Ithaca College

U.S. News & World Report has once again recognized Ithaca College as among the top colleges and universities in the nation. In its just-released “Best Colleges 2021,” the publication placed IC as the #9 Best University among the 176 institutions of its kind in the North. It is the highest-ranked such school in New York State. Ithaca College was also cited for the quality of its teaching, for being innovative, and for providing a great value.

U.S. News & World Report evaluates colleges and universities using statistical measures that education experts have proposed as reliable indicators of academic quality: first-year student retention and graduation, student excellence, faculty resources, financial resources, alumni giving, graduate indebtedness, expert opinion, social mobility, and graduation rate performance, which is a comparison of the proportion of students expected to graduate and the proportion who did graduate.

The indicators include input measures, which reflect the quality of students, faculty, and other resources used in education; and outcome measures, which signal how well the institution educates its student body.

Ithaca College earned particularly high marks in several rankings categories:

• #4 for Best Undergraduate Teaching, a list that identifies schools that have a strong commitment to teaching undergraduates.
   
•  #12 for Most Innovative Schools, signifying the institutions that are making the most innovative improvements in terms of curriculum, faculty, students, campus life, technology, or facilities.
   
• #12 for Best Value, which takes into account a school’s academic quality and the net cost of attendance, meaning the school provides a quality education at an affordable cost: The higher the quality of the program and the lower the cost, the better the deal.

“Our consistent ranking in the top 10 is both affirming and unsurprising,” said President Shirley M. Collado. “Being recognized for our commitment to teaching excellence and continual innovation speaks to the dedication of our faculty and staff to creating a distinctive learning environment for our students. And as prospective students and their families consider their higher education options, it is especially gratifying to be acknowledged for providing a great value.”

Ithaca College has been regularly ranked in the top 10 on the U.S. News list of regional universities, which the publication says are those that offer a broad scope of undergraduate degrees and some master’s degree programs, but few, if any, doctoral programs (Ithaca College offers one doctoral program). For this category, the rankings are divided into four regions — North, South, Midwest and West. The magazine also has separate rankings for national universities, national liberal arts colleges, and regional colleges.

For more information on the rankings, visit usnews.com/best-colleges.