For the third-straight year, The College of Idaho earned top honors among colleges and universities in Idaho according to research done by the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education.
The College came in at no. 360 out of over 800 schools listed by the report. That is an improvement of 23 spots from last fall when the College was ranked no. 383. On top of being the top-ranked institution in Idaho, it marked the third-straight year the College moved upward in the rankings.
The College is the only school in Idaho to rank in the top 400 overall. Similarly, among its athletic rivals, The College of Idaho is the top-ranked institution among all Cascade Conference schools.
The overall rankings compare all schools, large and small, public and private, and is derived by how well each school sets its students up for life after graduation and how well equipped it is to teach those students while they’re enrolled. The Times Higher Education conducts surveys of undergraduates at every school on the list, and the ranking takes into account how engaged the student body is in their curriculum.
The College of Idaho scored well in the resources category, defined as “a proxy for the spending schools put into instruction and student services,” which out-distanced its nearest competitor in Idaho by over 200 spots in the rankings.
To explore all the rankings, click here.
“We are elated to see that through the efforts of an aligned faculty, staff and board of trustees, we have once again moved up in the Wall Street Journal national college rankings and remain the No. 1 College in Idaho,” said College of Idaho Co-President Jim Everett. “Affirmation of the world-class education provided at The College of Idaho is evidenced by our largest incoming class ever, with the highest academic profile in recent years, a great blend of rural and urban students, more than 80 different countries represented, and about 60-percent of our students coming from right here in Idaho.”
The top three schools in the research were Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Yale.
The WSJ/THE rankings, in its own words, is derived from the following:
The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings are based on 15 key indicators that assess colleges in four areas: Outcomes, Resources, Engagement and Environment. Outcomes accounts for 40% of the weighting and measures things like the salary graduates earn and the debt burden they take on. Resources are rated as 30% of the score. Engagement, drawn mostly from a student survey and with a 20% weight, examines views on items like instruction and interactions with faculty and other students. Environment, at 10%, assesses the diversity of the educational community.
“With many colleges facing declining enrollments, we are pleased that people are seeing the value in attending a college with the highest graduation rate in the state,” added Everett. “The College of Idaho continues to provide a great return on investment in job placement, lifetime earnings and career satisfaction.”
The College has been featured in many other recent publications and website rankings that recognize the exceptional academic experience achieved at the College, including:
- A national and northwest “Hidden Gem” (College Raptor)
- “Best in the West” acknowledgement in regional breakdown (Princeton Review)
- Best College/University value in Idaho (Kiplinger)
- Top college/university in Idaho, top-100 liberal arts college in the United States (College Consensus)
- Top-300 college/university (Fiske’s Guide to Colleges)
- Idaho’s top college/university for job placement (Zippia)
- Top 25-percent of liberal arts colleges in the nation (Washington Monthly)
The College of Idaho has a 128-year-old legacy of excellence. The College is known for its outstanding academic programs, winning athletics tradition and history of producing successful graduates, including seven Rhodes Scholars, three governors, and countless business leaders and innovators. Its distinctive PEAK Curriculum challenges students to attain competency in the four knowledge peaks of humanities, natural sciences, social sciences and a professional field—empowering them to earn a major and three minors in four years. The College’s close-knit, residential campus is located in Caldwell, where its proximity both to Boise and to the world-class outdoor activities of southwest Idaho’s mountains and rivers offers unique opportunities for learning beyond the classroom. For more information, visit www.collegeofidaho.edu.