U.S. News & World Report has again ranked Neumann among the Best Regional Universities in the North for social mobility in its Best Colleges 2023 issue.
Neumann was also ranked among the best for social mobility in 2021 and 2022, the first years that the magazine included rankings for this category. In 2023, Neumann is #86 in the North and #18 in Pennsylvania for social mobility.
The ranking identifies colleges that are successful at enrolling and graduating significant proportions of economically challenged students who are eligible for Pell Grants. Among first-year fall 2021 students at Neumann, 53 percent received Pell assistance.
“This ranking reflects the positive reality of the Neumann experience – career-oriented and high-quality higher education,” said Dr. Chris Domes, president of Neumann University. “We are especially proud of our social mobility ranking because of the large number of first-generation college students that we serve.”
In the fall of 2021, 60 percent of Neumann’s freshmen were first-generation college students.
According to Francesca Reed, vice president for enrollment management and marketing, “The rankings reflect Neumann’s meticulous focus on personal attention and academic quality to help students achieve their educational and career goals.”
Many of Neumann’s undergraduate classes have fewer than 20 students, and the student-faculty ratio is 15:1.
U.S. News defines Regional Universities as those that offer a full range of undergraduate programs and some master's programs but few doctoral programs. Neumann offers 48 undergraduate programs, ten master's degrees, and two doctoral programs.
In addition to its academic majors, Neumann University requires that students complete an internship or field experience related to their field of study and offers extensive opportunities for community service. Dr. Domes cites service learning and internships as critical components of undergraduate success for first-generation students.