NewsWinter 2021 JMU Ranked Virginia’s “Best School for Getting a Job.” Again. or the second year in a row, JMU is JMU President Jonathan R. Alger. “Such a blend ranked Virginia’s “Best College for Get- creates an experience that instills JMU graduates ting a Job.” This annual ranking is based with a demonstrated proficiency in skills and on Department of Education College knowledge that cuts across majors.” FScorecard data and statewide job placement num- Research has proven this approach works. A bers compiled by Zippia 10 years after graduation. report conducted for the Association of Ameri- JMU prides itself on cultivating graduates can Colleges and Universities in 2018 found that with not just technical skills, but who can also business executives and hiring managers place think critically, reason ethically, work well on a high priority on graduates’ “oral communica- teams and communicate proficiently through tion, critical thinking, ethical judgment, work- a variety of platforms. “This ranking is a direct ing effectively in teams, working independently, result of our strategic decision to build a curricu- self-motivation, written communication, and lum and highly engaged experience that blends real-world application of skills and knowledge.” the best aspects of big research institutions with “It is for these reasons that employers love hir- those found at smaller liberal arts schools,“ said ing JMU graduates,” Alger added. Focus on Outcomes hile nearly 80% of college students report that increasing Handshake, an online community with more than their prospects for employment after graduation is their 400,000 employer partners and 900 university partners, No. 1 reason for enrolling in higher education, research enables students to find internship and job opportunities, finds that fewer than 20% reach out to career services on and is widely available to students across the nation—if they Wtheir campuses for advice on finding a job. Gallup go to the career services website, concluded in the same study that students who do “More universities need find Handshake, sign up and log seek career-services support are far more confident in to the system. But at JMU, Christine Cruz- that their field of study will lead to a good job than to take an institutional- we feed these career opportuni- vergara (’05). their peers who do not. Why the disconnect? level approach to ties live to public webpages cor- (Bottom): The entire Hand- Obviously, not all students are alike, nor are career education. ” responding to academic majors. shake team. college campuses. But a universal truth would According to Christine Yip —CHRISTINE YIP CRUZVERGARA (’05) seem to suggest that university leaders ought to Cruzvergara (’05), vice president for higher educa- take a new approach: integrate career services with where students live. And tion & student success at Handshake (and proud JMU alumna), “More uni- as the university named Virginia’s “Best College for Getting a Job,” JMU versities need to take an institutional-level approach to career education. It’s ought to lead by example. inspiring to see senior leadership and academic colleagues champion an initia- Research shows conclusively that students and their families embarking tive that further drives student career success. As a product of the Virginia on their college search first seek out information about academic majors. public education system, it’s wonderful to see this level of commitment.” Whether a university offers a major in their field of interest is the No. 1 One of the important byproducts of this approach is that students see factor in deciding whether to apply to a particular institution. JMU web that a particular academic major can lead to many different career paths. analytics bear this out: users of search engines most often arrive at JMU Shortly after introducing the live Handshake feeds to public websites, the webpages that provide overviews of the academic majors in which they’re number of JMU students signing in to Handshake jumped by 35%. That’s interested. So why not expose them to real live career opportunities right the sort of focus on outcomes that one would expect from Virginia’s “Best there, before they’ve even arrived on campus as students? College for Getting a Job.” WSJ ranks JMU highly in outcomes, engagement ames Madison University ranks #109 “Outcomes,” as defined in the rankings, are number of accredited programs to determine NATIONAL RECOGNITIONS in outcomes and #111 in engage- based on an institution’s graduation rate, the ranking. The category focuses on how well an JMU is the “Most ment in the 2021 Wall Street Journal/ value added to graduates’ salary, debt after grad- institution informs, inspires and challenges Times Higher Education College uation and academic reputation. The category, its students. Inno vative” school JRankings of the top 797 schools throughou t which accounts for 40% of the overall rankings, The remaining 40% of the overall rankings in the South, the United States. considers an institution’s record on delivering are determined by resources (30%) and envi- according to U.S. Ranked at 281 overall, JMU is among successful outcomes for its students. ronment (10%). Factors in resources are finance News & World Report. 