Emily Carstensen
Staff Writer
Keene State College has been ranked the top college in New Hampshire by the U.S News and World Report.
Kelly Ricaurte, KSC’s Spokesperson, said it’s important to rank colleges because it shows and gives KSC students and faculty recognition for the hard work they do. “Being ranked top school in New Hampshire is an honor because it really indicates and recognizes excellence throughout this campus. Students at KSC really take academics seriously and it shows,” Ricaurte said.
KSC has been ranked highly for other things as well. KSC is the safest campus in New Hampshire, according to the ADT’s Guide to the Nations 25 Safest Universities- Plus the Safest Campus in Each State article. KSC has a 93.6 percent employment placement rate after graduation, the highest rate in the state, according to the Business Insider’s The Best College in Every State to Help Graduates Find a Job article. “When students are looking to apply to KSC and explore their options, we hope they choose this school because KSC is always delivering on its promises to provide everyone with a great education and other extracurricular activities,” Ricaurte said.
The U.S News and World Report base their rankings solely on data. They don’t visit campus and meet students and faculty, they just look at numbers. KSC’s graduation rates are high above the national average, 59 percent of students graduating within four to six years, while 96.4 percent of students at KSC graduated with a bachelor’s degree in four to six years.
Nancy Fey-Yensan, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, said it’s a certain “point of pride” to be ranked top in New Hampshire and eighty first nationally. “It’s definitely a testament to the quality of work from students and faculty. Our faculty is world class with terminal degrees in their field of work and our students are coming to us with higher SAT scores and high school rankings. We are extremely proud,” Fey-Yensan said.
Matthew Schmidt, KSC’s Transitions Case Manager, said that KSC stands out from the rest of the schools in the state for many reasons. “The things that stand out to me the most are definitely the academics, the location, the people, and the programs we offer. There’s something on this campus for everyone and that’s what makes it so great,” Schmidt said.
When asked if being ranked top college would benefit KSC in the future, Schmidt brought up admissions and how it gives them an advantage in that aspect, “Admissions will definitely benefit from the ranking. It gives incoming students something to be interested and hopefully will push them to apply once they see all the great things KSC has been recognized for.”
While KSC’s numbers are impressive, it’s also important to note the effects the ranking will have on the school. Fey-Yensan said these effects will be positive and bring out the best in students, faculty, and staff at KSC. “Keene State has so much to offer. The data speaks for itself, but Keene State has so many amazing, high quality opportunities for everyone. We offer many different high class projects, events, and performances that are available to anyone on campus who wants to be involved. While KSC is honored to be ranked so highly in the U.S News and World report annual tier one universities in the North, the data they provide is not the whole story of quality and excellence that our campus has to offer,” Fey-Yensan said.
Emily Carstensen can be contacted at
ecarstensen@kscequinox.com
