VIENNA, W.Va. – Ohio Valley University recently earned top praise from the Washington Monthly, which ranked Ohio Valley University among the top 50 baccalaureate colleges to attend nationwide.
Unlike other similar guides, Washington Monthly focuses not just on what colleges can do for just students, but what colleges are doing for the country. The ranking report evaluates whether colleges are educating low-income students, or just catering to the affluent. It dives into how institutions are improving the quality of their teaching and whether they are ensuring students receive the most for their money by keeping tuition rates affordable.
Washington Monthly rates 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 report evaluates 1,569 colleges and includes public, private nonprofit and for-profit colleges. The ranking comes on the heels of the annual U.S. News & World Report ranking, which also gave Ohio Valley University high marks for its smaller classroom size, affordability, and graduation rates.
“Washington Monthly’s rankings highlight a number of areas in which OVU not only excels at but exceeds other institution, particularly in the category of service, which accounts for one third of our overall score. In the WM’s rankings, there is no regional breakdown, so our #41 overall ranking nationwide is really quite impressive,” said Dr. Harold Shank, OVU president.
OVU Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Jim Bullock said, “What is also stunning is our #1 ranking in support for community service. Our good showing in the ‘service’ category is a direct result of our having applied for recognition on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll this past year. It is from that data that Washington Monthly bases our score in this category.”
To learn more about Washington Monthly and its ranking report, visit http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide/rankings_2012/national_university_rank.php.
Chartered in 1958, Ohio Valley University is a residential faith-based Tier I institution with four colleges offering 35 undergraduate degrees and a master of education degree to students from 28 states and 14 nations. To learn more about the university, visit www.ovu.edu.
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