A new way to rank colleges Partofthecreditfortheacademy'sgraduation
rate goes to the Center for Student Success, which
For years, Money magazine has ranked financial
offers peer tutoring, writing support and help
products and services, using data-driven methods sessions for math and physics classes. The center,
to give readers insight into the best banks, credit
located in the Buoy House, sees several thousand
card providers, cel phone plans and the like. Kim
student visits each semester. Joceline Boucher,
Clark, a longtime financial journalist who is now
Accessibility Services Director at Maine Maritime
a senior writer at Money, thought it was only
Academy, has the data to demonstrate that the
natural that the magazine should apply its unique
center's efforts are bearing fruit: In 2010, 7% of
lens to higher education. Clark had been U.S.
students were on academic probation at some
News & World Report's lead higher education
point during the school year. Today, that rate is
reporter, so she had an inside view on how that
below 2%.
magazine used a combination of self-reported
and external data to rank colleges.
Dollars and cents
over the years, as more types of data became
available--and Clark joined the staff at Mon-
At the same time, MMA provides good value for
ey--she began to feel that college rankings like
the money. According to the data the magazine
those published by U.S. News were missing some
collected, the net price of a Maine Maritime
crucial criteria. "I realized that affordability was
Academy degree is $107,422. That figure takes
becoming a bigger and bigger issue," she says. "It
into account how long it typical y takes to grad-
wasn't just quality at any price. After al , tuition
uate and the impact of scholarships and grants.
has risen much faster then people's incomes in
MMA's cost is the lowest of al schools in Money's
the last 10 or 20 years. If you're going to borrow
top 10--and it's paired with an early-career
to pay for college, you're real y going to have to
income figure ($67,600) that exceeds that of Har-
think about whether you're going to be able to
vard ($60,000) and other highly ranked schools.
pay that money back."
In addition, Clark notes that MMA alumni sala-
So Clark pitched her editors on a college
ries are more than $20,000 higher than graduates
ranking project that would focus on three
of colleges with similar student bodies.
main factors: quality of education; affordability,
It is true that Maine Maritime Academy grad-
including student debt levels and default rates;
uates also carry significantly more student loan
and outcomes, including earnings. They would
debt ($32,042, on average, according to the maga-
use outside data--in other words, information
zine's figures) than students at other high-ranking
not self-reported by the colleges--as much as
institutions--though it's worth noting that more
possible, and they would make adjustments to
than 60% of MMA students are essential y in
pinpoint how wel a school's students perform
school for three semesters per year in order to
compared to similar students at other schools
fulfil sea time and other licensing requirements.
(based on graduation rates, student loan defaults
The disparity didn't dissuade Money editors.
and post-graduation earnings). For instance,
"If you're going to borrow a little more to go to
Clark says, Harvard shouldn't get extra credit
Maine Maritime, we think that's an investment
because of its 97% graduation rate; the type of
worth making," Clark says. Indeed, just 4.1% of
students it admits would be highly likely to grad-
Academy alumni default on their student loans,
uate from whichever school they chose to attend.
compared to a national average of 11.8%--an-
The magazine cal s those criteria its "val-
other indication that MMA graduates' eventual
ue-added grade," and it's in this area that Maine
earnings are more than sufficient to justify the
Maritime Academy real y shines. For instance,
cost of attendance.
Clark cal s out the academy's 74% graduation
"There are a lot of families in Maine and New
rate, which is 18 percentage points above what
England that are real y sacrificing to get their
is normal for schools with the same student
kids to the school," adds Jason oney '96, who is a
demographic. "That means they are doing a great
member of MMA's Board of Trustees. "I've always
job at helping the students they let in graduate,"
thought the school is a prudent investment, and
she says.
it's great to see that people outside of Maine
recognize that."
Michaela Cavallaro is a Down East contributing editor and a financial writer for The Writing Company.

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