Strong student engagement drives OHIO’s ascent in Wall Street Journal-Times Higher Education’s annual rankings

Ohio University’s position in the latest Wall Street Journal-Times Higher Education College Rankings increased dramatically this year, rankings released today showed. The boost was fueled by increasing scores in outcomes and student engagement.

OHIO placed 82nd out of 801 institutions with its engagement score. The score includes student engagement, student recommendations, student interactions, and subject breadth. The University also ranked 321^st overall with its outcomes score, which includes factors like graduation rate, graduate salary, and debt after graduation.

Overall, OHIO moved up 100 places to 354^th nationally.

Ohio University President M. Duane Nellis touted the University’s emphasis on student engagement as a primary focus for the institution, calling out a recent increase in engagement opportunities with the launch of the OHIO Honors Program and the opening of the CoLab, among other initiatives.

“Student engagement is a crucial element of Ohio University’s efforts to prepare our students for their life and career beyond college,” President Nellis said. “Such engagement, between students, faculty, staff and the community, is at the heart of everything we do, and it’s gratifying to see our efforts recognized in this latest ranking.”

The OHIO Honors Program includes more than 370 students in its first full cohort, which arrived for the Fall 2019 semester after a successful pilot year in the 2018-19 academic year. Designed to complement any major, the OHIO Honors Program offers a rapidly expanding menu of curricular and co-curricular experiences. Three pathways — research and creative activity, community engagement, and leadership — guide students’ development and lead to a senior capstone project and portfolio.

The CoLab has also been successful since it first opened in September 2018. The CoLab, housed within Alden Library, is designed as a physical hub for student innovation and entrepreneurship activities across campus. It expanded its hours a month after opening to keep up with student demand.

Ohio University students have a wealth of opportunities for engagement. More than 2,000 undergraduate students are involved in research, scholarship or creative work each year. Research allows undergraduates to work directly with faculty members on a broad range of topics and travel worldwide for their projects.