Media Contact: Nicole Funaro, Nicole.funaro@fairfield.edu, 203-254-4000 x3498

Fairfield University has once again been well ranked in the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Ed’s annual college ranking. Amongst all colleges and universities nationwide, Fairfield placed in the top quartile, ranked in the top 200. Fairfield placed high in two particular categories, earning the 92nd spot in the engagement category, and placing in the top 20% of the schools for outcomes.

Fairfield’s quality was demonstrated in the student survey results which inform this year’s ranking and which reflect a strong sense of commitment and value from students who attend Fairfield. On a scale of 1-10, Fairfield ranked amongst the highest in the country in regards to whether they would still choose to attend Fairfield if they could start their college selection process over (8.9 out of 10); whether they felt Fairfield provided an environment where they felt they are surrounded by exceptional students who “inspire” and “motivate” them (8.7), and finally, respondents stated Fairfield is worth the cost of tuition (8.5). Notably, Fairfield was the top-ranked Jesuit institution in all three categories.

In addition to including student survey results, colleges and universities are also graded on additional performance indicators such as resources, which measures an institution’s capacity to provide proper and necessary facilities, support, and teaching, and accounts for 30 percent of a school’s score; engagement, which measures a college’s ability to “inform, inspire, and challenge” its students, and accounts for 20 percent of a school’s score; outcomes, which measures a college’s “record on delivering successful outcomes for their students,” and accounts for 40 percent of a school’s score; and environment, which considers whether or not a college provides a “diverse, supportive, and inclusive” environment for all students and accounts for 10 percent of a school’s overall ranking.

Other metrics considered in the ranking include a consideration of debt after graduation, as well as graduation rate. Data informing the rankings comes from sources including “the US government (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS); the US Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid (FSA); the College Scorecard, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA); the THE US Student Survey; the THE Academic Survey; and the Elsevier bibliometric dataset.”

For more information on Fairfield rankings, visit fairfield.edu/rankings.

Posted On: September 24, 2020

Volume: 52 Number: 14

Fairfield University is a modern Jesuit University, rooted in one of the world’s oldest intellectual and spiritual traditions. More than 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students from 36 states, 47 foreign countries, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are enrolled in the University’s five schools.  In the spirit of rigorous and sympathetic inquiry into all dimensions of human experience, Fairfield welcomes students from diverse backgrounds to share ideas and engage in open conversations. The University is located in the heart of a region where the future takes shape, on a stunning campus on the Connecticut coast just an hour from New York City.