HSU is one of 123 institutions recommended in the "Best in the West" section of the Review’s Web site feature, 2010 Best Colleges: Region by Region. The school was similarly honored last year.
Robert Franek, the Review's vice president of publishing, said, "We chose Humboldt State and the other schools we recommend as our 'regional best' colleges primarily for their excellent academic programs. We choose them based on institutional data we collect from several hundred schools in each region, our visits to schools over the years and the opinions of independent and high school-based college advisors, whose recommendations we invite. We also take into account what each school’s customers – their students – report to us about their campus experiences on our 80-question student survey."
Students are asked to comment on multiple issues, such as the accessibility of faculty, and answer questions about their campus life. HSU learners praised their school for “a holistic approach to learning,” “applied, hands-on learning” and “academic rigor in an exceptional environment.”
They cited the curriculum for fostering “the skills for lifelong learning, community and political awareness” and said social responsibility is integral to coursework. In the words of one student, “One overarching lesson HSU graduates bring to the world is a strong commitment to social justice, no matter the discipline they choose to study.”
HSU students also commented about the campus’s “tight niche family feel” and the fact learners and professors know one another by name.
The Princeton Review’s (www.PrincetonReview.com) corporate headquarters are in Framingham, MA, and editorial offices are in New York City. It is not affiliated with Princeton University and it is not a magazine.