Points of Pride

(verified 1/2021)

• In 2020, Western Oregon was ranked No. 18 in the nation for 50 Best Criminal Justice Degrees by Learn.Org
• Western Oregon University is among the top 200 colleges for Native Americans according to “Winds of Change” magazine’s 2021 college edition.
• In 2019, education website Study.com ranked Western Oregon University at No. 27 on the list of the 50 best colleges nationwide for education majors.
• In 2019, The Chronicle of Higher Education ranked Western Oregon University No. 2 in the nation for the number of American Sign Language degrees granted in the 2016-2017 academic year, the most recent year statistics were available.
• Western Oregon University is fully accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.
• Western Oregon University was recognized in 2018 as being the top four-year university in Oregon for Criminal Justice and Corrections careers by Correctional Officer.org.
• Western Oregon University was recognized in 2018 as the No. 73-ranked best regional universities in the West by U.S. News and World Report and No. 22 among best public universities in the West.
• Western Oregon University was recognized in 2016-2017 as the No. 11-ranked university for gerontology, according to online source Great Value Colleges. It is the only university Oregon that offers a bachelor’s degree in gerontology.
• The university also is in compliance with the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission, which authorizes teacher preparation programs offered by Oregon higher education institutions.
• The SafeWise Report ranks Monmouth as No. 12 on the 2018 list of the top 20 safest cities in Oregon.
• Ackerman Hall, built in 2010, was the first LEED Platinum residence hall in the U.S. The Western Oregon University campus has multiple buildings built to LEED Gold and Silver standards.
• Western Oregon University has been designated as a Military Friendly School since 2012. In, 2018, the university’s status improved from silver to gold.
• Western Oregon University’s chapter of Student Veterans of American won the “Best Chapter in the Nation” award in 2018 from that organization.
• Western Oregon University has had 21 NACADA The Global Community for Academic Advising awardees since 2008.
• Western Oregon University is the top mainland university for Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander students according to a February 2017 report in the Chronicle of Higher Education.
• The 2015-2016 Western Oregon University men’s basketball team went to the NCAA Division II Final Four.
• The 2017-2018 Western Oregon University men’s basketball team reached the regional championship game in NCAA Division II and was ranked No. 3 nationally.
• In 2008, then-WOU softball player Sara Tucholsky and two players from Central Washington University won the “best moment” ESPY award for a viral video about sportsmanship. Clips from the video are still used today in campaigns by national companies to demonstrate the nature
  of kindness in the human spirit.
• The Western Oregon University baseball team held the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship for 16 of the past 17 years.
• The Western Oregon University 2017 men’s cross-country team won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title.
• In 2017, the Cesar E. Chavez Leadership Conference executive board selected Western Oregon University to be the permanent home of the event, which gathers 2,000-plus Latino/a students to learn leadership skills.
• Western Oregon University received Tree Campus USA recognition in 2015, 2016 and 2017 from the Arbor Day Foundation.