The Princeton Review® and Energage proudly recognize the inaugural recipients of the 2026 Top Workplaces for Higher Education Awards. This national honor celebrates colleges and universities that prioritize the employee experience and foster people-first cultures for faculty, staff, and administrators.
Award winners are determined entirely by confidential employee feedback collected through the 26-question Energage Workplace Survey, measuring key areas including pay and benefits, leadership, direction, appreciation, and meaningful work.
The institutions below are listed alphabetically.
Located in Bridgewater MA, BSU focuses on excellence in teaching. It was founded 1840 by Horace Mann, a 19th-century educator considered the father of American public education.
View school profileEast Coast Polytechnic Institute University, founded in 1966, has locations in VA, FL, NC, SC and TX. It has a career-focused approach to education with programs in nursing, technology, business, health sciences, culinary arts and other fields.
Based in Milwaukee, WI, MSOE offers bachelor's and master's degrees in engineering, business, computer science, and nursing. It has an exceptional placement rate: 96% of its 2024 grads were employed or accepted into graduate programs of their choice.
View school profileNightingale College is a nursing school with 18 locations across the U.S. Founded in Salt Lake City, UT, in 2010, it is named after the 19th-century founder of modern nursing Florence Nightingale.
Located in Waterbury, CT, Post is the second-largest school in CT. It offers day, evening, and online courses in 25 undergraduate and graduate programs including nursing and health science, business and MBA, public service and education, arts and sciences, and continuing education.
Located in Catonsville, MD, UMBC offers 300 programs for undergrad and grad students in STEM fields, arts, humanities and social sciences. It is one of the most ethnically diverse colleges in the U.S. Nearly 60% of its students are from minority backgrounds.
View school profileLocated in Crawfordsville, IN, Wabash is a private liberal arts undergraduate college offering 40 academic programs. Founded in 1832, it is one of the few remaining all-male colleges in the U.S. It has an enrollment of about 800 students.
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