For Immediate Release

Contact:         Maryjane Briant
                        News and Media Relations Director
                        Galloway, N.J. 08205
                        Maryjane.Briant@stockton.edu
                        (609) 652-4593
                        stockton.edu/media

 Galloway, N.J. - Stockton University is ranked among the nation’s top universities in The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Ranking 2017 released this week. Stockton was particularly highly rated for its successful outcomes for students, such as graduation rate and reputation.

“We are extremely pleased to gain this new national recognition, which only increases the value of a Stockton degree,” said President Harvey Kesselman. “Nearly 90 percent of our graduates are employed or in graduate school within six months of commencement.  These figures are among the best in New Jersey, and far above national averages.”

Only about a third of the nation’s more than 3,000 four-year colleges and universities were included in the ranking. Nationally, Stockton placed 475 out of 1,061 ranked institutions.

“These rankings help confirm Stockton’s commitment to college issues crucially important for both students and parents: a strong reputation for quality academics and demonstrated success of our graduates,” Kesselman said. “We are very proud to once again be identified nationally for our dedication to student success.”

Phil Baty, Times Higher Education Rankings editor, said: “Our aim is to assess each university’s success in achieving their educational mission, rather than focusing on a narrow set of inputs. Following a year of conversation with American higher education stakeholders, we shared the Wall Street Journal’s vision for a different type of U.S. ranking system – one that does not fall into the trap of simply measuring university selectivity and wealth, but puts at its heart a university’s ability to deliver valuable outcomes and education for its students.”      

The WSJ/THE College Rankings describes itself as “a pioneering ranking of U.S. colleges and universities that puts student success and learning at its heart.  We employ 15 performance indicators to answer the questions that matter the most when choosing a university: 

• Does the college have sufficient resources to teach me properly, and have a good academic reputation?
• Will I be engaged, and challenged, by my teacher and classmates?
• What type of campus community is there?
• How likely am I to graduate, pay off my loans and get a good job?”

The 15 indicators cover:

• Resources, such as Stockton’s 17:1 student-faculty ratio and the academic accomplishments of faculty, 94 percent of whom hold the highest degrees in their fields;
• Engagement, which includes recommendations by other students and the level of student engagement. Stockton’s Office of Service-Learning, the Stockton Center for Community Engagement and the Political Engagement Project are just a few of the examples on campus;
• Outcomes, including Stockton’s excellent four-year and six-year graduation rates and growing reputation, with top-tier ratings from U.S. News & World Report and the Princeton Review in addition to the WSJ/THE;
• Environment, which includes diversity and international student population. Stockton recently won Insight into Diversity’s Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award and has made globalization one of the four key themes of a Stockton education, along with learning, engagement and sustainability.

The Wall Street Journal, a preeminent source of global business and financial news, said the ranking’s goal is to provide context and insight that helps parents and prospective students make what is often a life-defining decision. Times Higher Education is a global higher education data and analysis business with headquarters in London and offices in San Francisco, Chicago, Melbourne and Singapore.

View The WSJ/THE College Rankings 2017 on The Wall Street Journal’s website.

For more information about Stockton University, visit Stockton.edu.