The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education 2018 College Rankings has ranked Michigan Technological University in the top 15 percent of colleges and universities nationwide.
Michigan Tech was ranked 155 of 1,054 institutions in the rankings released today. Among 275 Midwest colleges and universities, Michigan Tech ranked 33rd.
Times Higher Education is a weekly magazine on higher education, published in the United Kingdom by the Times of London. They collaborate with the Wall Street Journal on their world university rankings.
According to the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education website (WSJ/THE), the rankings are based on performance indicators designed to answer the questions that matter most to students and their families when making one of the most important decisions of their lives – who to trust with their education. These questions include: “Does the college have sufficient resources to teach me properly? Will I be engaged and challenged by my teachers and classmates? Does the college have a good academic reputation? What type of campus community is there? How likely am I to graduate, pay off my loans and get a good job?”
Factors evaluated by WSJ/THE include resources, engagement, outcomes and environment. Michigan Tech ranked highest on outcomes, such as graduation rate, graduates’ salaries, loan default rate and academic reputation.
"The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education rankings are increasingly being recognized across the nation and worldwide as being among the best, if not the best, at measuring the results or output of higher education institutions, rather than counting inputs and vague notions of status,” said Michigan Tech President Glenn Mroz. “We've always said our students and alumni are most satisfied with what they can do with what they learn at Michigan Tech. The same goes for the institution as a whole—our faculty, staff, students and alums are most satisfied with what Michigan Tech can do with our talented people who do the right things right every day. This recognition is a significant pat on the back for all.”
The data used in the WSJ/THE rankings comes from the US government’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). The US Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid Center and College Scorecard and the US Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis, as well as a US student survey and academic reputation survey conducted by Times Higher Education, and Elsevier’s citation database.
Basis of Ranking
Factors evaluated by WSJ/THE include:
Resources: Does the college have the capacity to effectively deliver teaching? Within this, the ranking looks at amount of money spent per student, faculty per student, research papers per faculty
Engagement: Does the college effectively engage with its students? Most of the data in this area is gathered through the THE US Student Survey. Within this, the WSJ/THE looks at student engagement, student recommendation, interaction between teachers and students, number of accredited programs.
Outcomes: Does the college generate good and appropriate outputs? Does it add value to the students who attend? Factors considered include graduation rate, graduate salaries, loan default rate and academic reputation.
Environment: Is the college providing a learning environment for all students? Does it make efforts to attract a diverse student body and faculty? The WSJ/THE looks at percentage of international students, student diversity, student inclusion and staff diversity.
Michigan Tech’s strongest ranking was in outcomes.
Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.
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