The University of New England has been named one of the nation’s best institutions by The Princeton Review in its ‘Best 385 Colleges’ guide for the fifth consecutive year. FILE PHOTO
BIDDEFORD — For the fifth consecutive year, the University of New England has been named one of the nation’s best institutions by The Princeton Review in its Best 385 Colleges guide.
The newly issued 2020 edition of the publication, which profiles only the top 13 percent of four-year colleges and universities in the United States, selects institutions based on a combination of data gathered from 140,000 students nationwide and information collected annually from school administrators about their institution’s academic offerings.
The rankings reflect the top 20 schools in each of 62 different categories, which cover eight general areas: academics/administration, quality of life, politics, campus life, town life, extracurriculars, social scene and type of school.
In its profile of UNE, The Princeton Review praises the university for the high degree to which it prepares its students, noting comments from student surveys that reference “internships, research, and job (opportunities),” “high-intensity courses to prepare you for the future,” and “connections” developed at UNE.
UNE President James Herbert said that it was particularly gratifying to see The Princeton Review commend UNE in this manner.
“It’s, of course, an honor to be counted among the country’s best institutions of higher education,” Herbert said. “But it’s especially satisfying to be recognized for all the ways in which UNE works so hard to provide our students with both coursework and hands-on experiences — whether those be through internships or research opportunities – to prepare them for the next phase of life after graduation.”
The profile also praised UNE’s location on the coast of Maine as “a boon for marine biology and other similar science majors,” and it applauded the faculty as both passionate about their disciplines and caring towards their students.
Vice President of University Admissions Scott Steinberg expressed his view that inclusion in the guide is not only a measure of the university’s achievements “on paper” but also an indication that students are truly feeling the benefits of their UNE education.
“Our faculty and professional staff take great pride in the first-rate education we provide to our students,” he said. “This accolade from the Princeton Review, which incorporates feedback from our current students, affirms that word of our dedication is spreading. It’s a great barometer of our success to be included in this prestigious list.”
UNE’s institutional history dates to 1831, when Westbrook Seminary opened on what is now the UNE Portland Campus. The UNE Biddeford Campus was founded in 1939 when College Séraphique opened as a high school and junior college for boys of Quebecois descent.
In 1952, College Séraphique became a four-year liberal arts college named St. Francis College. In 1978, St. Francis College merged with the New England Foundation for Osteopathic Medicine to become the University of New England and then in 1996, the University of New England merged with Westbrook College.
The University of New England is Maine’s largest private university and has two campuses in Maine, including in Biddeford and Portland. It also has a campus in Tangier, Morocco, and offerings online. UNE offers Maine’s only medical and dental colleges and a variety of other aligned health care programs, and degree paths in the marine sciences, the natural and social sciences, business, the humanities and the arts.
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