For Release:           Immediate – September 12, 2022
Contact:                  Steve Ference, Director of University Communications | (518) 429-7742 | sference@sunypoly.edu

Ranked as a ‘Best Regional University,’ ‘Top Public School,’ ‘Best College for Veterans.’
‘Best Value School,’ ‘Top Performer on Social Mobility,’ and for
‘Least Debt’ for Students

ALBANY AND UTICA, NY – SUNY Polytechnic Institute’s (SUNY Poly’s) annual rankings by U.S. News & World Report once again highlight the institute’s academic strength, affordability and low debt loads for its students, as well as its continued focus on fostering upward social mobility and supporting veterans. SUNY Poly improved its ranking in numerous categories as a result of its increased graduation rate, among other positive factors. 

U.S. News named SUNY Poly 9^th in its “Best Regional Universities-North” category, advancing three spots from last year as part of the publication’s 2022-2023 rankings. In addition:

• For the fourth year in a row, SUNY Poly ranked 2^nd in the “Top Public Schools” Regional Universities-North category.
• In this same regional category, SUNY Poly remained in the top 20 for “Top Performers on Social Mobility,” moving up three positions from the previous year to 16^th; and
• SUNY Poly remained in the top 50 for “Best Value Schools.”

SUNY Poly also ranked third in “Best Colleges for Veterans,” up one position from the institution’s 2022 rankings in the Regional Universities-North category. The ranking is especially notable because SUNY Poly’s Utica campus is in close proximity to both the Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome, New York, and the U.S. Army’s Fort Drum military reservation. SUNY Poly also made the unranked lists, “A+ Schools for B Students,” as well as “Least Debt,” a category showcasing educational institutions whose students graduate with the “lightest debt loads.”

"Such strong recognition of SUNY Poly’s academic offerings and affordability by U.S. News & World Report is a meaningful reaffirmation of the hands-on academic experience SUNY Poly students receive, made possible by the dedication of our faculty and staff,” said Dr. Tod A. Laursen, SUNY Polytechnic Institute Acting President. “Once again, SUNY Poly’s U.S. News & World Report rankings shine a light on the excellent educational value students discover when they come here, providing a platform for a lifetime of success and upward mobility.”

SUNY Poly’s “Top Performers on Social Mobility” ranking (#16) in the Regional Universities-North category is the latest example of the institute’s focus on providing educational opportunities and access for students of all backgrounds, especially through its Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), fostering access, academic support, and financial assistance to first-time, full-time students who show promise for succeeding in college but may need additional support.

SUNY Poly is included in the Best Regional Universities-North category and placed 9^th overall out of 175 ranked universities. The annual rankings by U.S. News and World Report categorize colleges and universities based upon their Carnegie Classification, created by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. U.S. News & World Report maintains different ranking categories, each with different weights assigned to them to determine the final institution positions. These categories include graduation and retention rates, social mobility, graduation rate performance, undergraduate academic reputation, average alumni giving rate, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources per student, and graduate indebtedness, among others.

“The 2022-2023 U.S. News and World Report rankings provide insight into the quality of SUNY Poly’s education which places students on a strong track to pursue and obtain meaningful careers,” said SUNY Poly’s Interim Provost Dr. Zora Thomova. “SUNY Poly continues to offer a wide range of educational programs in relevant subjects via our partnerships and flexible online degree programs, and we are proud to offer these opportunities which are also, importantly, highly affordable.”

Over the past year, SUNY Poly has continued to progress, maintaining steady enrollment of more than 2,850 students while working to make obtaining both baccalaureate and post-baccalaureate degrees easier through increased online distance learning opportunities and via partnerships with a number of institutions, including Fulton-Montgomery Community College (FMCC), the University at Albany, and the Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery BOCES Pathways in Technology Early College High School (HFM BOCES PTECH) program, among others.

SUNY Poly has received numerous recent high rankings for its affordability and value:

• U.S. News & World Report’s “2022 Best Online Program” rankings listed the top online colleges and university programs in the nation. Of the ranked institutions, SUNY Poly’s online master’s program in Network and Computer Security: Cybersecurity ranked in the top 50 in the U.S. at 48^th.
• Yahoo! Finance and GoBankingRates selected SUNY Poly as the “Most Affordable College in New York State 2020-2021.”
• SUNY Poly ranked #31 in nation for "Best Value Colleges & Universities for 2022" by College Consensus.
• ZDNet ranked SUNY Poly in the top ten for "Best online colleges in New York 2022."
• EDsmart selected SUNY Poly as #3 “Best Accredited Online College in New York” for 2022.
• Phi Theta Kappa recognized 171 colleges including SUNY Poly for exemplary transfer pathways. This “Transfer Honor Roll” is determined by 40 key metrics related to the support and success of transfer students.
• Princeton Review selected SUNY Poly for its unranked list of “Best Online Nursing School Master's Programs,” joining only 189 other institutions from around the nation receiving this recognition.
• Fortune ranked SUNY Poly #27 in the nation for “2022 Top Rated Online MBA Programs.”
• SUNY Poly ranked in the Top 20 for “Best Online MSN Nurse Educator Degrees 2022 in the Nation” by TopRNtoBSN.
• ZDNet ranked SUNY Poly in the Top 20 in the nation for “Best Online Master's in Accounting 2021.”
• Make: and Newsweek recognized SUNY Poly as one of the “Best Maker Schools 2021” after these publications received nominations from a “unique global community of makers, educators, and Maker Faire leaders.” SUNY Poly was identified among only 200 other colleges and universities in the world, and the only SUNY school to be nominated.

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About SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly)
SUNY Poly is New York’s globally recognized, high-tech educational ecosystem. SUNY Poly offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the emerging disciplines of nanoscience and nanoengineering, as well as cutting-edge nanobioscience programs at its Albany campus, and undergraduate and graduate degrees in technology, including engineering, cybersecurity, computer science, and the engineering technologies; professional studies, including business, communication, and nursing; and arts and sciences, including natural sciences, game design, mathematics, humanities, and social sciences at its Utica campus; thriving athletic, recreational, and cultural programs, events, and activities complement the campus experience. As the world’s most advanced, university-driven research enterprise, SUNY Poly boasts billions of dollars in high-tech investments and hundreds of corporate partners since its inception. For information visit www.sunypoly.edu.