Eastern Makes List of Top 25 Public Regional Universities in U.S. News and World Report Rankings
Willimantic, CT (09/09/2019) — Eastern Connecticut State University is again the highest ranked institution among Connecticut's four state universities in this year's U.S. News and World Report's edition of "Best Colleges." The 2020 rankings were released on Sept. 9.
This is Eastern's highest ranking ever as it was ranked 21st among public universities in the North Region. Eastern moved up five spots among public institutions over last year's rankings and moved up 13 spots when both public and private institutions were considered.
The North Region includes colleges and universities from New England, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland, and is known as the most competitive among the four regions that make up the U.S. News and World Report ranking system.
Regional universities such as Eastern are ranked based on 15 criteria that include peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, class size, faculty resources, admissions selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving.
"Given the uncertain times facing the higher education community, I am delighted to see Eastern achieving its highest ranking ever," said Eastern President Elsa Nunez. "This is a testament to our commitment to high standards and the faculty and staff's focus on providing students with personal attention. Our improved ranking this year is due to our rising graduation and retention rates as well as the continued quality of our incoming classes.
"Students and their families turn to the Best Colleges rankings to help decide where to attend college. These newest rankings reaffirm that Eastern is providing a relevant and high-quality education on our beautiful residential campus."
This year's U.S. News and World Report rankings included reviews of upwards of 1,400 schools nationwide and are available at www.usnews.com/colleges. They will also be published in the Best Colleges 2020 Guidebook, published by U.S. News & World Report and available on newsstands on Oct. 15.
For the past 35 years, the U.S. News and World Report rankings, which group colleges based on categories created by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, have grown to be the most comprehensive research tool for students and parents considering higher education opportunities.
Written by Ed Osborn
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Eastern Connecticut State University is the state of Connecticut's public liberal arts university, serving 5,200 students annually at its Willimantic campus and satellite locations. In addition to attracting students from 160 of Connecticut's 169 towns, Eastern also draws students from 33 other states and 80 other countries. A residential campus offering 41 majors and 65 minors, Eastern offers students a strong liberal art foundation grounded in an array of applied learning opportunities. Ranked among the top 30 public universities in the North Region by U.S. News and World Report in its 2019 Best College ratings, Eastern has also been awarded 'Green Campus' status by the Princeton Review nine years in a row. For more information, visit www.easternct.edu.
Media Attachments
The class of 2023 gathered for a group photo during the Fall 2019 Warrior Welcome weekend--Eastern draws students from 160 of Connecticut’s 169 towns.
Under the mentorship of Biology Professor Vijaykumar Veerappan, Roshani Budhathoki ’19 was selected for an undergraduate fellowship by the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB).
Environmental earth science students traveled to the mountains of Wyoming and Idaho this summer for a geology field course led by Eastern faculty.