U.S. News & World Report Recognizes Alverno for Strong Commitment to Teaching, Innovation

Alverno College was recognized for its strong commitment to teaching and was named Wisconsin’s most innovative school in rankings released Monday by U.S. News & World Report. The publication’s 2022 America’s Best Colleges guidebook also noted Alverno’s ethnic diversity, social mobility, first-year student experiences, senior capstone experience, learning communities and undergraduate nursing program.

This marks the twelfth consecutive year Alverno was recognized for its commitment to undergraduate teaching. It’s also the only college in the state included in this category for its entire 12-year history. The ranking highlights schools “where the faculty have an unusually strong commitment to undergraduate teaching.”

"Student success, both at the undergraduate and graduate level, is at the very heart of our mission," said Joseph Foy, Ph.D., vice president for Academic Affairs at Alverno. "Our faculty and staff are truly invested in our students, in their learning and in their growth. It's an honor to be recognized for our commitment to teaching."

Alverno was ranked the third most innovative school among Midwest regional universities, higher than any Wisconsin college or university, and noted for making “the most innovative improvements in terms of curriculum, faculty, students, campus life, technology or facilities.”

For the seventh consecutive year, the college was recognized for its “Ethnic Diversity,” ranking third among Midwest regional universities. The ranking indicates an institution where students are most likely to encounter undergraduates from a different ethnic group than their own. Of the undergraduate population for the 2020-21 school year, 34% of Alverno students identified as Hispanic or Latina, 13% as African American, 5% as Asian and 4% as two or more races. This makes Alverno, Wisconsin’s first Hispanic-Serving Institution, one of the state’s most diverse colleges.

In a relatively new category, Alverno was recognized as a top performer for “Social Mobility,” which measures how well schools graduate students who receive Pell grants. U.S. News & World Report “believes that Pell figures are the best available gauge of institutions’ relative commitment to access for all.”

“First Year Experience” highlights schools skillfully bringing together small groups of students with faculty or staff on a regular basis as part of curricular and academic programming. “Learning Communities” recognizes programs where students take two or more linked courses as a group, and “Senior Capstones” are culminating activities for students nearing graduation. In each of these categories, Alverno ranked higher than any other Wisconsin school.

The U.S. News & World Report rankings evaluate colleges and universities on 17 measures of academic quality, including graduation rates, first-year retention and faculty resources. Colleges and universities are grouped into 10 categories based on their academic missions. The full listing can be found at usnews.com.