When it comes to choosing a university, incoming students wants to learn the ins and outs of colleges based on major, cost and environment.
According to Winthrop University’s website, the university was recently ranked in “Money Magazine” for the second time in a row on the magazine’s list of Best Colleges for Your Money for 2019. Winthrop President Dan Mahony commented on the efforts of the university and how the ranking is reflective on Winthrop’s mission of affordable and diverse education.
“Receiving this third-party endorsement by ‘Money Magazine’ for two years in a row reinforces Winthrop’s goal of keeping the cost of college within reach for families, a goal that is prioritized in the Winthrop Plan, the university’s strategic plan. I appreciate Winthrop’s faculty and staff and members of the Board of Trustees for their efforts to ensure we offer a high quality educational experience that is accessible to all students,” Mahony said.
According to US News and World Report 2020 Best Colleges on Sept. 9, Winthrop has risen from 25th to 17th in the regional universities for public and private institutions in the South, ranked eighth in public universities and tied for tenth place for most innovative schools. Mahony noted how the rankings are important because they raise awareness about the university, making it more likely for Winthrop’s accomplishments to reach potential students.
“While we do not chase such rankings, it’s always a source of pride and accomplishment to see our campus’ hard work recognized in prestigious publications like U.S. News & World Report,” Mahony said in an email.
Lee Clark, Human Experience’s administrative assistant, said that rankings don’t just show people one university to be the best, they also provide students with information on the school and the quality of the education.
“These rankings are not the goal of our work, but they do give quantitative proof that recent projects at Winthrop are moving this university in the right direction to provide quality education for diverse students,” Clark said.
Mahony sent an email to faculty members at Winthrop on both rankings to congratulate their focus on education and on the students.
“These achievements affirm our commitment to educating students in a well-rounded, student-centered culture. As always, I appreciate your work to make these recognitions possible,” Mahony said.
Guy Reel, department chair for the university’s mass communication department, was among the recipients of the email. He noted how the rankings are a draw for potential students and how they affect the administration.
“These rankings are a plus for Winthrop and certainly are a good public relations tool for the school as it recruits and retains students. The university has made a remarkable rise in the rankings, which shows the success of the administration’s endeavors to provide the best possible learning environment for our students,” Reel said.
Winthrop’s Director of Communications and Marketing Julia Longshaw explained how the rankings from various third party platforms like “The Princeton Review” and “Money Magazine” are a good way of marketing the university.
“These third-party rankings validate what we at Winthrop already know: that Winthrop provides its students with an exceptional education at an affordable cost,” Longshaw said.
Both rankings are valuable recruiting tools to bring students to Winthrop University and see how they can further their education at the university.
“Prospective students consult a variety of factors when considering where to go to school. Rankings are only one of those factors, but I suspect for many students they are very important in their considerations. So that should help with recruiting,” Reel said.
Though quantity and quality are different things, the rankings show the commitment and efforts of the Winthrop faculty from other universities on how they appeal to new students and how they will apply those skills after graduation.
“One of the things that sets Winthrop apart from some other institutions is that every faculty and staff member is dedicated to helping our students achieve success. As they proceed on their journey of personal discovery they will find that, along with rigorous academic preparation, Winthrop is helping them develop as compassionate leaders and engaged citizens,” Longshaw said.
Though rankings are not the main reason that students choose universities, Winthrop professors looking to continue improving themselves and have merit bring the university as a national standard to other colleges.
“I hope that these rankings will help some of the potential students who are still deciding between colleges. Rankings are not usually the primary reason a student chooses a college, but it may be that small extra push for a student who is weighing their options,” Clark said.
Amanda Hiner, an associate professor of English at Winthrop, said in an email that she was “pleased” with how the rankings reflect on the university.
“According to the National Survey for Student Engagement, our students score significantly higher than the national average for student engagement on campus and in the community, for undergraduate research and for applying critical thinking in their learning,” Hiner said.
Photo: Olivia Esselman/ The Johnsonian
