[Image courtesy of U.S. News & World Report]
By Shannon West
The U.S. News and World Report 2015 list was released last week, ranking St. Bonaventure University No. 3 as one of the best values in the North.
The ranking’s impact gives the school a good reputation in its demographics, which gives Bonaventure the opportunity to present itself to its future students.
The ranking, Bonaventure’s highest on the U.S. News’ list of Best Regional Universities in the North, includes colleges offering a full range of master’s degree programs. In 2014, U.S. News ranked Bonaventure No. 5 for value and No. 33 in Regional Universities. This year Bonaventure ranked No. 24 out of 181 institutions in the Best Regional Universities in the North, leading the school to be the No. 1 institution in New York state.
“It is what we’ve known for a very long time, that not only is it known for its merit and need-based financial aid programs, but also what happens to students when they come here,” said Emily Morris, vice president of university relations, said. “St. Bonaventure has an excellent value. In recent years we have climbed the list because increasingly, students have out-performed their success. They graduate at rates higher than they would be predicted to graduate and they become extraordinary.”
The magazine determined the value ranking using three figures: ratio of academic quality to price, need-based aid and average discount. At Bonaventure, 76 percent of students receive some form of need-based grant. The 2014-15 average annual cost after receiving institutional scholarships and need-based grants and state and federal need-based grants is $18,577.
However, U.S News changed its process of ranking two years ago by including the graduation rate of a university by the input and success of the students.
“Any publicity like this is wonderful for St. Bonaventure because a lot of perspective students and particularly their parents look at those rankings to see what does that mean and where they are going to get the best value,” said Pauline Hoffmann, dean of the journalism and mass communication school. “I think anytime that our alumni are able to get a really nice job and have that confidence knowing they came from St. Bonaventure, along with the rankings, certainly helps.”
The magazine’s rankings of “America’s Best Colleges” were released last week. The complete rankings are available at http://www.usnews.com/colleges.
“It gives us the opportunity to say something that none of our other competitor institutions can say,” Morris said. “In a very competitive environment in which we operate, it gives us something to say about ourselves. It is great and perhaps it will give St. Bonaventure a look, but after it that it is our job to really help those students see themselves on this campus as a perspective student. Once they’re at the table the job is ours to convey the spirit, meaning, and definition of St. Bonaventure University.”
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