Alfred State Ranked Top 10 for all Northern Regional Colleges

The 2020 US News & World Report Best Colleges rankings show Alfred State College (ASC) tied for No. 6 on the Top Public Schools list for Northern Regional Colleges. ASC is also a stellar No. 1 among SUNY regional colleges. When compared to all public and private colleges in the 11-state northern region, Alfred State tied for No. 10, up two spots from last year.

“Our college continues to maintain or even improve many of our terrific rankings each year on the well-respected Best Colleges list,” said Alfred State President Dr. Skip Sullivan. “This is a collective achievement involving the efforts and accomplishments of our students, faculty, and staff alike. We are very proud of our 2020 rankings and even prouder that Alfred State is obviously a top choice for students.”

This is the 13th straight year ASC is highly ranked by the publication. The US News definition of a regional college is one that focuses on undergraduate education with less than 50 percent of the degrees in liberal arts disciplines. This makes for a more career-ready graduate. In the north, US News is very selective in only awarding a numeric ranking to 46 regional colleges for the 2020 list.

Northern Regional College top 10 honors for Alfred State include:

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  No. 1 SUNY among northern regional colleges.
• No. 1 (tie) Colleges with 2,000+ enrollment, both public and private.
• No. 2 Best Value among northern public colleges.
• No. 2 Highest Social Mobility among northern public colleges.
• No. 3 Colleges with out-of-state tuition under $15,000, both public and private.
• No. 3 Best Colleges for Veterans among northern public colleges.
• No. 3 Best Colleges for Veterans among northern public and private colleges.
• No. 4 in Economic Diversity among top 25 northern public and private colleges.
• No. 5 Best Value among northern public and private colleges.
• No. 5 (tie) Highest Social Mobility among northern public and private colleges.
• No. 6 (tie) Top Public Schools in northern region.
• No. 8 (tie) First-year Retention Rate among northern public and private colleges.
• No.10 (tie) Best among northern public and private colleges.

Social Mobility is a new category this year, as US News added a ranking based on Pell Grant graduation rates versus the graduation rates of others. A Social Mobility Index (SMI) tracks how successful colleges are at admitting first-generation and underrepresented students, while following through to support their academic success and ability to secure careers making higher incomes than their parents. According to CollegeNET, Alfred State ranks No. 35 nationally on the Social Mobility Index and No. 9 in New York. The Social Mobility Index is based on data from Payscale, a website that provides information about salary, benefits, and compensation; and IPEDS, the core postsecondary education data collection program for the National Center for Education Statistics.

US News & World Report’s Best Colleges list is one of the most sought-after rankings among colleges and universities across the nation. The rankings include data on more than 1,900 colleges, with schools ranked in 15 areas related to academic excellence.