Champlain’s Comprehensive Education Keeps It in the Top Ranking of 2015 ‘America’s Best Colleges’

Champlain College sunset view from Miller Information Commons Library.

Champlain College held steady at #14 in the list of the 2015 U.S. News & World Report's' "America's Best Colleges" list of "Best Regional Colleges in the North." The regional ranking includes all colleges in New England, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.

"Champlain College is committed to being the finest small, professionally and globally focused college in the United States. We are honored to be recognized by the US News as one of the top colleges in the region and to be in the company of the other institutions ranked. While we are pleased to be holding strong in a competitive environment our focus remains on ensuring our students success. We are proud of our 90 percent job placement rate for students. It's icing on the cake that these rankings help to broaden the awareness of Champlain so that we can continue in our commitment to preparing students for work and life," said Champlain College President Donald J. Laackman.

There are 367 colleges in four regional categories of institutions that focus on undergraduate education and offer a range of degree programs in the liberal arts and professional fields. Last year, the annual college ranking publication also named Champlain as the top "Up and Comer" college in the North.

Student Ambassadors at Champlain College"Champlain's position in the ranking reflects well upon our commitment to an educational paradigm that focuses on the whole student experience—professional education, core liberal arts, life skills and financial sophistication," said Champlain College Provost and Chief Academic Officer Laurie Quinn.

"We endeavor to be a leader in educating today's students to become skilled practitioners, effective professionals and engaged global citizens. Preparing students for the working world is at the heart of what we do extremely well and these college rankings reflect our commitment to that goal," Laackman added.

The U.S. News & World Report "America's Best Colleges" represents a comprehensive look at how more than 1,400 accredited four-year colleges compare on a set of 15 widely accepted indicators of excellence. Among the many factors weighed in determining the rankings, the key measures of quality are: peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, alumni giving, and graduation rate performance.

Since 1878, Champlain College has provided career-focused education to students from its hilltop campus in Burlington. Champlain offers a traditional undergraduate experience and more than 60 online undergraduate and graduate degrees and certificates. Champlain students can study abroad at its campuses in Montreal, Quebec and Dublin, Ireland.

"The Champlain College community works very hard to ensure our students and families realize every dollar of value for their investment. This recognition in US News and others like Princeton Review, reflects our unwavering commitment by faculty and staff to embrace new and innovative ways to engage our students and prepare them for the 21st century job market," added Catherine O'Rourke, vice president of Enrollment Management at Champlain.

Champlain College's hillside campus in Burlington, VermontCollege officials agree that rankings are one way for students to learn about a school. "More importantly, we have found that prospective students are able to make the best decisions about their educational choices after visiting the campus, meeting other students, touring the facilities and using that knowledge to determine if a school is the right fit for their interests and career choices," said Sarah Boston Andriano, director of Undergraduate Admissions.

Champlain College will hold two fall Open Houses for high school seniors on Saturday, —Sept. 20 and Oct. 25—with a full information program designed for prospective students and their families with student led campus tours and opportunities to meet with faculty and current students. For more information about Champlain College and to arrange a campus visit, go to https://www.champlain.edu/visit.

The 2015 edition of the U.S. News & World Report's "2015 Best Colleges" book is available online and will be on newsstands Sept. 23. More details are available at www.usnews.com

See Champlain College's US News page at http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/champlain-college-3684


Founded in 1878, Champlain College is a small, not-for-profit, private college in Burlington, Vermont, with additional campuses in Montreal, Canada, and Dublin, Ireland. Champlain offers a traditional undergraduate experience from its beautiful campus overlooking Lake Champlain and over 90 residential undergraduate and online undergraduate and graduate degree programs and certificates. Champlain's distinctive career-driven approach to higher education embodies the notion that true learning occurs when information and experience come together to create knowledge. Champlain College is included in the Princeton Review's The Best 384 Colleges: 2019 Edition. For the fourth year in a row, Champlain was named a "Most Innovative School" in the North by U.S. News & World Report's 2019 "America's Best Colleges,” and a “Best Value School” and is ranked in the top 100 “Regional Universities of the North” and in the top 25 for “Best Undergraduate Teaching.” Champlain is also featured in the Fiske Guide to Colleges for 2019 as one of the "best and most interesting schools" in the United States, Canada and Great Britain and is a 2019 College of Distinction. For more information, visit champlain.edu.