Photo Courtesy of Giancarlo Sepulveda
"US News and World Report" has released its annual assessment of institutions of higher learning in the United States, and Ramapo has ranked fifth among the North Regional Public Universities. The ranking puts the College one spot up from the previous year. Ramapo also ranked 26th overall in the category of North Regional Universities.
The criteria used to assess the rankings of institutions of higher learning has historically been the Carnegie Classification, the system used by “US News and World Report” since 1983 to assess the rankings of colleges. According to their website, “the formula uses quantitative measures that education experts have proposed as reliable indicators of academic quality.”
“We view the ranking as an external affirmation of the work we continue to do to improve Ramapo’s reputation,” said Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Services Christopher Romano. “Rankings are still heavily relied upon by prospective students and their parents during their college search, and so Ramapo’s position in them is important to support our enrollment goals.”
Some of things that Ramapo has been doing to stay high on the list is offering smaller class sizes and giving students opportunities to be taught by a professor rather than a graduate or teaching assistant.
“Ramapo continues to place a high priority on the relationship that develops between faculty and students,” said Romano.
Another initiative that has been taken up by Ramapo is the Pathway Programs that are currently available in the Anisfield School of Business, the Salameno School of Humanities and the Ramapo Global Studies program.
“A generous gift will allow us to establish Pathway Programs in each of the five schools,” according to Romano. “The Pathways Program will make Ramapo unique, not only in the Northeast, but across the country … Each school will have a program in place that prepares students for their next step, but with a specific focus on the types of post-Ramapo careers that are particular to each of Ramapo’s schools.”
In regard to the future, Ramapo will continue to distinguish itself among the field of contenders.
“We are going to continue to focus on the objectives within our Enrollment Management place, which focuses on increasing our first year retention rate, our four-year graduation rate and executing a marketing and recruitment plan to allow us to continue to enroll highly qualified and diverse classes,” Romano said.
“I think it is great,” exclaimed senior Shannon Corrubia. “I think that the class sizes really do allow for an enriching classroom experience for the price.”
Senior Chris Cummin seems to think differently, “I feel that Ramapo could do a bit more for student life, which I don’t think is reflective of the ranking.”
acastil1@ramapo.edu
