Best KY Colleges for the Country

The college ratings of the Washington Monthly are different.  They rank colleges not by how "selective" they are (seeking only Rapey McLiarFace types), but by how inclusive they are, opening doors to the non-rich and the un-privileged.

They rank colleges by how much they promote public service among their students - the military, non-profits, etc.

They rank colleges by their investment in and promotion of scientific research.

Here, let them explain it:

Thirteen years ago, the Washington Monthly set out to solve a problem. The higher education market was dominated by the U.S. News & World Report rankings, which reward wealth, fame, and exclusivity. College leaders responded to the temptation of better U.S. News scores by raising prices, chasing status, and marketing themselves to the children of privilege.

We thought the nation needed exactly the opposite: smart, well-run colleges that enrolled students from all walks of life and helped them earn a high-quality diploma at an affordable price. Colleges that instilled a sense of service and public obligation while producing groundbreaking research.

So we decided to do something about it and create our own ranking—not based on what colleges do for themselves, but on what they do for their country. After all, everyone benefits when colleges push the boundaries of scientific discovery and provide paths to opportunity for the next generation of low-income students. And everyone pays for college, through taxes and other forms of public support.

Check out the complete 2018 Washington Monthly rankings here. 

Today, the Washington Monthly rankings are often listed alongside (or above) U.S. News when colleges tout their national standing. We rate schools on three equally weighted criteria: social mobility, research, and public service. Instead of rewarding schools that reject 95 percent of applicants, we give high marks to colleges that enroll lots of low-income students and help them graduate and earn a good living without too much debt. We factor in pure research spending and the number of undergraduates who go on to earn PhDs. And we give extra weight to colleges that send their graduates out into the world to serve the community at large.

Kentucky colleges and universities are ranked on the Washington Monthly list:  some high, some low.  Here are this year's:

Berea College ranks number one in the country among liberal arts colleges.  It's been number one for years, mostly because tuition is free, but also because the education is superb.  It will likely stay there for a while.

Among vocational certificate programs, Ashland Community and Technical College in Ashland is rated third best in the nation for Welding.   No Kentucky program made the "worst in the nation" lists.

Among best 4-year colleges for adult learners, the University of Kentucky lands at 69 and Midway University at 94 out of 100.

Among "Best Bang for the Buck Colleges," listed by region, the list for the South has Berea College at number one, of course, but Alice Lloyd College made number 6 and Midway College made number 23 out of 50.

On the list of 316 national universities, the highest ranked Kentucky school was the University of Louisville, at 169.  The University of Kentucky followed at 180, University of the Cumberlands at 249, and Spaulding University at 310.

And finally, among 150 Baccalaureate Colleges, Kentucky Weslyan is the 15th best in the nation, and Alice Lloyd College is 31st.

These are schools that genuinely serve their students as well as the country.  Kentucky can do better than this, people. Stop the hemorrhaging of funding leading to massive cuts in programs and ridiculous tuition and fees. Restore real liberal arts education to our state schools.  Ignore that ignorant billionaire philistine in the Governor's mansion and remember what tax-payer-funded education is supposed to do.