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Serving as a guide for prospective students and their families, the U.S. News rankings evaluate 1,500 colleges and universities using as many as 19 statistical measures reflecting academic quality and graduate outcomes. The indicators include input measures, which reflect the quality of students, faculty, and other resources used in education; and outcome measures, such as six-year graduation and first-year student retention rates, graduate indebtedness, and graduation rate performance, which signal how well the institution educates its student body.

The Best Undergraduate Teaching ranking identifies schools whose faculty and administrators are committed to teaching undergraduate students in a high-quality manner.

“I am deeply proud of our faculty and pleased that others can see in them what those of us who work here see every day: world-class scholars and practitioners who are passionate about teaching,” said President La Jerne Terry Cornish. “It is their commitment to our students’ educational experience that led to our No. 1 ranking. It does not get any better than that.”

Ithaca College was also ranked #2 for Most Innovative Schools, signifying the institutions that are making cutting-edge developments in terms of curriculum, faculty, students, campus life, technology, or facilities.

“Part of what makes our faculty amazing teachers is that they are constantly innovating and looking for new ways of thinking, of doing things, and of educating themselves,” said Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Melanie Stein. “There is a link between being recognized for undergraduate teaching and for innovation. They are not independent. This is who our faculty are, and this public affirmation is deeply satisfying.

“We are always refining and developing programs, methods, and tools that are innovative, capable of changing with the needs of today's students,” Stein continued. “Our students’ futures will demand both an intellectual breadth and a diverse set of tools that can be applicable in an ever-changing world.”

In other ranking categories, Ithaca College was recognized as:

• #13 for Best Regional University in the North, indicating an institutions overall quality in comparison with its peers.
• #16 for Best Value, a ranking of schools that are above average academically and cost considerably less than many other schools when the financial aid that they dispense in the form of need-based grants and scholarships is taken into account.

U.S. News & World Report regularly ranks Ithaca College among the best regional universities, a category that the publication says are schools that offer a broad scope of undergraduate degrees and some master’s degree programs, but few, if any, doctoral programs. Ithaca College has doctoral degree programs in physical therapy and occupational therapy. For this category, the rankings are divided into four regions — North, South, Midwest, and West. U.S. News also has separate rankings for national universities, national liberal arts colleges, and regional colleges.

For more information on the rankings, visit usnews.com/best-colleges.