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YSU among best regional colleges
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
Youngstown State University again ranked in the second tier of best regional universities in the Midwest, according to U.S. News & World Report 2017 Best College rankings released today.
The second tier includes schools ranked Nos. 123 to 163, listed alphabetically.
It’s about the same place that YSU ranked on the U.S. News’ list last year. On the 2016 list, YSU was in the Midwest’s second tier for best regional universities, too. That tier included schools ranked 114 to 149, listed alphabetically.
“... We certainly pay attention to these rankings, as well as the many other rankings out there, to see what others are saying about where we place,” Ron Cole, a YSU spokesman, said in an email. “Obviously, students and parents – to some extent – look at these kinds of rankings when making decisions, so, again, it’s important that the rankings are on our radar.”
The list is based on academics, and rankings focus on student outcomes, the magazine said in a news release. That includes both graduation and retention rates.
Cole said such lists, though, lump universities together regardless of size or private/public status without taking a school’s individual mission into account.
“What we want to see at YSU, more than exactly where we may rank, is that we are showing improvement,” he said. “Bottom line is that we want to make sure that we are providing the classes, the instructors, the materials and other resources to help our students succeed, graduate on time and leave YSU with a job. And, with little or no debt.”
YSU personnel are developing initiatives to address those goals, and officials are seeing improvement, Cole said.
“If we keep that up, we may just start seeing a tick up in these rankings,” he said.
YSU is among colleges and universities rated highly on several lists including Forbes’ list of America’s Top Colleges. That list includes the top 660 colleges and universities. There are about 4,000 institutions of higher learning in the U.S.