Somerset, NJ -- When U.S. News & World Report revealed its 2017 Best Colleges rankings last week, a host of Northeast Conference (NEC) institutions were recognized for their longstanding commitment to academic excellence. A total of eight NEC schools appeared on top-100 lists for best regional colleges/universities, while Robert Morris made its first appearance on the U.S. News and World Report rankings of national universities, debuting at No. 188.

The rankings are designed to help students worldwide compare the academic quality of more than 1,800 U.S.-based schools.

"We are proud of the strides the NEC membership is making academically and equally proud of the support our institutions are giving to our troops, both active duty and veterans," said Noreen Morris, NEC Commissioner.
 
Top Regional (North) Universities
#9 - Bryant
#27 - Mount St. Mary's & Saint Francis U
#35 - Wagner
#44 - Sacred Heart
#67 - Fairleigh Dickinson

Top Regional (North) Colleges
#9 – St. Francis Brooklyn

Top Public Universities (North)
#35 - CCSU

Best Value (North) Colleges
#8 – St. Francis Brooklyn

Top National Universities
#188 - Robert Morris

The NEC also fared well in the category recognizing Best Colleges/Universities for Veterans (North) with four institutions earning top-25 rankings. These schools all participate in federal initiatives helping veterans and active-duty service members pay for their degrees.

Best Universities for Veterans (North)
#5 - Bryant
#14 - Mount St. Mary's
#25 - Sacred Heart

Best Colleges for Veterans (North)
#4 - St. Francis Brooklyn

In making its first appearance on the U.S. News and World Report rankings of national universities, Robert Morris joined a list of venerable institutions that includes Princeton, Harvard, Stanford and Duke, as well as other Pittsburgh-area schools such as Carnegie Mellon, Penn State, and the University of Pittsburgh.

The U.S. News rankings focus on academic excellence, with schools ranked on up to 15 measures of academic quality. Overall, the rankings emphasize student outcomes – including graduation and retention rates – which carry the most weight at 30 percent.

The college ranking categories are based on the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, the most widely accepted classification system in U.S. higher education. In February 2016, Carnegie released official updates – called the "2015 update" – including to the Basic Classification used in the 2017 Best Colleges. As a result, about 12 percent of ranked schools moved into different categories compared with last year. The Carnegie classification system has been used by U.S. News since the first Best Colleges rankings in 1983.

Click here to view the full U.S. News and World Report rankings.

About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 36th year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Pittsburgh (#22), Baltimore (#26), and Hartford/New Haven (#30).  Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 22 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 14 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Brooklyn, Mount St. Mary's, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league's official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Google+, all @NECsports.