U.S.News & World Report Hails Stonehill as Up-and-Coming School

August 20, 2009

For the third consecutive year since moving into the category of "National Liberal Arts Colleges," Stonehill ranked in the top tier of schools at No.112 in the latest edition of the annual U.S.News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" guide. In addition, the College was singled out as a "Top Up-and-Coming School," ranking ninth out of 13 liberal arts colleges chosen for the category.

The "Up-and-Coming List" list, which highlights schools that have recently made the "most promising and innovative changes in academic, faculty, students, campus or facilities," is based on responses to peer assessment surveys. Top officials at each school received a survey asking them to rate the other colleges in their category.

In its write-up of the "Top Up-and-Coming" list, U.S. News said, "For prospective applicants, we believe the schools on this list offer the reassurance that whatever their historical reputation, they're firmly focused on improving the job they're doing today."

Stonehill's 112th ranking on the "Best Liberal Arts Colleges" list marks a three place jump from the 2009 survey.

The U.S. News report comes on the heels of the Princeton Review's "Best 371 Colleges" survey, which featured Stonehill in eight categories, including "Happiest Students" and "Most Beautiful Campus." The College was noted as having the seventh happiest students in the nation and the 14th most beautiful campus.

The College was also noted for its positive town-gown relations, ranking sixth on that list. Student participation in intramural sports is among the highest in the nation as Stonehill ranked seventh in that category.

In the "Easiest Campus to Get Around" and "Most Popular Study Abroad Program" categories, Stonehill ranked 13th. Other highlights included "Best Career Services" (17th), "Most Accessible Professors" (17th), and "Most Discussions Encouraged" (20th).

The best-known American college and university rankings, the U.S.News & World Report rankings measure up to 15 indicators of academic performance for each college and university. Quantitative data that assess a college's performance in various areas account for 75 percent of a college's score. The other 25 percent is based on the peer assessment survey.  

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