Sep 14, 2021
The preeminent college ranking publication has once again given high marks to St. Bonaventure University.
In U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 college rankings released Monday, St. Bonaventure is ranked among the nation’s best college values. SBU ranks No. 5 on the list of Best Regional University Values in the North, an 11-state region from Maryland to Maine.
For the first time, St. Bonaventure faculty were recognized by U.S. News, ranking 18th in the North for Best Undergraduate Teaching. The ranking recognizes institutions that have a strong commitment to teaching undergraduates instead of conducting graduate-level research.
“I’ve never been prouder to be a member of such an effective and caring group of faculty members,” said Dr. Joseph Zimmer, acting president and a longtime professor in the School of Education. “The long-standing positive peer pressure among our faculty to be excellent teachers and scholars is being recognized, and I congratulate my colleagues on this wonderful honor.”
St. Bonaventure also moved up one spot from 2021 to 18th (out of 179) on the U.S. News & World Report all-criteria ranking of Best Regional Universities in the North. The university was also named once again among the “Best 387 Colleges” in the nation by Princeton Review.
Since fall 2015, SBU’s overall enrollment of 2,606 is up 30%, driven largely by four consecutive large freshman classes that have averaged 504 students and a dramatic increase in graduate enrollment.
St. Bonaventure’s last four freshman classes have been the four largest in the last 13 years, and the university’s growing suite of online and health-related graduate programs has caused a 147% increase in graduate enrollment, from 325 in 2015 to 804 in 2021.
On campus, the university welcomed its first class of occupational therapy graduate students this fall into its School of Health Professions just eight months after bringing aboard its first cohort of physician assistant studies students. Historic Francis Hall has undergone an $18 million renovation to house the school’s programs, which also includes two undergraduate nursing programs, health science, public health, and a new master’s program in public health beginning next fall.
The U.S. News list of regional universities in the North includes colleges that offer a full range of master’s degree programs. The magazine determined the value ranking using three figures from 2020-21: ratio of academic quality to price, percentage of undergraduates receiving need-based aid and average discount.
Complete rankings of nearly 1,600 schools nationwide are available at www.usnews.com/education. They will also be published in this month’s issue of U.S. News & World Report, on newsstands starting this week.
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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. In 2022, St. Bonaventure was named the #5 regional university value in the North by U.S. News and World Report.