USF Featured in The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges 2022 Edition

Joliet, Ill. – The University of St. Francis (USF) is one of the nation’s most environmentally responsible colleges, according to The Princeton Review. The education services company features USF in its website resource, The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges: 2022 Edition, released on October 26, 2021. The guide is accessible for free at www.princetonreview.com/green-guide. The Princeton Review chose the 420 schools in the guide based on its survey of administrators at 835 colleges in 2020-21 about their institutions’ commitments to the environment and sustainability. The company’s editors analyzed more than 25 survey data points to select the schools. “It is an honor for the University of St. Francis to be included in the Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges: 2022 Edition. This recognition serves as a nice acknowledgement of our efforts to increase the campus’s sustainability projects and awareness,” said Jessica Conte, co-chair of the USF Sustainability Committee. The university’s sustainability efforts are tied to the teachings of Saint Francis of Assisi, who is remembered for his love of the environment and all living things. “We believe that our patron Saint Francis of Assisi is the example par excellence challenging us to of an integral ecology lived out joyfully and authentically (adapted from Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ Paragraph 10),” added Sr. Mary Elizabeth Imler, OSF, USF Vice President of Mission Integration. “We strongly recommend USF to students who care about the environment want to study and live at a green college,” said Rob Franek, The Princeton Review’s Editor-in-Chief. “USF offers excellent academics and demonstrates a commitment to sustainability that is exemplary on many counts.” Franek noted that The Princeton Review has seen an increasing level of interest among students in attending colleges with green practices, programs, and offerings. Seventy-eight percent of the more than 11,000 college applicants that participated in The Princeton Review’s 2021 College Hopes & Worries Survey said that having information about a college’s commitment to the environment would affect their decision to apply to or attend a school. This was a 12% increase over the 66% so indicating on the company’s 2020 survey. A report on the findings of the survey which also polled parents of college applicants is downloadable at www.princetonreview.com/college-hopes-worries. The profiles of schools in The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges include “Green Facts” sections detailing such matters as the availability of transportation alternatives on campus and the percentage of the college food budget spent on local/organic food. The profiles also provide information about the schools’ admission requirements, cost, financial aid, and student body demographics. The Princeton Review has published its Guide to Green Colleges annually since 2010. The company is also known for its dozens of categories of college rankings in its book, The Best 387 Colleges, and its website resources including The Best Value Colleges. USF was also recognized by The Princeton Review’s Best in the Midwest section of its “2022 Best Colleges: Region by Region” website. The honor marks the fourteenth consecutive year USF has been named to this national listing. How Schools Were Chosen for the Guide The Princeton Review chose the 420 colleges based on its 2020–21 survey of administrators at 835 colleges concerning their institutions’ sustainability-related policies, practices, and programs. The company’s editors analyzed more than 25 data points from the survey to tally Green Rating scores for the schools on a scale of 60 to 99. The Green Rating scores appear in the school profiles on The Princeton Review website and in The Princeton Review book, The Best 387 Colleges: 2022 Edition (published August 2021). Colleges that earned a Green Rating score of 80 or higher were chosen for the Guide to Green Colleges. Of the 420 schools selected for the guide, 391 are in the U.S., 26 in Canada, one in Ecuador, one in Egypt, and one in Greece. The schools are listed alphabetically in the guide and not ranked overall from 1 to 420. Twenty-seven of the 420 schools earned a Green Rating score of 99 (the highest possible score). They are also listed in The Princeton Review’s Green Honor Roll (reported August 2021). How the Guide’s Top 50 Green Colleges Ranking List Was Tallied The Princeton Review tallied the top 50 green colleges ranking list based on data from the Company’s surveys of administrators at the colleges as well as its surveys of students attending the colleges. The methodology factored in ten data points from the administrator survey and three data points from the student survey. Data from the student survey included student assessments of the influence of sustainability issues on their academic and campus experiences; administrator and student support for environmental awareness and conservation efforts; and the visibility and impact of student environmental groups on the campus. About The Princeton Review The Princeton Review, is a leading tutoring, test prep, and college admission services company. Every year, it helps millions of college- and graduate school–bound students achieve their education and career goals through online and in-person courses delivered by a network of more than 4,000 teachers and tutors, online resources, and its more than 150 print and digital books published by Penguin Random House. The company’s Tutor.com brand is one of the largest online tutoring services in the U.S. It comprises a community of thousands of tutors who have delivered more than 21 million one-to-one tutoring sessions. The Princeton Review is headquartered in New York, NY. The Princeton Review is not affiliated with Princeton University. For more information, visit PrincetonReview.com and the company’s Media Center. Follow the company on Twitter ( @ThePrincetonRev) and Instagram ( @theprincetonreview ). : : The University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Ill., serves close to 4,000 students nationwide and offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and social work. There are over 52,000 USF alumni across the globe. For information, call 800-735-7500 or visit stfrancis.edu. University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose. # # #