Geneseo was recently ranked fifth by Washington Monthly magazine among the nation’s master’s universities for its contributions to social mobility, research and service. There were 671 colleges in its master’s university category.Washington Monthly defines social mobility as “recruiting and graduating low-income students,” research as “producing cutting-edge scholarship and Ph.D.s,” and service as “encouraging students to give something back to their country.” Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs David Gordon said he is pleased with Geneseo’s high ranking. “I think it’s excellent for the college to get this recognition. It’s recognizing some of the things that we considered to be the most important, especially the categories of social mobility, research and service. These three categories are the things that are most important to this college,” he said. To be eligible for the ranking, a school must be considered a master’s university, which means they fit into the three aforementioned criteria––social mobility, research and service––as well as offering a vast array of undergraduate and graduate programs. Most of these schools are known for their comprehensive undergraduate programs and some master’s programs. Geneseo’s master’s program offers degrees in education and accounting, two popular undergraduate majors. Geneseo does not offer any doctorate programs. Gordon added that Geneseo was ranked 17th overall in 2012, which shows a great improvement. Geneseo was also ranked highly in numerous other categories. It placed ninth in the number of alumni who go on to earn a doctorate, 39th in the community service participation and hours served category, 11th in the number of alumni who service in the Peace Corps (relative to size), 271st in actual versus predicted graduation rates related to the net price of attendance and 92nd in “Best Bang for the Buck” based on the economic value students receive per dollar. Although Gordon said that it is hard to know for sure what will come of the rankings, he “hopes that students who are considering colleges will see and be attracted to Geneseo because of it.”
