Washington Monthly Ranks UB #29 Nationally for Contributions to Public Good
September 2, 2017
Contact: Office of Government and Public Affairs
Phone: 410.837.5739
The University of Baltimore has been ranked #29 nationally in Washington Monthly's annual assessment of colleges and universities based on their contributions to the public good. The ranking, in the category of "Best Colleges for Adult Learners – 4 Year Colleges," is part of the publication's overall look at colleges' and universities' ability to support students in various measurable ways:
"We rate schools 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 PhDs), and Service (encouraging students to give something back to their country)," the magazine says in its introduction to the rankings.
For the category of "Best Colleges for Adult Learners – 4 Year Colleges," no institution in Maryland, public or private, ranked higher than UB. In fact, the University of Baltimore is the only Maryland-based institution to land in the magazine's top 50. Notre Dame of Maryland University came in at #57.
UB earned the maximum number of points for ease of transfer, and scored well in other areas such as services for adult learners and flexibility of programs.
In the separate category for "Best Bang for the Buck – Northeast," the University of Baltimore placed #14 in the region. UB came in one place ahead of Princeton University and one behind the University of Pennsylvania, for its graduates' performance across several categories including earnings (#5 out of 385 ranked schools in the region), first-generation performance (#103 out of 385), and others.
UB also was ranked #66 in the category "National Universities – Masters."
Washington Monthly says that no other publication provides a ranking specifically for students 25 or older, despite the fact that a rising number of all college students fall into that category.
"[C]olleges that cater to adult students, the kind with jobs and families, aren't given much attention or credit by the usual gatekeepers," the magazine says in its introduction. "There's never been a good reason for this bias, and it makes even less sense today, when roughly 40 percent of all college students are adults (defined as twenty-five years old or older). Yes, America's young people are our future, as the commencement speakers say. But with rampant income inequality and stagnant wages, our higher education system must also do more to help adults earn the diplomas they need to get ahead."
Check out the 2017 Best Colleges for Adult Learners – 4 Year Colleges and Best Bang for the Buck – Northeast categories in the Washington Monthly 2017 College Rankings.
The University of Baltimore is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the College of Public Affairs, the Merrick School of Business, the UB School of Law and the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences.