Ferris Among Michigan Schools Ranked by Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education

A collaborative effort of leading American and British publications included Ferris State University in their inaugural ranking of U.S. colleges. Ferris is one of six publicly-funded Michigan universities, and among sixteen schools in the state listed in the top 500 institutions in the survey. Ferris is the only public university in west Michigan included in the report.

The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education findings were based on responses from 100,000 college students, gauging their experience with faculty, assessing critical thinking requirements and asking whether they would recommend their school to others. Ferris had the best showing in the engagement category, among all Michigan schools, with 17 of 20 possible points. When respondents were asked if they would recommend their school, Ferris’ 8.92-point score, on a 10-point scale, with 10 representing the strongest level of agreement, was the highest score for any Michigan school in the survey.

President David Eisler was pleased by the university’s inclusion in this report, as it indicates positive responses from those who have chosen to pursue their education at Ferris.

“It is very gratifying to see the educational efforts of our faculty and staff recognized by a prestigious publication like The Wall Street Journal,” Eisler said. “It is clear that students who attend Ferris State University are engaged and believe the university is the right choice for them.”

Ferris joins the University of Michigan, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Michigan State University, Michigan Technological University and Wayne State University as the state-funded public universities included in this ranking. Other Michigan institutions that were in the WSJ/THE survey included Albion College, Alma College, Andrews University, Calvin College, the College for Creative Studies, the University of Detroit-Mercy, Hope College, Kalamazoo College, Kettering University and Lawrence Technological University.

Ferris’ overall score is derived from ratings on outcome, resources, engagement, environment, being a “right choice,” salaries for graduates and debt repayment. The university was ranked 492^nd among all U.S. colleges in the ranking.


PHOTO CAPTION: Ferris State University, based in Big Rapids, Mich. is the only west Michigan public college or university included in the inaugural Wall Street Journal college rankings, created in collaboration with a leading British publication, Times Higher Education.