) colleges.

In its listing based on regional location, the study ranked Lawrence seventh among 150 institutions in the Midwest, ahead of peer schools Macalester (8), Oberlin (11), Grinnell (17) and St. Olaf (22) colleges.

Based in Washington, D.C., the CCAP is an independent, not-for-profit research center dedicated to facilitating a broader dialogue on the issues and problems facing the institutes of higher education in the United States.

Forbes.com Report Ranks Lawrence University 50th in 2010 “America’s Best Colleges” Report

Using the quality of the education a college provides, the experiences of its students and how much those students achieve as its measuring stick, Forbes.com has named Lawrence University the best undergraduate institution in Wisconsin and 50th nationally among more than 600 undergraduate institutions in its third annual “America’s Best Colleges” report.

Lawrence was the only state institutions to crack the business publication’s top 100. Beloit College was ranked 125th, St. Norbert College 152nd, Carroll University 184th, and Ripon College 195th.

In addition to finishing top-ranked among 11 Wisconsin institutions included in Forbes.com’s list, Lawrence also was ranked higher than such traditional educational heavyweights as Georgetown University (52), the University of California-Berkeley (65) and Ivy League member Cornell University (70).

Liberal arts colleges like Lawrence accounted for six of the top 15 ranked institutions nationally while many of the large state universities landed well down Forbes’ list, including Penn. State University (192), UW-Madison (212), and the University of Minnesota (418).

Launched in 2008 as an alternative to the annual rankings done by U.S. News & World Report, Forbes’ rankings focus largely on student-related concerns: Do the students enjoy their classes and overall academic experience? Will courses be interesting and rewarding? How likely is the student to graduate in four years? Will the student get a good job after graduation? How much debt will the student incur in pursuit of a degree?

“We’re happy that Forbes takes a student-centered approach to its assessments,” said Ken Anselment, Lawrence’s director of admissions. “And we continue to be gratified that Forbes recognizes the high-quality experience we provide our students, as well as the lifetime of rewards they reap from that experience as alumni.”

Compiled with the assistance of researchers at the Washington, D.C.-based non-profit think tank Center for College Affordability and Productivity, the magazine’s 2010 “America’s Best Colleges” report ranks 610 undergraduate institutions from among the 6,600 accredited post-secondary institutions in the United States.

More than 10 factors are used in objectively determining the rankings, with no single factor accounting as much as 20 percent. The only subjective judgments are those of Forbes and the Center for College Affordability and Productivity as to which factors to include and the weights to be used in evaluating each factor.

Data in the rankings were drawn from numerous sources, including the opinions of student evaluations of courses and instructors recorded on the Web site RateMyProfessors.com and post-graduate success determined by enrollment-adjusted entries in “Who’s Who in America” and average salaries of graduates reported by Payscale.com.

Other ranking factors included an estimated average student debt after four years, four-year college graduation rates, and the number of students and faculty, adjusted for enrollment, who have won nationally competitive awards such as Rhodes Scholarships and Nobel Prizes.

Williams College earned Forbes.com’s no. 1 ranking, supplanting last year’s top-ranked institution, the U. S. Military Academy at West Point, which was ranked fourth this year. Princeton University (2), Amherst College (3) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (5) completed the top five.

LU’s Jill Beck Cited by Forbes as Barrier Breaker

Forbes.com recently named Lawrence University President Jill Beck to its list of “barrier breakers” in a report about female college presidents. According to the American Council on Education (ACE), 23 percent of college presidents are women, a significant increase over 1986’s 10 percent. Forbes says the future holds even more promise as women continue to break down gender barriers in higher education. Fifteen of Forbes’ 50 Best Colleges are led by women. Eight presidents, including Beck, are the first female president in their school’s history. Read the full story and learn more about Forbes’ 15 “barrier breakers.”

One of the Real “Best Colleges” – Lawrence University

Lawrence University, called a “liberal arts jewel” by CBS MoneyWatch.com, fared very well in a report this week about popular college ranking systems.

MoneyWatch.com examined the methodology behind the college ranking systems of Forbes, Kiplinger’s, U.S. News and World Report and others, and gave the Forbes ranking system its highest rating. According to MoneyWatch.com, “Forbes actually attempts to measure the quality of education students receive.” The report went on to cite Lawrence as an example of a lesser-known school that scored well with Forbes. Lawrence ranked 41st out of 600 colleges in Forbes‘ second annual report published in August, moving up from 68th place a year ago.

Although no college ranking system is perfect, according to MoneyWatch.com, “We can only recommend one: Forbes’ America’s Best Colleges. Despite its limitations, it comes closest to actually measuring the quality of the education at the nation’s best schools.”

Forbes Names Lawrence University Wisconsin’s Top College

APPLETON, WIS. — Defining a good college as “one that meets student needs,” Forbes.com ranks Lawrence University the best undergraduate institution in Wisconsin and 41st nationally in its second annual report on America’s top colleges.

Compiled with the assistance of researchers at the Washington, D.C.-based non-profit think tank Center for College Affordability and Productivity, the magazine’s just-released 2009 “America’s Best Colleges” report ranks 600 of the country’s 1,600 four-year undergraduate institutions based on the quality of the education they provide, the experience of the students and how much they achieve. Schools were ranked without regard for size.Main-Hall-Forbes_web.jpg

Lawrence, which jumped 27 spots nationally from last year’s 68th ranking, was one of only two state institutions to crack the business publication’s top 100 (Ripon was 100th).

First published in 2008 as an alternative to the annual rankings done by U.S. News & World Report, Forbes’ rankings focus less on institutional reputation and more on aspects that directly concern students: Will courses be interesting and rewarding? How likely is the student to graduate in four years? Will the student get a good job after graduation? How much debt will the student incur in pursuit of a degree?

Data used in the rankings were drawn from numerous sources, including the opinions of four million student evaluations of courses and instructors recorded on the Web site RateMyProfessors.com and post-graduate success determined by enrollment-adjusted entries in “Who’s Who in America” and average salaries of graduates reported by Payscale.com.

Other ranking factors included an estimated average student debt after four years, four-year college graduation rates, and the number of students and faculty, adjusted for enrollment, who have won nationally competitive awards such as Rhodes Scholarships and Nobel Prizes.

“Forbes has once again gone beyond the usual metrics to assess quality in colleges and of course we’re happy that they’ve recognized us for being particularly good at providing a meaningful and powerful experience for our students,” said Ken Anselment, Lawrence’s director of admissions.

In addition to finishing top-ranked among 10 Wisconsin institutions included in Forbes.com’s list, Lawrence also was ranked higher than such traditional educational heavyweights as the University of California-Berkeley (73), Duke University (104) and Ivy League members Brown University (72), Dartmouth College (98) and Cornell University (207).

The U. S. Military Academy at West Point earned Forbes.com’s no. 1 ranking, supplanting last year’s no. 1 Princeton University, which was ranked second this year. California Institute of Technology, no. 2 in 2008, Williams College and Harvard University rounded out the top five.

Liberal arts colleges like Lawrence accounted for six of the top 15 ranked institutions nationally while many of the large state universities landed well down Forbes’ list, including UW-Madison (415), the University of Iowa (430) and the University of Nebraska (463).