WASHINGTON - The University of New England does more to increase the career earnings of its graduates than any other two- or four-year university or college in Maine, according to a new report by the Washington D.C.-based Brookings Institution.
In their study, "Beyond College Rankings," researchers at Brookings used a "value-added" approach to measure more than 7,000 schools, and how they had affected their graduates' mid-career earnings, student loan repayment rates and occupational earnings.
Researchers analyzed five characteristics at each school: the value of the curriculum, alumni skills, a science, math, engineering and mathematics - or STEM - orientation, completion rates and student financial aid.
"Ninety percent of our students, six months after graduation, are working in their field or in graduate school," says UNE President Danielle Ripich. "So it really speaks to the preparation our faculty provide to them. And the programs that we're offering are programs that are preparing them for the workplace."
California Institute of Technology was the top-ranked four-year college in the Brookings study.