Sioux Center, Iowa — For the sixth year in a row, Dordt University has been ranked number one in the nation for student engagement, according to The Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education’s College Rankings 2022.
Dr. Erik Hoekstra, president at Dordt, says that as a prospective student is making a decision about which college to attend, there are many voices whispering to them regarding quality factors of various schools. He says frankly, it can be overwhelming. To have a globally recognized and trusted entity like The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education speak so positively about Dordt University for six years in a row is certainly encouraging for Dordt.
According to The Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education rankings, “decades of research has found that the best way to truly understand teaching quality at an institution—how well it manages to inform, inspire, and challenge students—is through capturing what is known as ‘student engagement.’”
The engagement category is 20% of the overall College Rankings 2022. To determine if the college effectively engages with its students, the category takes into account the number of accredited programs offered at Dordt, the level of student engagement, the opportunities for professors and students to interact, and whether students would recommend Dordt to a friend.
Hoekstra says that he’d like to highlight the commitment, care, and expertise of his faculty and staff who—along with Dordt’s students—create the outstanding Christ-centered campus learning environment at Dordt which has been highlighted by the Wall Street Journal rankings. Hoekstra says, “To know that this type of engagement is really what drives life-long outcomes for the value of a college education is truly something for which the university gives thanks.”
Within the College Rankings 2022, the engagement category is one of four pillars that emphasize key areas in teaching excellence: resources, environment, outcomes, and engagement. The rankings examined data from a variety of sources, including the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the U.S. government, the College Scorecard, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), THE ranking surveys, and the Elsevier bibliometric dataset. This year’s rankings examined 796 institutions nationally.
