New College jumps from ‘F’ to ‘B+’ in latest ACTA ratings

The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) has boosted its assessment of New College of Florida, raising the liberal arts college’s grade from an “F” to a “B+” as part of the organization’s “What Will They Learn?” project.

ACTA assesses core curricula at more than 1,100 U.S. colleges and universities based on seven core subject areas, including composition, literature, foreign language, U.S. government or history, economics, mathematics and natural sciences.

ACTA is a right-leaning organization and member of the conservative Project 2025, and it seeks to promote academic excellence and freedom.

With its ratings boost, New College now ranks in the top 7.5% nationwide and is the highest-graded public college or university in the state.

ACTA attributes New College’s improvement to reconstruction of the school’s general education program, which replaced what it described as a fragmented model to a new structured core focused on Logos, which is thought, and Techne, or practical knowledge. The change, ACTA explained, ensures students are able to engage meaningfully in both the humanities and the sciences, delivering a well-rounded education.

Under New College’s new requirements, all students must complete substantive course work in all seven of ACTA’s core subject areas.

“Flouting the trend toward lax academic standards, New College has achieved momentous, countercultural growth with its streamlined new core curriculum,” ACTA Academic Affairs Fellow Veronica Bryant said.

“The coherent curriculum initiates students through literature, and they gain competence in civics, mathematics, composition, science and technology, before ending with ‘Enduring Human Questions.’ Fulfilling its mission as Florida’s public liberal arts college, New College is the only public school in Florida to require Literature of all students, who benefit from reading Homer’s Odyssey in concert.”

New College President Richard Corcoran celebrated the improved grade, saying it confirms the school’s “academic reforms are working.”

“We strengthened our core around foundational knowledge because students deserve substance and seriousness,” he said. “A liberal arts education must train the mind. It must build discipline, reason and the ability to wrestle honestly with complex ideas. Moving from a failing evaluation to a B+ in three years demonstrates that structural reform and high expectations produce measurable results.”

The school views its improvement in ACTA ratings as more than just a subtle change, but rather as a cultural shift toward accountability, academic clarity and restored standards.