Roanoke College advances in U.S. News Best Colleges rankings to highest ranking ever
September 12, 2022
Today Roanoke College celebrates a significant climb in U.S. News & World Report's rankings of the 2022-2023 Best Colleges. The new rankings have Roanoke advancing eight spots, from 128 to 120, the college’s highest ranking to date on the National Liberal Arts College list.
“Every member of the Roanoke College community has reason to be proud of this latest piece of good news,” said President Frank Shushok. “At Roanoke, we measure our success by the success of our students, and we are always encouraged when leading entities validate what we do well, which is fostering growth and helping students find personal pathways to meaningful careers. We are committed to improving the lives of our students and happy for this recognition.”
To calculate the rankings, U.S. News focuses on academic quality and places emphasis on outcome measures, including graduation rates, retention rates, graduate indebtedness and social mobility. Outcomes are the most highly weighted ranking factor, contributing 40% to each school's overall score.
Roanoke’s climb in overall ranking this year can be attributed in part to gains made in the area of social mobility. The social mobility indicator measures how well schools graduated students who received federal Pell Grants.
At Roanoke, we measure our success by the success of our students, and we are always encouraged when external entities validate what we do well for students, which is fostering growth and helping them find personal pathways to meaningful careers and lives.
~ President Frank Shushok
Roanoke’s strong performance on the U.S. News rankings underscores its core value of helping students find their purpose and translate their strengths and skills into a successful career.
“Roanoke College’s remarkable faculty and highly customized education are what drew me to my role at the College,” said Kathy Wolfe, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the College. “Our students are supported by faculty, staff, coaches and mentors who help them explore opportunities and find their future paths.”
The U.S. News Best Colleges 2022-2023 edition comes out on the heels of recognition from the Princeton Review. In that guidebook, which was released last month, Roanoke College was listed among the “Best 388 Colleges for 2023” and among the colleges with the best athletic facilities and the colleges with the best student radio stations.
Shushok will continue Roanoke’s tradition of community engagement. He plans to expand Roanoke College’s involvement in partnerships that benefit the Roanoke region and the campus community while giving students the opportunity to make a significant impact with their educational pursuits.
In an op-ed in The Roanoke Times this summer, Shushok said, “Over my more than 30-year career in higher education, I have seen firsthand the impact that a college education has on students’ lives and their capacity to serve their communities, find meaningful and profitable careers, and contribute to solving some of the most pressing issues facing our world.”