UNE named to Forbes' list of America's Top Colleges for 2014

The University of New England has been named to Forbes‘ list of America’s Top Colleges for 2014, a list that Forbes says is based on “output” and “return on investment.”

Forbes‘ acknowledgment of the value of a University of New England degree follows similar recognition by Affordable Colleges Online, a website reporting on higher education affordability, which recently ranked UNE second in student return on investment (ROI) among 43 public and private colleges and universities in Maine.

Forbes explains that “what sets our calculation of 650 colleges and universities apart from other rankings is our firm belief in “output” over “input.” We’re not all that interested in what gets a student into college, like our peers who focus heavily on selectivity metrics such as high school class rank and SAT scores. Our sights are set directly on ROI: What are students getting out of college.”

To prepare its list, Forbes partnered with the Washington, D.C.-based Center for College Affordability and Productivity (CCAP) which gathered data from five general categories:

• Student satisfaction
• Post-graduate success
• Student debt
• Four-year graduation rate
• Academic success

Forbes looked at “factors that directly concern today’s incoming students (and their families) who will be footing a bill which has multiplied into the six figures: Will my classes be interesting? Is it likely I will graduate in four years? Will I incur a ton of debt getting my degree? And once I get out of school, will I get a good job and be a leader in my chosen profession? We pointedly ignore any metrics that would encourage schools to engage in wasteful spending.”

There are about 4,500 degree-granting institutions of higher learning in the U.S., and of those, Forbes ranked only the top 650. The University of New England ranked number 433 overall. Among private colleges, UNE ranked #302, and among colleges in the Northeast, UNE ranked #152.

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