THE PRINCETON REVIEW GIVES 1,106 COLLEGES FIRE SAFETY RATINGS IN NEW 2012 EDITIONS OF ITS ANNUAL COLLEGE GUIDES AND WEBSITE PROFILES OF SCHOOLS
- Ratings Based on Student Residence Hall Fire Prevention Practices and Policies
- Honor Roll Salutes 17 Colleges Receiving Highest Fire Safety Rating Score: 99
NEW YORK, August 1, 2011 – The Princeton Review – known for its education services helping students choose and get in to colleges – today reported its seventh annual Fire Safety Ratings of colleges. The rating is a score from 60 to 99 that measures how well prepared a college is to prevent or respond to fires in campus residence halls. The Company tallied the rating scores for 1,106 institutions based on its 2010-2011 surveys of administrators at the colleges concerning their on-campus housing fire safety and fire prevention practices and policies. (Criteria follow.)
The scores appear in the profiles of the 1106 schools that The Princeton Review today posted on www.PrincetonReview.com. They are also in the profiles of those schools in the new 2012 editions of two Princeton Review guidebooks: "The Best 376 Colleges" ($22.99) and "Complete Book of Colleges" ($26.99) – both on sale August 2, published by Random House.
The Princeton Review's "2012 Fire Safety Rating Honor Roll"
The Princeton Review also today named 17 colleges to its "2012 Fire Safety Rating Honor Roll" – a list of schools that received the highest possible score (99) in its Fire Safety Rating tallies this year. Published in "The Best 376 Colleges" guidebook, the list includes:
(in alphabetical order)
- Adelphi University* (Garden City NY)
- Bay Path College* (Longmeadow MA)
- Bentley University (Waltham MA)
- College of Mount St. Joseph* (Cincinnati OH)
- Dominican University of California* (San Rafael CA)
- Duquesne University (Pittsburgh PA)
- Georgia College & State University* (Milledgeville GA)
- Husson College* (Bangor ME)
- Kennesaw State University* (Kennesaw GA)
- Milwaukee School of Engineering* (Milwaukee WI)
- Milwaukee School of Engineering* (Milwaukee WI)
- Mountain State University (Beckley WV)
- The Ohio State University-Newark* (Newark OH)
- Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College* (Saint Mary of the Woods, IN)
- Sweet Briar College (Sweet Briar VA)
- University of Maine-Fort Kent* (Fort Kent ME)
- University of Minnesota-Morris*
- Wheeling Jesuit University* (Wheeling WV)
*Schools with an asterisk are not profiled in "The Best 376 Colleges," but they are profiled in The Princeton Review's "Complete Book of Colleges" and/or its website.
Said Robert Franek, Princeton Review Senior VP / Publisher, "We salute the schools on our Fire Safety Rating Honor Roll for their fire prevention programs. From installing fire alarm systems and smoke detectors to equipping a high percentage of their dorm rooms with sprinkler systems, these schools have demonstrated a compelling commitment to safeguarding the lives of their students living in residence halls.
The Princeton Review developed its Fire Safety Rating in 2004-05 in consultation with the Center for Campus Fire Safety (www.campusfiresafety.org), a non–profit organization devoted to reducing the loss of life from fire at our nation's campuses. Said Franek, "We created the rating for two reasons. One: We recognized the need for it. Colleges have varying levels of fire safety and it can be difficult for applicants and their parents to get comparative information about them. Two: We hoped the rating would increase the awareness of fire safety on campuses. In the five years prior to our launching this rating – between January 2000 and August 2005 – 75 people had died in student housing fires (source: Center for Campus Fire Safety). This was then and continues to be such an important issue. We urge all college students whether they live on–campus or off to respect, follow, and take very seriously the fire safety rules of their residencies, frat/sorority houses, and dorms."
Criteria for The Princeton Review Fire Safety Rating
The Princeton Review tallied the Fire Safety Rating scores based on institutional data it obtained from the colleges during the 2010–2011 academic year in response to survey questions that asked:
- The percentage of student housing sleeping rooms protected by an automatic fire sprinkler system with a fire sprinkler head located in the individual sleeping rooms.
- The percentage of student housing sleeping rooms equipped with a smoke detector connected to a supervised fire alarm system.
- The number of malicious fire alarms that occur in student housing per year.
- The number of unwanted fire alarms that occur in student housing per year.
- The banning of certain hazardous items and activities in residence halls, like candles, smoking, halogen lamps, etc.
- The percentage of student housing building fire alarm systems that, if activated, result in a signal being transmitted to a monitored location on campus or the fire department.
About The Princeton Review College Ratings and College Rankings
The Princeton Review college ratings are scores on a scale of 60 to 99 in up to eight categories that appear on college profiles on its site and college guidebooks. The ratings are based primarily on institutional data. Categories include Academics, Admissions Selectivity, Financial Aid, Fire Safety and Green. The Princeton Review explains the criteria for each rating at College Ratings
The Princeton Review college rankings are lists of schools in 62 categories (in rank order: 1 to 20) based entirely on the Company's surveys of 122,000 students attending the schools in its book, "The Best 373 Colleges." The survey asks students to rate their own schools on dozens of topics and report on their campus experiences at them. The Princeton Review explains the basis for each ranking list at College Rankings
The Princeton Review college rankings are lists of schools in 62 categories (in rank order: 1 to 20) based entirely on the Company's surveys of 122,000 students attending the schools in its book, "The Best 376 Colleges." The survey asks students to rate their own schools on dozens of topics and report on their campus experiences at them. The Princeton Review explains the basis for each ranking list at www.princetonreview.com/college/college-rankings.aspx.
The Princeton Review, headquartered in Framingham, MA with editorial offices in New York City and test preparation locations across the country and abroad, is not affiliated with Princeton University and it is not a magazine.
About The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review (Nasdaq: REVU) has been a pioneer and leader in helping students achieve their higher education goals for more than 28 years through college and graduate school test preparation and tutoring. With more than 165 print and digital publications and a free website, (www.PrincetonReview.com), the Company provides students and their parents with the resources to research, apply to, prepare for, and learn how to pay for higher education. The Princeton Review also partners with schools and guidance counselors throughout the U.S. to assist in college readiness, test preparation and career planning services, helping more students pursue postsecondary education. The Company also owns and operates Penn Foster Education Group, a global leader in online education. Penn Foster provides career-focused degree and vocational programs in the fields of allied health, business, technology, education, and select trades through the Penn Foster High School and Penn Foster Career School (www.pennfoster.edu), which are headquartered in Scranton, PA.
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Available for interviews from New York
The Princeton Review's Robert Franek, Senior VP / Publisher, or David Soto, College Ratings Director, can discuss the Company's Fire Safety Rating and its other ratings, as well as its college rankings.
Contact
Joseph Iovino, Princeton Review, 888-865-7737 ext 5678 (JIovino@review.com) |