The college rankings season is well under way, and Goucher College has fared well, particularly among classifications that measured such important factors as academic quality, environmental sustainability, and study abroad. Here is a brief compendium of Goucher’s inclusion in many of the most closely watched college ranking publications:
- Goucher once again has been included in The Princeton Review’s annual guide The Best 378 Colleges¸ based on the college’s outstanding academic programs. Additionally, Goucher was No. 1 on the guide’s 2014 list of schools with the “Most Popular Study Abroad Program. Only about 15 percent of America’s 2,500 four-year colleges, along with four colleges outside the United States, are profiled in the guide. While the Princeton Review does not provide an overall rank of the colleges in the book, it does include detailed profiles of all the colleges with rating scores in eight categories, including academics, admissions selectivity, financial aid, fire safety, and green rating.
- Goucher was included in The Princeton Review’s Guide to 322 Green Colleges: 2013 Edition, the most recently published, for its “strong commitment to the environment and to sustainability.” Goucher was cited for conducting public inventories of all greenhouse gas emissions on campus, implementing an institutional action plan to become climate neutral, spending 30 percent of its food budget on local/organic food, offering alternative transportation, purchasing 100 percent of the school’s energy from renewable resources, providing guidance on green jobs, and making environmental sustainability a core educational requirement. The guide was compiled using data solicited from hundreds of colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. The survey asked administrators about their institution’s sustainability-related policies, practices, and programs. Each college was given a “Green Rating,” a numerical score from 60 to 99 that is based on several data points, including percentage of food expenditures on local and organic food, waste diversion rates, environmental literacy requirements, and sustainable transportation options.
- Goucher has been included in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2014, which the editor calls a compendium of the “best and most interesting colleges and universities.” According to the guide, “Strategically located near Baltimore and not far from D.C., Goucher offers an excellent internship program and is among the few colleges that requires all students to spend time studying or working abroad.” The college is cited for its “long-standing history of excellence,” “rigorous general education program,” “trademark small classes and individual attention,” as well as for its study abroad requirement for all undergraduates. The guide is a collection of profiles of more than 320 colleges and universities in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, and Ireland.
- The Washington Monthly magazine included Goucher among its liberal arts college rankings for 2013. Schools were rated based on their contribution to the public good in three broad categories: social mobility (recruiting and graduating low-income students), research (producing cutting-edge scholarship and doctorates), and service (encouraging students to give something back to their country). The college also was listed in the magazine’s new rankings based on the economic value students receive per dollar: Best Bang for the Buck.
- Goucher was listed as one of the “Best Colleges for Nontraditional Students” by BestColleges.com. Best Colleges uses student surveys, faculty surveys, independent research, ranking systems, and the input of highly credible and authoritative sources to create a database of listings. Goucher College was credited for being the only college in the country to require study abroad to equip graduates with a multicultural experience and for “providing instruction from other perspectives, which enables students to be better-rounded and more open-minded. This gives nontraditional students a great opportunity, both for personally edification and coveted résumé content.”
- Goucher, like many liberal arts colleges around the country, does not participate in US News & World Report’s reputational survey in which college and university presidents rate similar institutions. (These reputation surveys account for 22.5 percent of a college’s ranking in the National Universities and National Liberal Arts Colleges categories.) However, in this year’s rankings publication Goucher maintained its No. 110 position. Additionally, the college was included in the list of A+ Schools for B Students and was one of 31 schools on the Notable Programs list for study abroad and was at the top of the online list of study abroad colleges and universities with 100 percent participation. College presidents, chief academic officers, deans of students, and deans of admissions from more than 1,500 schools nominated institutions with stellar examples of study abroad programs; Goucher was among the 31 institutions in the nation mentioned most often.
- Goucher took top prize for its virtual tour, as judged by eduStyle, a web design gallery of higher education websites. eduStyle’s higher-ed web awards celebrate the most innovative and exciting developments in key areas of higher education web development among 18 categories.
- Goucher was one of just four colleges and universities worldwide that were up for a Webby Award, sometimes referred to as the Oscars of the Internet, in the best website category. More than 11,000 entries were received from more than 60 countries, the most in its history. Goucher competed against the University of Maryland, the University of Chicago, the New School, and the Salt Institute. The group behind the award, the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, is a global organization of industry experts and technology innovators. Nominees are selected for recognition based on excellence in content, structure and navigation, visual design, functionality, interactivity, and overall experience.