15 public and private Virginia colleges and Making up 20% of the overall rankings, per student, faculty per student and research universities that made it into the WSJ rank- “engagement” with students factors student papers per faculty. Environment factors are the ings, which aim to assess student success engagement, student recommendations, inter- proportion of international students, student Among America’s favorites and learning. action with teachers and students, and the diversity, student inclusion and staff diversity. ■ In the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education’s 2020 U.S. College Rankings, JMU was No. 2 on the list of most recommended universities in the nation. Other schools in the rankings include Notre Dame (No. 3), Stanford (No. 6) and Virginia Tech (No. 9). Return on investment ■ JMU earned the No. 2 overall rank ing and the top spot on Insta- ■ JMU continues to hold a place in The Prince - ton Review’s annual recommendations of the gram in the 2020 Higher Education nation’s best colleges for academics, afford- Social Media Engagement Report ability and career prospects. The university compiled by Rival IQ, a social media is also included in “Colleges That Pay You analytics com pany. JMU ranked JMU alumni report a Back: The 200 Schools That Give You the Best No. 4 in 2019, No. 1 in 2018, No. 32 in 2017 and 97% satisfaction rate. Bang for Your Tuition Buck,” which is an expan- No. 7 in 2016. Rival IQ surveyed all 357 Divi- sion of The Prince - sion I colleges and univer sities on social media ■ Gallup research finds that JMU alumni live ton Review’s list. between June 1, 2019 and May 31, 2020 on lives of greater meaning and purpose than their JMU has been Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Using that peers graduating from the top 100 schools listed in the books data and a weighted formula, an overall engage- on the U.S. News & World Report rankings. since 2009. ment rank ing was generated for each school. Exponential surge in Couple’s gift names Hartman Hall ■ MONEY magazine has iden- ■ JMU is the “Best College in Virginia for ■ More students at JMU reported they “made James (’70, ’00P) and Carolyn (’00P) Hartman Jim Hartman entered Madison College as Fulbright selections tified JMU as a great invest- Getting a Job,” according to U.S. Depart- the right choice” when selecting a college than of Rockingham, Virginia, have made a sub- a transfer student in 1968 and went on to his year, 49 JMU graduating ment based on educational ment of Education statistics compiled by at any other school in the country, accord- stantial gift to name a building in the new earn a Bachelor of Business Administration seniors and alumni applied for quality, affordability and Zippia. JMU alumni have the highest post- ing to The Wall Street Journal and Times College of Business. degree while working part time for his father’s a Fulbright U.S. Student Grant. high-earning alumni in its “Best25 Colleges for graduate employment levels of all Virginia Higher Education. Hartman Hall, which adjoins Zane Showker trucking company. The couple recently sold Of those 49, 31 were announced Your Money” list. JMU ranks No. 25 in the Best colleges and universities. Hall to constitute the CoB Learning Complex, the business, which allowed them to make Tas semifinalists, with finalists chosen later in Public College in the Nation category and No. delivers much-needed additional space and the commitment to the CoB. the Spring 2021 semester. JMU’s Fulbright 9 in the Best Public College in the South cate- state-of-the-art technology for students in The university plans to celebrate with a applications are up by 345% compared to the gory, out of 727 colleges included in the list. the nationally recognized business school. grand opening in Fall 2021. Fall 2015 Fulbright cycle. This uptick is not limited just to Fulbrights; it is consistent with ■ all national fellowships application data. Over JMU’s College of the past five years, JMU has had a 196% Business is con- increase in national fellowships applications sistently ranked ATHLETICS among the top 40 business programs by and a 438% increase in winners and alter- ■ Enjoying arguably the most successful Bloomberg Businessweek. nates. JMU also has three Critical Language era in department history, James Madison Scholarship semifinalists this year. Athletics ranks among national leaders for Additionally, the JMU Honors College competitive excellence has had a 7.7% increase in 4-year completion across all sports. Accord- rates over the past five years.