Washington Monthly - September/October 2012 - (Page 29)

Pell Grants struggle to graduate even half of their students; at Berea nearly two-thirds finish in a reasonable amount of time. Tougaloo College, a small, private, historically black institution in Mississippi, has struggled financially in recent years. But it continues to enroll large numbers of low-income students, graduate more of them than expected, and keep prices low. Tougaloo also ranks above better-known colleges in research, helping to put the college in the top twenty on our rankings. The Johnnies of St. John’s College in Maryland (number nineteen) remain proudly independent, sticking to a “Great Books” curriculum even as many colleges eschew any curriculum at all. It’s not for everyone, which is probably why the college’s 73 percent graduation rate, while respectable, is still slightly below par. But those who remain go on to earn PhDs at a rate far beyond their numbers, and the college’s success in sending graduates into the Peace Corps is just as impressive. St. John’s also has a campus in New Mexico, which, for very similar reasons, ranks second on our list of master’s universities. liberal arTs colleges rank in U.S. NewS (2012) Top 30 25 3 71 6 18 94 1 25 6 2 71 24 12 57 19 11 Rank not published 10 139 19 14 85 57 68 162 4 51 21 157 42 Everyday Excellence Research universities and liberal arts colleges that draw students from across the nation get the lion’s share of attention from the media. But huge numbers of students attend regional, master’s-granting universities and colleges that focus on job-related fields along with the liberal arts. The best of them give far more to their country than do their more prominent peers. Elizabeth City State University, a public, historically black institution in North Carolina, tops our ranking of baccalaureate institutions. Tuskegee University, another historically black college, comes in at number three. Both enroll large numbers of low-income students and graduate more of them than statistics predict. Elizabeth City is extremely affordable, with one of the lowest reported net prices in the nation. Tuskegee maintains a strong pipeline into the ROTC program, and tops all but a handful of peers in research. Converse College, an economically diverse all-female liberal arts college in South Carolina, is our third-ranked master’s institution, by virtue of its strong commitment to service and record of graduating women who go on to earn PhDs. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. Bryn MaWr CollEGE (Pa) Swarthmore College (PA) Berea College (KY) Carleton College (MN) Harvey Mudd College (CA) New College of Florida (FL) Williams College (MA) Macalester College (MN) Wellesley College (MA) Amherst College (MA) Knox College (IL) Oberlin College (OH) Wesleyan University (CT) Reed College (OR) Smith College (MA) Davidson College (NC) Tougaloo College (MS) Haverford College (PA) St. John’s College (MD) Grinnell College (IA) Vassar College (NY) Millsaps College (MS) Willamette University (OR) Kalamazoo College (MI) Warren Wilson College (NC) Pomona College (CA) Rhodes College (TN) Bates College (ME) Guilford College (NC) Whitman College (WA) Better Measures The larger the cost of college grows, the more important it becomes for college graduates to find well-paying jobs that allow them to pay back their loans. Since 2006, the Washington Monthly has been advocating for public officials to publish employment results for individual colleges, such as average earnings among graduates one, three, and five years after leaving college, and the percentage of students who land jobs in their fields of study. College is about more than getting a job, of course. At its best, higher education helps produce a more enlight- ened, humane citizenry. But most students go after a degree because they know the modern economy affords few opportunities for a good career without one. When they choose colleges, they should know which institutions are most likely to help them succeed. And the cost of generating these measures is trivial—state and federal labor agencies already keep track of earnings in order to calculate unemployment insurance, enforce child support orders, and distribute Social Security benefits. The biggest barrier to giving students information about college success in the employment arena is colleges themselves, whose lobbyists have opposed attempts to publish the data and often refuse to comply with employment disclosure regulations that are already on the books. Some colleges aren’t doing a good job Washington Monthly 29

Washington Monthly - September/October 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Washington Monthly - September/October 2012