Page 7 - The Bell Tower - Winter/Spring 2014

Recognition Grows
The University picked up a lot of national recognition last fall with three repeat awards, to go along with a new national recognition. Together, they place UMFK in
the forefront of public colleges and universities that provide caring, quality, and affordable education to the people of the St. John Valley, the state of Maine, and beyond.
The awards season began with UMFK retaining its perfect record by being named
a Best Northeastern College by the presti- gious publication, The Princeton Review, for a ninth successive year. The University is one of 226 outstanding colleges and universities in the 11-state Northeastern region that The Princeton Review recommends to college applicants in its 2014 print and online editions.
The Princeton Review’s Best Northeastern Colleges are chosen based upon institutional data it collects from several hundred schools in each region, from its visits to schools over the years, and from the opin- ions of independent and high school-based college advisors whose recommendations are solicited.
The Princeton Review also takes into account what each school’s customers – its students – report to them about their campus experiences in an 80-question survey. The survey asks students to rate their schools in several categories, from the accessibility of their professors to the quality of the campus food. It also asks students questions about themselves, their fellow students, and cam- pus life.
Just two weeks after The Princeton Review recognition, The University was selected for a third consecutive year as
a College of Distinction for the 2013-14 academic year. UMFK was one of only 200 colleges and universities, nationwide, to be included in the distinguished listing.
The Colleges of Distinction are a unique group of colleges and universities that are nationally recognized by education profes- sionals as excellent schools. All schools demonstrate four distinctions: they engage students; they provide great teaching; they exist in vibrant communities; and, they dem- onstrate successful student outcomes.
The goal of Colleges of Distinction is to provide students, high school guidance counselors, and parents, with information about schools that excel in those key areas. It describes schools that take a holistic approach to admissions decisions, that con- sistently excel in providing undergraduate education, and that have a truly national reputation.
Colleges of Distinction also gives stu- dents, guidance counselors, and parents
an unbiased look at the college admissions process. It looks at the myths surrounding college admissions, provides tools for self- assessment, and provides insights from college admissions professionals, high school counselors, students, and parents.
UMFK achieved another significant mile- stone at the start of the fall semester with its ranking as a top 10 public college in the North region by U.S. News & World Report in its 2014 edition.
This latest U.S. News & World Report ranking is a crowning achievement in UMFK’s meteoric rise up the ladder of top public col- leges. The University’s placement among the top 10 public colleges and universities in the North region follows three consecutive years as a top 15 public institution. UMFK first achieved top-tier college status in U.S. News & World Report’s 2011 rankings.
The U.S. News ranking is based on key measures of quality that education experts have proposed as reliable indicators of academic quality. The indices include: peer assessment; graduation and retention rates; faculty resources; student selectivity; finan- cial resources; and, alumni giving.
For prospective students and their families, the U.S. News rankings provide an excellent starting point to help identify colleges and universities that are right for them. They offer the opportunity to judge the relative quality
of institutions based on widely-accepted indicators of excellence.
The final distinction bestowed upon the University was a new one. Victory Media, a service-disabled, veteran-owned small busi- ness that has served the military community since 2001, named UMFK a 2014 Military Friendly School.
The Military Friendly Schools list honors the nation’s top colleges, universities, and trade schools that do the most to embrace America’s military service members, veter- ans, and spouses as students and ensure
their success. UMFK’s inclusion on the list of Military Friendly Schools is a reflection of its commitment to providing a supportive envi- ronment for military students.
The University has actively begun recruit- ing members of the military, and their depen- dents, throughout the state of Maine at National Guard units and other military instal- lations. Last fall, representatives of the UMFK Admissions Office travelled to the U.S. Marine Corps Camp Lejeune, in North Carolina, to present at its National Job Fair & Education Expo.
Service men and women, and their dependents are largely an untapped student market, and UMFK is dedicated to meeting the educational and career needs of both the traditional, as well as, the non-traditional stu- dents within that market segment. The 1,868 colleges, universities, and trade schools that made the 2014 Military Friendly Schools list exhibit leading practices in the recruitment and retention of students with military experience.
2013
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