U.S. News & World Report ranked University of Richmond at No. 27 on the National Liberal Arts College ranking on Tuesday.
Richmond is currently tied at No. 27 with Barnard College, Bates College and Kenyon College. This is a jump in improvement from its No. 32 ranking last year.
“I hope this ranking will positively affect the number of applications for the future class of 2021,” said Gill Villanueva, dean of admissions. “We were ranked at 40 when I first started working here and it got better over time. I personally feel that the improved ranking is a reflection of our growing reputation nationally and globally.”
In August, The Princeton Review also ranked Richmond, placing it at No. 9 for Best Classroom Experience, No. 11 for Best Run Colleges, No. 13 for Most Popular Study Abroad Programs, No. 14 for Best Quality of Life, No. 16 for Most Active Student Government and No. 20 for Most Politically Active Students.
U.S. News & World Report ranks colleges by considering retention rates, academic reputation, faculty, student selectivity, financial resources, graduation rates and alumni giving rates. They acquire this information from the schools directly or from sources such as the NCAA, the Council for Aid to Education and the U.S. Department of Education.
The ranking comes in the midst of controversy over how the administration handles sexual assault cases after two Westhampton College women claimed their Title IX investigations were mishandled. On Monday, the university suspended Kappa Alpha Order fraternity after a member sent a sexist email to almost 100 students.
Freshman Julian Scott says that despite recent events, he feels that the ranking is accurate.
“Academically, classes are high caliber,” he said. “While the student retention rate will probably drop some this year, I think it will cause a relatively small drop in ranking and won’t really affect the ranking process.”
Scott said that although ranking wasn't the most important factor to him, he had paid attention to it when deciding where to attend college.
“A very good thing by product of these rankings is the fact that they force so many colleges and universities to think critically about their institutions and how they can offer better experiences for their faculty, staff and students,” Villanueva said.
Contact reporter Julia Raimondi at julia.raimondi@richmond.edu
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