Overview
- Washington Monthly published the new Best Colleges for Rural America ranking after starting from an Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges list and scoring 225 nonprofit four-year rural institutions using IPEDS and W. E. Upjohn earnings and mobility data.
- The ranking highlights institutions that recruit large shares of Pell-eligible and in-state students, keep tuition and debt low, and award degrees in rural-demand fields such as teaching, nursing, engineering, agriculture, and natural resources.
- The University of West Alabama was named number one for sending many graduates into high-need rural professions and for alumni earnings well above what would be predicted by student background.
- The report stresses that these colleges are often the largest local employers and civic anchors yet face steep pressures from program cuts, layoffs, around 300 closures since 2008, and a projected long-term drop in college-age residents.
- As a policy response, the issue presents Kevin Carey’s proposal for a roughly $10,000 per-student federal payment tied to low or no tuition for modest-income students, universal credit transfer, and research cooperation as a way to stabilize vulnerable regional institutions.