UW-Platteville named one of top 50 best rural colleges in new rankings

UW-Platteville ranks among the top 50 rural colleges in the nation, according to Washington Monthly magazine's new Best Colleges for Rural America rankings.

The magazine said it worked off a list of more than 1,000 rurally located schools identified by the Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges' Rural-Serving Postsecondary Institutions project. Washington Monthly winnowed that list down to 225 four-year nonprofit colleges and universities with acceptance rates over 75 percent. The magazine then ranked the top 100 using metrics such as the percentage of students on Pell grants; the annual net price students from median-income and below families pay; median student loan debt; and alumni earnings. 

Colleges that grant large numbers of degrees in high-demand fields that are in short supply in rural areas, such as teaching, nursing, engineering, agriculture and natural resources management scored extra points. 

UW-Platteville ranked 48th among the top 100. 

"This recognition is deeply personal to me because serving rural communities is not just what UW-Platteville does, it is who we are," Chancellor Tammy Evetovich said. "Since 1866, we have opened doors of opportunity for students from small towns, farming communities and rural families, and I am ...