Over the years, the University of Maine at Farmington has earned a national reputation for excellence, quietly gaining stature as one of the finest state-supported universities in the entire northeastern United States.

One of "America's Best Colleges"
U.S.News & World Report
It’s flattering to be named one of "America’s Best Colleges" 12 consecutive years (1998-2009) but at Farmington, we take the annual college ratings with a grain of salt.

While it's nice to be recognized each year, we don’t view the rankings as the definitive authority on how to select a college. We believe the annual college guide can be a useful tool in helping you pare down your list of potential schools. It can help you learn a lot about a college: its graduation rate, student-to-faculty ratio, freshman retention rate, average class size, and more.

The U.S.News guidebook can also help you discover less well-known schools, colleges you may not have known were out there, but which may be a perfect fit for you.


A "College of Distinction "
Colleges of Distinction Guidebook
The University of Maine at Farmington received accolades as a "College of Distinction" from the 2008-2009 national guidebook of the same name.

Colleges of Distinction is a college guide with a unique approach. About 40 colleges were selected from each of six regions across the U.S. These "hidden gem" institutions had to meet four key criteria that make a college truly great: Engaged Students, Great Teaching, Vibrant Communities, and Successful Outcomes. These schools are not ranked, because every student has a different "number one college" based on their own individual needs and interests.

According to the guidebook and its accompanying Web site, some of the selected schools are well known to the general public, and some are not. But each selected institution has been honored for the excellence of its programs, and is highly recommended by those in the know about college education.

Some of the schools recognized in the Northeast Region along with the University of Maine at Farmington include: Hartwick College (NY), Hobart & William Smith Colleges (NY), Quinnipiac University (CT), Fordham University (NY), Providence College (RI), Ithaca College (NY), St. Michael's College (VT), Suffolk University (MA), Fairfield University (CT), SUNY Oswegeo (NY), Assumption College (MA), Roger Williams University (RI), Merrimack College (MA), Sacred Heart University (CT), Stonehill College (MA), to name a few.

What it said about us:
"The University of Maine at Farmington offers innovative academics, a friendly and down-to-earth attitude, and great results — all at the affordable price of a publicly-funded state college."


One of 20 Schools That Foster Student Success
National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)
Perhaps more significantly, the University of Maine at Farmington is also one of just 20 colleges and universities across the nation featured in Student Success in College: Creating Conditions That Matter. The book identifies schools that serve as models of educational effectiveness.

Student Success in College uses data collected by the National Survey of Student Engagement, which polls college students — asking them what's required of them: how many papers they write, how often and how well they interact with professors, how often they participate in classroom discussions, and more.

The book's authors interviewed students, faculty and staff and observed their behavior on campus. Student Success in College highlights 20 high-performing institutions that create a more supportive campus culture, where students are engaged, satisfied with their post-secondary experience, and are successful. UMF is distinguished as a college that is alive with a steady stream of innovative ideas and initiatives.

Schools featured include the University of Maine at Farmington, the University of Michigan, the University of Kansas, George Mason University, Gonzaga University, among others. Wheaton College in Massachusetts is the only other New England college profiled in the book.

What it said about us:
  • "[Farmington has] an unshakable focus on student learning"
  • "[Its] students are equal partners and take their responsibilities seriously"
  • "The campus is alive with a steady stream of innovative ideas and initiatives"
  • "Farmington's evolution into a student success-oriented campus ... is the product of a campus culture where 'people and their success' really do matter"
  • "[Farmington is] an engaged community of learners that capitalizes on its size and location, and gets the most out of its ... resources and talented students, faculty, and staff."