UPDATED: Student health services No. 1 in nation

No. 1 in student health services. A green rating of 98 (on a scale of 60-99). No wonder UC Davis made the new edition of The Best 380 Colleges, published annually by The Princeton Review, a tutoring, test prep and college admission service company.

The new edition, dated 2016, came out today (Aug. 4) in book form and online. Here's the UC Davis page.

The Princeton Review presents 62 ranking lists, including student health services, all based on surveys of 136,000 students (an average of 358 per campus) at the 380 colleges in the book in 2014-15 and-or the previous two school years.

In a weekend blog post, Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi wrote: "Nothing is more important than the health and well-being of our students, and the outstanding services we provide are testimony to the dedication and hard work of Dr. Michelle Famula, Dr. Thomas Ferguson and the Student Health and Counseling team. They all do a wonderful job of ensuring that our students get the best quality care."

Read the chancellor's post and see a picture of the Student Health and Counseling Services team.

'The perfect combination'

The Princeton Review summarized UC Davis' survey responses as follows: "Backed by 'strong science programs,' 'cutting-edge research' and 'the incredible amount of internships available,' UC Davis is many students’ idea of great academia. For those who seek a supportive environment, 'UC Davis is the perfect combination of a top-rated institution and a calm and noncompetitive student body.' This 'prestigious' school is located in Northern California and is well-known for its 'agricultural sustainability and awareness.' It’s not every university where you can 'touch a pig, pet a baby goat and milk a cow if you’d like.'"

'Green' highlights

UC Davis’ high green rating is based on data from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.

The Princeton Review says: “UC Davis programs in sustainable practices have led to four consecutive years of reduced greenhouse gas emissions, over 20 percent of the food served in dining commons considered sustainable, and over 75 percent of waste diverted from landfills.”

The write-up also notes UC Davis has one of the top-10 environmental studies undergraduate degree programs in the nation; a career center thet emphasizes opportunities in a wide range of environmental fields, from environmental planning and water resources management to ecology, design and landscape architecture; and holds an environmental internship and career fair annually.

Other highlights: five LEED-platinum buildings and UC Davis West Village, the largest planned zero-net energy community in the nation; Unitrans and its fleet of clean buses; and a platinum rating as a Bicycle Friendly University, as designated by the League of American Bicyclists. 

'Direct student feedback'

"Every college in our book has outstanding academics," said Robert Franek, Princeton Review's senior vice president-publisher. "While our purpose is not to crown one college academically 'best' overall or to rank the schools 1 to 380 on any single topic, our lists provide direct student feedback on the schools' campus culture, program offerings and cost. Our goal is to help applicants choose and get into their dream college — the college best for them."

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Dave Jones, Dateline, 530-752-6556, dljones@ucdavis.edu

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