Colorado College fell from No. 29 to No. 30 in the latest US News and World Report (UNWR) “Best National Liberal Arts Colleges” ranking, released on Sept. 23.
This year marks the first time UNWR has ranked Colorado College using its complete ranking criteria since CC President Manya Whitaker decided to re-enter the rankings earlier this year to improve institutional visibility, attract faculty and expand access to students who wouldn’t have traditionally learned about CC from their family and social networks.
According to the ranking, the top three liberal arts colleges this year are Williams College, Amherst College and the United States Naval Academy. CC placed in a four-way tie with Bucknell University, Bryn Mawr College and Lafayette College.
Previously, Colorado College—which had stopped cooperating with the controversial ranking in 2023 under then-President L. Song Richardson due to equity concerns—was still ranked by UNWR. However, it was evaluated using less comprehensive publicly available data submitted to the federal government. This decision impacted the depth of what prospective students could see on the site, as schools that don’t submit UNWR’s statistical survey receive a “less detailed profile and may appear lower in search visibility,” according to the publication.
While CC fell slightly overall, President Whitaker noted CC’s strong performance in multiple subcategories, saying in a statement to The Catalyst, “We are proud to have been ranked [the] No. 2 Most Innovative College and No. 5 in Undergraduate Teaching Programs—the first time we have cracked the top five in that category, which is a testament to academic excellence.”
CC also celebrated the results in a social media post the day after the rankings were released.
The college did not perform as well in other categories. For example, in “Top Performers on Social Mobility,” which measures graduation rate metrics among Pell Grant recipients, the college ranked No. 126.
During her administration, President Whitaker has increasingly positioned strong performance in the rankings as an important aspect of Colorado College’s plan to “claim our space in higher education” as the sector faces a range of challenges, including government interference, AI and an impending demographic cliff.
In her statement and August State of the College address, Whitaker identified rising to No. 25 in the UNWR liberal arts school rankings as a priority for CC. She said her administration plans to achieve this, in part, by increasing CC’s four and six-year graduation rates, the latter of which accounts for up to 21% of the ranking weighting. According to institutional data, CC’s most recent six-year graduation rate is just shy of 88%, while the four-year graduation rate is 71%.
Climbing the rankings may help boost visibility for the college, as UNWR says its education website receives 100 million visitors per year. A 2023 survey by the education consulting firm Art & Science Group found 58% of prospective students use rankings in some way during their college search.
However, the rankings have also been widely criticized as flawed—and the same survey suggests that the rankings are almost always less important to students than other factors, including “academic substance, affordability, and safety,” when selecting a college.
President Whitaker seemed to acknowledge this fact in her statement, saying, “CC is less focused on the ranking itself than on the substance behind it. Enhancing academic reputation, supporting social mobility, advancing post-graduate success and ensuring financial strength—those are the outcomes we should be focused on. The rankings will follow.”
Students shared mixed opinions on the rankings, acknowledging some value in how they showcase colleges to prospective students, yet doubting the extent to which they should guide institutional priorities.
Lily Sharpe ‘29 said she thought college rankings could help schools “highlight areas where they [are] really strong.” However, Sharpe added that she feels “rankings in themselves are not going to help you find the perfect match…[They] are limited in how helpful they are at assessing a college holistically.”
Though she sees the rankings as “play[ing] into a biased system,” Julia Rydzewski ‘29 said she understands the administration’s desire to rejoin and climb the rankings. She worries CC’s current rank is not high enough to stand out to employers and may not reflect the “amazing opportunities” and “outstanding” education that CC provides to students.
Rydzewski cautioned that though “external feedback can be helpful,” CC should prioritize input from within the community to “improve its systems.” Rather than relying on the rankings to distinguish itself, Rydzewski says, “Colorado College should take its own path.”