Recognition & Awards
Forbes ranked Doane College the top college in Nebraska and 59th among 569 undergraduate institutions nationwide in Forbes.com's first rankings of America's Best Colleges. Institutions were ranked based on quality of the education they provide and how much their students achieve. Rankings were completed in conjunction with an economist from Ohio University and the Center for College Affordability and Productivity.
At No. 59, Doane placed highest among Nebraska institutions - followed by Nebraska Wesleyan (78), Hastings College (226), Creighton University (441) and UNL (483).
For more information or to see a complete list of rankings go to http://www.forbes.com/2008/08/13/college-university-rankings-oped-college08-cx_rv_mn_0813intro.html
For the second year in the liberal arts category, Doane College was ranked in the Top 150 national best liberal arts colleges by U.S.News and World Report's 2009 College Guide. The annual college guide categorizes schools by mission and region.
The Best Liberal Arts category includes 265 colleges nationwide who emphasize undergraduate education and award at least half of their degrees in arts and sciences. Doane earned high marks on several specific measurements used to develop the rankings, including a nearly 40 percent alumni giving rate and an ideal student-to-faculty ratio with less than 20 students in 82 percent of classes.
Also for the second year, Doane College placed among the top 25 liberal arts colleges nationwide in the ‘least debt' category, released in the Aug. 22 as part of the U.S.News and World Report's 2009 College Guide. The category lists national universities and liberal arts colleges from which the class of 2007 graduated with the heaviest and lightest debt loads.
Doane was ranked 14th nationwide for a 2007 class in which the average debt upon graduation totaled $14,171. It's well below Nebraska's 2006 average student debt of $19,198, according to a recent study by the Project on Student Debt.
Doane College is also among the best colleges and universities in the Midwest, according to the Princeton .jpg)
Review. The New York City-based education services company selected Doane as one of 159 institutions it recommends in its "Best in the Midwest" section on its Web site feature 2009 Best Colleges: Region by Region.
Doane College has been named to the Colleges of Distinction guide for 2008-2009. College of Distinction selects schools "that exhibit the four distinctions that make a college truly great: engaged students, great teaching, vibrant communities, and successful outcomes." Doane is one of only three colleges in Nebraska to receive this honor, which was bestowed upon only 240 colleges and universities across the country.
Doane College was recently named a 2008 Groundwater Guardian Green Site by the Groundwater Foundation in recognition of the college's groundwater and environmental stewardship. Doane earned the exclusive designation based on its current practices related to water use, pesticide and fertilizer management, and pollution prevention.
Doane is the first college in Nebraska to earn this designation. To learn more, visit http://www.groundwater.org/.
National Survey of Student Engagement
In its first year in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), Doane's students indicated Doane excels in some of the most powerful contributors to learning and personal development.
The NSSE survey is a comprehensive assessment of effective practices in higher education. In 2006, 523 colleges and universities participated. Nearly 275 Doane seniors and first-year students completed the survey.
Prairie Research Site
For its efforts at the Aldrich Prairie Research Site, Doane College received the Conservation Education Award from the Nebraska Wildlife Federation. Each year, the federation honors select Nebraskans for conservation of the state's fish, wildlife and natural resources. The award recognizes the college's efforts to protect and preserve the prairie/wetland complex and associated wildlife communities and its use of the land as an outdoor laboratory.
Physics Video Library
Doane's Physics Video Library is a collection of short digital video clips that can be used to learn physics concepts taught in high school and college courses. Each video clip is available on the project site in QuickTime and Flash formats. Users can obtain data from the video clips using a web-based software application developed by a Doane physics major graduate as his senior research project. The library was a collaborative effort between faculty as well as past and current students within the physics department.
The library was recognized for its use of technology for teaching and learning materials by the MERLOT project. Read the review at: http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewCompositeReview.htm?id=247224
The MERLOT project (http://www.merlot.org/) is an online community of faculty and institutions collaborating to increase the quantity of high quality web-based, interactive teaching and learning materials. Faculty members perform peer review of instructional technology modeled after the peer review processes for research and scholarship. The MERLOT Web site is a free "gateway" for these web-based materials. You can obtain more details about the MERLOT project, the Peer Review Process, and evaluation standards at http://taste.merlot.org/.