Whether the rise of Northeastern's ranking was the result of an effort to game the system or not, critics would agree that the institution's continual improvements in its placement in "U.S. News & World Report"'s "Best Colleges Guide" allowed the university to improve rapidly via a significantly larger endowment and a more-competitive student body. This explains why it was able to attain higher rankings than other local schools such as Simmons College and Wentworth Institute of Technology (which were started around the same time). Northeastern's reputation benefited from a positive feedback effect, in that improved rankings gave the university access to more resources which in turn allowed them to further improve the quality of the university and therefore their rankings. The quality of the university has improved dramatically within the last two decades as a result of the introduction of new academic programs, far more competitive applicants, new buildings, a larger endowment, alumni donations, new satellite campuses, and the expansion of their flagship co-op program.