BGSU lauded again in U.S. News and World Report

BOWLING GREEN, O.—The undergraduate experience is a primary focus for Bowling Green State University, and once again its efforts have been recognized in U.S. News and World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges.”

The 2011 edition, published today, cites BGSU for excellence in first-year experience programs and learning communities.

The two rankings are listed under the “Strong Focus on Student Success” category, which lists “schools with outstanding examples” of these programs. Says the report, “Some schools are much more determined than others to provide freshmen and all undergrads with the best possible experience, recognizing that certain enriched offerings, from service learning to learning communities to study abroad, are linked to student success.”

BGSU has been at the forefront of the learning community movement in the country and has been noted for its communities in the U.S. News report multiple times, beginning in 2003. U.S. News notes that “in learning communities, students typically take two or more linked courses as a group and get to know one another and their professors well. Some learning communities are also residential.”

BGSU has a number of these communities, ranging from those in which students share a common major, such as health science or urban education, to those in which they share a commitment to an area of interest, such as global connections or appreciation of the arts.

On the learning communities list, BGSU is joined by Yale University, Clemson and Temple universities, among others.

BGSU has also long been involved in getting freshmen off to a good start. It was first included for First-Year Experience programs in the 2006 edition of the report, which points out that “orientation can only go so far in making freshmen feel connected.”

Bowling Green has recently renewed its commitment to creating an integrated experience through its newly designed undergraduate curriculum, which will carry the themes of critical thinking, exploration of values, problem solving and diversity through all four years of the undergraduate program. Essential to this “Bowling Green Experience” is connecting classroom learning to co-curricular activities in a meaningful way. Learning communities and first-year programs are among the many “high-impact practices” that to provide the distinctive education for which BGSU is known.

Others recognized for first-year experience programs include Ohio State University, Notre Dame University and the University of Michigan.


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To view the Academic Programs to Look For, visit:
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/academic-programs

To view the complete rankings, visit:
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges

(Posted August 17, 2010 )