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University of Maine at Fort Kent

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Enrollment & Advancement Center • University of Maine at Fort Kent • 23 University Drive, Fort Kent, ME 04743

UMFK moves up in the North Region Colleges U.S. News & World Report's 2017 rankings

September 16, 2016

Note: this is an archived news release. As such, the information provided may no longer apply.

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The University of Maine at Fort Kent moves up from 38th to 23rd among all north region colleges, according to the U.S. News & World Report 2017 rankings. 

The latest U.S. News & World Report rankings put UMFK in the top tier, ranked 23rd.  That ranks UMFK 13th among public colleges in the North and follows sixth-consecutive years as a top-15 public institution.  UMFK first achieved top-tier college status in U.S. News & World Report’s 2011 rankings.

“These rankings are another demonstration of the quality of the overall educational experience that UMFK offers to the residents of a northern Maine and to the entire state,” according to UMFK President John Short.  “We are more committed than ever to affordability and student success in an environment that promotes diversity, inclusion and life-long learners,” he added.

The 2017 US News rankings also listed UMFK #4 among the Regional Colleges in the North where students graduate with the least debt.  “With our merit and need-based scholarships, comprehensive work-study program, and emphasis on retention and persistence, we are attempting to work with students to reduce the amount of college debt that they face on graduation.  This US news ranking demonstrates that we are being successful in moving toward that goal,” according to Short.

U.S. News & World Report bases the U.S. ranking on key measures that education experts have proposed as reliable indicators of academic quality.  The indices include peer assessment; graduation and retention rates; faculty resources; student selectivity; financial resources; and alumni giving. 

The U.S. News rating system rests on two pillars. The formula relies on quantitative measures that education experts have proposed as reliable indicators of academic quality, and, are based on U.S. News’ researched view of what matters in education.

The North region includes the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland.

For prospective students and their families, the 2017 U.S. News rankings provide an excellent starting point to help identify colleges and universities that are right for them, because they offer the opportunity to judge the relative quality of institutions based on widely-accepted indicators of excellence.

Enrollment continues to escalate at the University of Maine at Fort Kent. Thanks to an institution-wide emphasis on student success, UMFK is reporting enrollment numbers that have increased as a result of distance education, Rural U, and the nursing program. Total student enrollment stands at 1,357 and still climbing.