The University of Mary Washington is ranked 25th on Value Colleges’ (VC) recently published list of the country’s top 50 best-value schools. The group scours the nation’s more than 6,000 colleges and universities to help readers find the best quality education for the most affordable price.
“The University of Mary Washington … has earned accolades nationally as a best value and high-quality institution,” VC’s website says. “Students rate UMW’s amenities highly, and … student organizations and activities make campus life desirable for … students who want the attention of a small liberal arts college with the affordability of a state-supported school.”
VC uses data from the Department of Education federal student loan program to identify best-value schools and winnow them down to a list of fewer than 300 that boast costs at or below the national average, high graduation rates and higher-than-average graduate salaries. Each school’s reputation also figures into the rankings.
VC highlights UMW’s solid College of Education and growing nursing education program, which recently added a BSN completion option for RNs in Virginia who hold an associate’s degree and want to complete a bachelor’s degree.
The UMW nursing program has been spotlighted in other college guides, as well, and several of its other stellar programs have been singled out.
The independent online guide Top RN to BSN, which identifies the best higher education and career options for current and prospective nurses, also has lauded Mary Washington’s nursing education program, naming it seventh in Virginia for quality, affordability and job-market reputation.The ranking “tells students that they can trust UMW’s program to provide not only an education butan entry to a rewarding career,” said Top RN to BSN Media Manager Gail Harris.
Available fully online and accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, Mary Washington’s RN to BSN program offers career-accelerating mentorshipsin addition to classes on nursing informatics and trends, medical ethics and population health.
“The University of Mary Washington is one of the top nursing schools Virginia has ever produced, appearing year after year in U.S. News & World Report as a Top Public School, Best Value College, and Best College for Veterans,” the website says. “The university has a strong reputation of being a leader in the field of technology with initiatives that have allowed students more access to personal domains, web hosting and digital learning pathways.”
College Factual (CF), a leading source for helping students find the schools that are the best fit for them, also named Mary Washington among the top schools for adult learners, listing it 56th out of the 580 programs it reviewed for its 2019 Best History Colleges for Veterans list.
“This puts UMW in the top 10 percent of all schools in the nation when it comes to offering a quality education to veterans studying history,” said CF co-founder and CEO Bill Phelan.
The group placed Mary Washington’s history program among the nation’s top five percent most-focused history programs and ranked it fourth out of the 20 Virginia colleges and universities it reviewed for veteran friendliness.
UMW’s English program was ranked among the country’s top one percent by CF, as was its geography program, which also falls into the nation’s top one percent for highest paid grads, and top five percent for most-focused geography programs and for veterans and returning adults. The group, along with USA Today, named UMW’s geography program No. 10 in the nation.
Also ranked by CF among the country’s top five percent for highest paid grads is Mary Washington’s political science program, as well as its business administration program, which received a boost with the College of Business’ recent accreditation by the AACSB.
UMW falls into the top 10 percent of the nation’s colleges and universities on CF’s Best for the Money Without Aid list and in the top 15 on its Overall Best list of schools of higher education in the Southeast region.
