Fordham University selects Blue course evaluation software to further its commitment to sustainability

Fordham University – New York – USA – April 19, 2012 – Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St. John’s College, placed in the care of the Society of Jesus shortly thereafter, and has since become an independent institution under a lay Board of Trustees, which describes the University as “in the Jesuit tradition.”

Fordham is composed of four undergraduate colleges and six graduate schools. Enrollment at Fordham includes approximately 8,000 undergraduate and 7,000 graduate students spread over three campuses in New York State: Rose Hill in the Bronx, Lincoln Center in Manhattan, and Westchester in West Harrison. In addition, the University operates a foreign center in London. Fordham awards bachelor’s (BA, BFA, and BS), master’s, and doctoral degrees. It also offers a five-year BA/BS engineering program in cooperation with Columbia University and Case Western Reserve University and a BFA program in dance in partnership with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

Fordham University’s academic ideals are drawn from its Jesuit influences. The University promotes the Jesuit principles of cura personalis, which fosters a faculty and administrative respect for the individual student and his or her uniqueness; magis, which encourages students to strive for excellence in all aspects of life, not simply the academic; and “men and women for others,” which intends to inspire service among members of the Fordham community.

Fordham is routinely listed in the Princeton Review of the Best Colleges Guidebooks as well as those from Fiske and Yale. The 2012 “Best Colleges” edition of U.S. News & World Report lists Fordham as a top-tier, more selective national university. It ranks the University’s undergraduate program 53rd in the country. Bloomberg/BusinessWeek ranked Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business 49th in the nation in 2012. In 2011, the Washington Monthly rankings, created as a public-interest alternative to the U.S. News rankings, placed Fordham 37th in the country. Fordham placed 63rd on the Paris School of Mines’ most recent ranking of world universities. This ranking measures the ability of schools to place their students in leading professional positions.

U.S. News & World Report ranked the daytime division (J.D.) of Fordham’s School of Law 29th in the nation and the evening division 5th in 2012, and AUAP ranked its LL.M. program 6th in the nation. The publication also placed the Graduate School of Social Service 17th and the Graduate School of Education 58th nationally. The Graduate School of Social Work ranked 11th in the nation, second in the New York metropolitan area only to Columbia University (which ranked 5th).

As part of its commitment to sustainability, Fordham has targeted to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2017. It has also committed to certifying all new buildings as LEED Silver. In addition, Fordham is pledging to recycle up to 90% of its construction debris, to use low flow faucets and shower heads, and to use sustainable materials such as recycled flooring. The school’s Grounds Department has also pledged to make half of its vehicle fleet electric, while the Security Department has pledged to make its entire fleet hybrid.

Fordham furthers its sustainability commitment, and selects Explorance Blue’s course evaluation software to automate their course evaluations university wide. The selection decision was finalized after a widespread, thorough and detailed RFP process.