NEW: Washington Monthly 2012 Rankings—How’d Local Colleges Do?

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

GoLocalWorcester Features Team

Washington Monthly's 2012 college rankings are out, and we've got the latest on how Central MA's schools performed this year. How'd your favorite local school fare?

What matters at Washington Monthly: the public good

Unlike other rankings, Washington Monthly assesses how much a college or university contributes to the public good, and this year the editors have factored in a more strenuous review of cost and bang for the buck. Three areas form the basis of each school's ranking: Social Mobility (recruiting and graduating low-income students), Research (producing cutting-edge scholarship and PhDs), and Service (encouraging students to give something back to their country). Further, Washington Monthly groups schools in four categories: Liberal Arts Colleges, National Universities, Master's Universities, and Baccalaureate Colleges (for more on the methodology, go here).

Clark University

The top-performing Central MA university ranked #107 out of 281 National Universities in 2012, with an overall score of 50. Clark posted its best performance in the area of Community Service, where it ranked #3 overall for Peace Corps ranking, as well as #39 nationally in community service participation among students. The school also performed well in certain Research categories, including #34 for Bachelor's to PhD rank, and #39 for faculty in national academies. Clark's Social Mobility ranking was in the bottom third of the group, though, at #218.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Clark University takes Central MA's top honors in Washington Monthly's latest rankings of National Universities.

WPI, the only other Central MA university to be ranked among National Universities, placed at #180, with a score of 40. WPI's strongest performances were also in the Service component of the ranking, with a #9 ranking for ROTC, and a #79 ranking for federal work study funds spent on community service. WPI can crow about its #30 ranking for Bachelor's to PhD, and be proud of its #91 ranking for faculty in national academies. But like Clark, its Social Mobility ranking was near the bottom, at #225 overall.

College of the Holy Cross

Holy Cross is ranked in Washington Monthly's 254 Liberal Arts Colleges, and placed #173 overall with a score of 31. Highlights included an ROTC ranking of #20, a Bachelor's to PhD rank of #57, and a Research-related laurel for a $1.28 million research budget--placing it at #62 in this group of schools.

Anna Maria College

Out of 682 Master's Universities, Anna Maria was the highest-ranking Central MA school, coming in at #485 (with a score of 35). The school's best performances were in Community Service, ranking #113 in student participation and #135 in service staff, courses, and financial aid support of community service.

Assumption College

This second-highest performer among Master's Universities, Assumption ranked #504 overall for 2012, with a nearly Top 100 ranking for Peace Corps (#105) and a respectable #138 for Bachelor's to PhD rank.

Worcester State University

With a score of 33, Worcester State ranked #537 among Master's Universities in 2012, with a strong performance in Social Mobility (ranking #145), offering Pell Grants to 26% of its students and charging $10,962.

Fitchburg State University

The lowest-ranking Central MA institution in this group, Fitchburg State ranked #597 overall, but did rank a respectable #143 on Social Mobility (26% Pell Grants and a cost of $9,991).

Becker College

Ranked by Washington Monthly in the Baccalaureate Colleges group, Becker ranked #316 out of 352 institutions.

Nichols College

Closing out the list, Nichols finished just four rungs from the bottom of the Baccalaureate Colleges in 2012, with an overall ranking of #348.

For all the rankings for 2012, go here.

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