Saint Mary’s listed on Forbes list of ‘America’s Best Colleges’
WINONA, Minn. — Forbes.com’s 2009 list of “America’s Best Colleges” ranks Saint Mary’s University as No. 230 out of 600 of “the best public and private colleges and universities —from the student's point of view.”
The second-annual ranking of “America's Best Colleges,” compiled by Forbes and the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, ranks 600 undergraduate institutions based on the quality of the education they provide, the experience of the students and how much they achieve.
• They based 25 percent of the rankings on 4 million student evaluations of courses and instructors, as recorded on the website RateMyProfessors.com.
• Another 25 percent is based on post-graduate success, equally determined by enrollment-adjusted entries in “Who’s Who in America,” and by a new metric, the average salaries of graduates reported by Payscale.com.
• An additional 20 percent is based on the estimated average student debt after four years.
• One-sixth of the rankings are based on four-year college graduation rates — half of that is the actual graduation rate, the other half the gap between the average rate and a predicted rate based on characteristics of the school.
• The last component is based on the number of students or faculty, adjusted for enrollment, who have won nationally competitive awards like Rhodes Scholarships or Nobel Prizes.
Forbes.com states, “To our way of thinking, a good college is one that meets student needs. While some college rankings are based partly on school reputation as evaluated by college administrators and on the amount of money spent, we focus on things which directly concern incoming students: Will my courses be interesting and rewarding? Will I get a good job after I graduate? Is it likely I will graduate in four years? Will I incur a ton of debt getting my degree?”
Dr. Tom Mans, vice president for academic affairs, said he is pleased that Saint Mary’s is on the Forbes list. “It shows that our students are happy with the experience they receive here, and that they graduate to have successful careers and be productive members of their communities,” Dr. Mans said. “The Forbes listing reinforces positive reports from other student satisfaction surveys, such as the National Survey of Student Engagement.”
The list, which can be found at http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/94/colleges-09_Americas-Best-Colleges_Rank.html, includes several Minnesota Colleges including: Carleton College (No. 23), Macalester College (No. 82), St. Olaf College (No. 139), Gustavus Adolphus College
(No. 194), Bethel University (No. 229), Hamline University (No. 255), Northwestern College (No. 291), St. John’s University (No. 442), the University of Minnesota, Morris (No. 448), Concordia College Moorhead (No. 450), College of St. Benedict (No. 512), University of St. Thomas (No. 523), University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (No. 543), St. Catherine University (No. 563), Minnesota State University, Mankato, (No. 595) and St. Cloud State University (No. 599).
