Forbes names TU to America’s Top Colleges list

By Jan Lucas on August 22, 2018

Towson University is one of the nation’s best, according to Forbes researchers.

The magazine ranked TU 305th out of the 650 public and private schools it selected for its 2018 America’s Top Colleges list. The number represents about 22 percent of the nation’s approximately 3,000 colleges and universities.

"Towson University continues to be recognized as among the top universities in our region and our nation," said President Schatzel. "The inclusion on Forbes list of America’s Top Colleges—following our recent ranking as one of Princeton Review’s best colleges in the northeast and one of Money Magazine’s best investments in higher education—is a sign that Towson University is indeed at an inflection point."

TU joins three other University System of Maryland schools on the list: University of Maryland, College Park (61), UMBC (240), and Salisbury University (350).

The Forbes list of America’s Top Colleges focuses on the direct benefits schools provide their graduates, with a methodology emphasizing outputs rather than inputs. Instead of acceptance rates and SAT scores (“inputs”), Forbes aimed to measure how students fared during and after college (“outputs”).

Forbes researchers ranked only public schools and private not-for-profits. They excluded schools with fewer than 300 undergraduates as well as those that retained fewer than 60 percent of their students over a three-year period. They also eliminated schools with six-year graduation rate below 25 percent.

The 650 colleges and universities that remained were scored on alumni salary (20 percent), debt (20 percent), student experience (20 percent), Forbes’ American Leaders List (15 percent), academic success (12.5 percent), and graduation rate (12.5 percent).

In April Forbes named TU to its annual list of America’s Best Value Colleges.  

Here's how Towson University stacks up in other rankings:

• The U.S. News & World Report 2018 America’s Best Colleges guide ranked Towson University 10th in the public Regional Universities (North) category, up from 14th last year.
• In addition, TU is 23rd on the U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges for Veterans” rankings and 57th on its “Best Value Schools” ranking.
• Money magazine ranked Towson University among the nation’s Best Colleges, joining Johns Hopkins and University of Maryland, College Park, as the highest-ranked institutions in Maryland.
• Money magazine also gave Towson high marks for "best value" among peer institutions.
• Princeton Review placed Towson University among the top colleges in the Northeast region.
• In Diverse Issues in Higher Education, TU holds the No. 43 position in the magazine’s annual Top 100 list of U.S. colleges and universities that have conferred the most bachelor’s degrees on African-Americans. The ranking includes bachelor’s degrees across all disciplines.
• Washington Monthly ranked Towson University 64th — up 20 spots from 84th one year ago — among the 632 colleges and universities surveyed for its National Universities-Master’s category. Towson University was the highest ranked public university in Maryland.
• TU also ranked 56th out of 363 U.S. public and private universities on the Washington Monthly magazine’s 2017 “Best Bang for the Buck – Northeast” list.

This story is one of several related to President Kim Schatzel's priorities for Towson University: TU Matters to Maryland and Strategic Plan Alignment.