EMILY BEISEL

The Princeton Review has released its 2016 list of America’s top colleges, and UNI once again makes an appearance under the “Best in the Midwest” category.

“We have been recognized year after year by the Princeton Review, and we are excited to be on the list again for 2016. The Princeton Review does not use rank order,” said Jenny Connolly, Assistant Director/Outreach.

According to the UNI website, the UNI College of Business Administration has been recognized consistently by the Princeton Review as one of the “Best Business Schools” in the nation. UNI Business also makes an appearance on U.S. News & World Report’s top part-time MBA programs. The UNI website reports that criteria include assessments by business school deans, students’ prior work experience and admission selectivity.

Additionally, the Princeton Review has recognized UNI as one of the country’s most environmentally responsibly and ecologically conscious schools in “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 322 Green Colleges-2012.” The complete list of UNI’s academic and social achievements and all major acknowledgements can be found on UNI’s website.

However, it was not long ago that the university came under criticism for its massive program and budget cuts in 2012. UNI’s website reports that the final closure consisted of 23 undergraduate majors, 19 undergraduate minors, 16 graduate programs and roughly 30 faculty positions.

Those programs represented less than 2 percent of the degrees granted in the 2010-2011 academic year.

Former UNI president Ben Allen also made the executive decision to close UNI’s well-known Malcolm Price Laboratory school in June of 2012. The closing of Price Lab was not well-received by a number of UNI’s Education majors and faculty members, many of whom completed their clinical and field experiences there.

According to Trina Landmesser, a UNI admissions counselor, those decisions made in 2012 do not define UNI as a university today.

“While 2012 was considered a controversial year at UNI, the concept of cutting back programs on college campuses to save on budget isn’t a new practice in higher education since the 2008 recession,” said Landmesser. “While it was unfortunate to lose programs on campus, it was done so with intentions to make UNI an even stronger university. I think the Princeton Review ranking is evidence of that effort.”

Although UNI received backlash in 2012 from some of these cuts, the university still has been critically acclaimed by The Princeton Review, Forbes and other esteemed ranking guides.

“UNI offers something unique […] because we offer the best of both worlds for students deciding between a small school experience versus a large school experience,” said Landmesser. “While I think rankings, such as the Princeton Review, definitely make ears perk up among parents, the best testament to our prospective students is what they hear from current students and alum.”