By Katie Ellis
November 15, 2018
Binghamton University rose from #87 to #80 in this year’s U.S. News & World Report’s ranking of national universities, also moving from #37 to #32 for public universities.
The magazine publishes its rankings of all national universities each fall, and Binghamton has been in the high 80s for the past several years.
This year, U.S. News updated its methodology to place more emphasis on student outcomes, which helped Binghamton, said Harvey Stenger, University president. “The rankings tend to heavily favor private schools – the top 20 are privates and the competition is really geared toward the privates – but this year they made some changes that go beyond the reputational ranking.
“Binghamton does well in the rankings for student outcomes including its excellent graduation rate, freshman retention rate, and, new this year, Pell-eligible students, which helped us achieve a higher ranking this year,” Stenger said.
Stenger noted that he is proud of the company Binghamton keeps in national rankings. “I am always amazed when I look at the schools that are around us,” he said. “We’re ranked higher than Michigan State. And not being as identifiable as these schools with big-time athletics programs or 50,000 students – it can be hard to get name recognition.
“We’re always fighting this battle due to our lack of recognition, but in rankings based on student outcomes, we do really well,” he added.
Our students graduate and go on to be successful, Stenger said. “We attract students who come from hard-working backgrounds and access is important for us. Our students move onto great positions. They come with a certain amount of grittiness that, ‘We’re going to make something of ourselves.’
“I think being in the top 50 and the #32 public is something we should be proud of,” Stenger said. “Look and see who is in our neighborhood. They are places that everybody recognizes and we’re doing much better even without the name recognition.”
In addition to its ranking on the U.S. News’ national universities list, Binghamton was #62 on the publication’s Best Value Colleges list, rose from #128 to #108 on its Best Undergraduate Business Program for its School of Management programs, and appeared at #116 on its Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs list for its Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science programs.
Other recent accolades:
• The Princeton Review: “Best Value Colleges for 2019,” says, "One of the central institutions in one of the country's strongest public university systems, Binghamton University upholds rigorous academic, cultural and engagement standards ... and you're sure to get the best bang for your buck."
• Binghamton was rated one of only 10 Best Buy public universities in the nation and a premier public university in the Northeast by The Fiske Guide to Colleges (2019).
