Wall Street Journal Ranks SMC In Top 20 Percent of U.S. Higher-Ed Institutions

Saint Mary’s College of California is ranked among the top 20 percent of U.S. colleges and universities in The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education 2018 College Rankings guide. 

"We are extremely proud that Saint Mary's continues to receive high praise from The Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education,” said President James Donahue. "Although, given the quality of our outstanding faculty and their unwavering commitment to ensuring our students become the very best versions of themselves, personally, academically, spiritually, and professionally, I am also not surprised. Saint Mary's is an extraordinary institution, and we are delighted that more people will see these impressive rankings and learn about the remarkable education that takes place on our campus." 

The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education guide to colleges and universities concentrates on graduate achievement and student learning at its center and focuses on four key areas of performance— resources, engagement, outcomes, and environment. The WSJ again highlighted Saint Mary’s for its success in student engagement and for the College’s diverse academic environment.

“These rankings are a true affirmation of the College’s academic distinctiveness,” said Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Bethami Dobkin. “They also underscore the College’s Catholic, Lasallian mission, and liberal arts traditions that enable our students to think critically and flourish intellectually in an inclusive environment where the focus on student engagement and success is unwavering.”

In determining student engagement, the WSJ/THE rankings examined questions such as how does a university support critical thinking, how does the institution’s teaching support application of student learning to the real world, and how does the curriculum promote new ways of thinking?

The guide gave Saint Mary’s high marks in its assessment of engagement at the College, which earned a score an 89.6 out of 100 for student interaction with faculty and collaborative learning. In the area of academic environment, which looked at the diversity of the student body and faculty, percentages of first-generation and international students, numbers of Pell Grant recipients, and how institutions provide supportive and inclusive environments, the College also merited distinction. Saint Mary’s scored 92 in student diversity and an 83 in faculty diversity.

The WSJ/THE rankings methodology also explored factors such as how much an institution spends on instruction and supp ort services, faculty publications, faculty student ratios, graduation rates, and the salaries of alumni.

This latest recognition of Saint Mary’s follows other recent acknowledgements of the College as a top-tier institution. In its 2017 edition of Best Colleges, U.S. News & World Report ranked Saint Mary’s as the ninth best regional institution of higher education in the West.