SUNY Cortland Near the Top of Economic Value Rankings

10/07/2015 

When it comes to educating students for real-world employment, SUNY Cortland is one of the most cost-effective colleges in the nation, according to a new survey that compares the success of graduates in the workplace against the cost of their education. 

SUNY Cortland was ranked 53 out of nearly 1,200 four-year institutions across the United States, placing it in the top 5 percent of the 2016 Educate to Career (ETC) College Rankings Index. Educate to Career is a California-based nonprofit research corporation that provides higher education, employment and salary information for business recruiters and students.

Earlier this year, Consumers Digest named SUNY Cortland one of the nation’s 50 “best values” among public colleges and universities.

“This new ranking underscores the incredible value of a SUNY Cortland education,” said College President Erik J. Bitterbaum. “Students today rightly want assurance that they are paying a reasonable price for an education that fully prepares them to start a career and earn a comfortable living. We are thrilled to be recognized nationally for something that we have always taken pride in doing well.

“Student success and affordability will continue to shape our campus priorities into the future.” 

The ETC rankings place an emphasis on career preparedness and the potential job prospects and earnings for graduates of individual colleges. Factors used in the rankings included net tuition cost, the percentage of graduates employed in occupations related to students’ fields of study and average salary of recent graduates.

SUNY Cortland ranked third among State University of New York institutions, behind SUNY Geneseo and the College at Brockport. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill topped the rankings.

“Users of the index will recognize that schools providing a practical education for a reasonable tuition rate are highly ranked,” said Michael R. Havis, president and founder of ETC. “Public, state colleges are particularly adept at graduating students who land good jobs, and are unburdened by excessive loan balances.

“In our view, this is how the college education system is supposed to function.”

The complete Educate to Career (ETC) College Rankings Index is available online.