Bay Path recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a top school for innovation and economic diversity

Longmeadow, MA— For the third consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report has recognized Bay Path University as one of the most innovative colleges in the Regional Universities North area. This ranking, based strictly on peer review and nomination, highlights colleges making promising changes on campus by investing in innovative improvements including curriculum, faculty, students, campus life, technology or facilities. 

In addition, the University was recognized as a top institution in the Regional Universities North area for economic diversity, a new category measuring a school’s commitment to Pell grant recipients. One hundred percent of Bay Path’s traditional undergraduate full time students receive merit academic scholarships, and 56% of all undergraduates are Pell eligible.

“Being recognized as an academic leader in these categories vividly illustrates that Bay Path continues to uphold its mission of providing an innovative, career-focused education to women for whom a college degree is transformative—personally, professionally and financially,” states Bay Path’s President Sandra J. Doran. “While it’s become obvious that higher education needs to develop innovative models to serve the incredibly diverse population of eager learners throughout our country, Bay Path has embraced and practiced this principle for 123 years.”

Since 1897, Bay Path has been providing an evolving range of educational programs in response to changing economic, cultural and technological influences. This growth includes the introduction of the One Day a Week Saturday program and the launch of the country’s first women-only online college, The American Women’s College, both focused on helping non-traditional adult women students earn their degrees; Bay Path’s award-winning Social Online Universal Learning (SOUL) platform, which pairs highly innovative learning analytics with personalized instruction and support services; and Bay Path’s signature Women as Empowered Learners and Leaders (WELL) program, designed to help undergraduate students discern and articulate their goals in life and give them the confidence, skills and knowledge to achieve those goals successfully.

To obtain these rankings, U.S. News asked college presidents, provosts and admissions deans to nominate up to 15 colleges or universities in their U.S. News Best Colleges ranking category that are making the most innovative improvements. To be listed, a school had to receive seven or more nominations.

Bay Pay was also included on lists of Top Performers for Social Mobility and Best Regional Universities