Florida Universities And Colleges Rank Well For Service, Research and Social Mobility

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Century Tower at the University of Florida

Five Florida universities rank among the nation’s top 100 for social mobility of graduates, research and service, according to Washington Monthly magazine.

New College of Florida is the nation’s sixth-ranked liberal arts college, according to the magazine. Beacon College in Leesburg, which specializes in students with dyslexia, ADHD and other learning disabilities ranked 85th.

The University of Florida scored the highest rank among state schools at 21st. Florida International University was 53rd, Florida State University was 70th, Florida A&M University was 80th and the University of West Florida was 99th.

The magazine uses a different methodology than most other college rankings. Here’s how they describe it:

Unlike U.S. News and World Report and similar guides, this one asks not what colleges can do for you, but what colleges are doing for the country. Are they educating low-income students, or just catering to the affluent? Are they improving the quality of their teaching, or ducking accountability for it? Are they trying to become more productive—and if so, why is average tuition rising faster than health care costs?

The magazine also looked at which colleges got better than expected results based on student demographics. San Diego State and Elizabeth City University in North Carolina topped the list of research universities and baccalaureate colleges, respectively.

Hat tip to @SaintPetersblog for bringing the rankings to our attention.

Five Florida schools rank in Washington Monthly’s top 100 national universities bit.ly/Pa8rRR #sayfie

— Peter Schorsch (@SaintPetersblog) September 10, 2012