U.S. News & World Report Ranks Alverno College Highest in the State for Strong Commitment to Teaching, Innovation

September 10, 2018

Alverno College is ranked among the Midwest's top universities for its strong commitment to teaching and is Wisconsin's most innovative school, according to the 2019 America's Best Colleges guidebook released Monday by U.S. News & World Report.

College presidents, provosts and admissions deans were asked to “identify schools where the faculty have an unusually strong commitment to undergraduate teaching.” Ranked third in this category and appearing in the category for its entire nine-year year history, Alverno is the only Wisconsin university to be honored for its faculty's commitment to undergraduate teaching.

Alverno is also the only Wisconsin college recognized in the “Most Innovative Schools” category, ranked third among Midwest regional universities, behind Butler University and Creighton University. Schools identified in this category are “making the most innovative improvements in terms of curriculum, faculty, students, campus life, technology or facilities.” Alverno also made the list of “Best Value Schools” among regional universities.

“Our dedication to academic excellence and real-world applications are what enable us to prepare innovative, principled women to have an impact on the world around them,” Scott Zeman, Ph.D., the college's vice president of Academic Affairs, said of Alverno's 18th consecutive appearance in the annual rankings. “We are deeply committed to student success, and this recognition from U.S. News & World Report shines a light on that commitment.”

Additionally, Alverno is recognized for ethnic diversity. Schools in this category are recognized as places where students are most likely to encounter undergraduates from a different ethnic group than their own. Of the undergraduate population for the 2017-18 academic year, 27% of Alverno students identified as Hispanic or Latina, 13% as African American, 6% as Asian, 4% as two or more races and 1% as American Indian or Alaska Native. This makes Alverno, Wisconsin's first Hispanic-Serving Institution, one of the state's most diverse colleges.

The U.S. News & World Report rankings evaluate colleges and universities on 16 measures of academic quality, including quantitative data that assess a college's performance in areas such as graduation rates, first-year retention and faculty resources. Colleges and universities in each category are then ranked against their peers based on their composite weighted scores. The full listing can be found at usnews.com.