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A UMNS Report
By Barbara Dunlap-Berg*
6:00 P.M. EST Aug. 20, 2010
Students arrive on the campus of Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware,
Ohio. U.S. News & World Report ranked the school as one of the
nation’s top liberal arts colleges.
Photo courtesy of Ohio Wesleyan University.
View in Photo Gallery
A broad range of programs, a focus on community leadership and service
and a diverse student body set some United Methodist colleges and
universities above their peers.
Several of the denomination’s 93 four-year colleges and universities
earned top grades in The U.S. News and World Report’s annual list of
“Best Colleges” in the United States.
The magazine rated some 1,400 colleges and universities in various categories.
The nine United Methodist schools in the “National University Rankings”
were Duke University, Durham, N.C.; Emory University, Atlanta; Syracuse
(N.Y.) University; Boston University; Southern Methodist University,
Dallas; American University, Washington, D.C.; University of Denver;
Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta; and University of the Pacific,
Stockton, Calif. These schools, according to the report, “offer a full
range of undergraduate majors, master’s and doctoral degrees … (and) are
committed to producing groundbreaking research.”
Undergrad colleges lay groundwork
Among the “National Liberal Arts Colleges,” the top five United
Methodist schools were Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa; DePauw
University, Greencastle, Ind.; Willamette University, Salem, Ore.;
Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington; and Southwestern University,
Georgetown, Texas. More than 40 United Methodist schools scored high
marks in this category. These schools “emphasize undergraduate education
and award at least half of their degrees in the liberal arts fields of
study.”
A student paints at Claflin University, Orangeburg, S.C. The school was
ranked as one of the best historically black colleges in the United
States. Photo courtesy of Claflin University.
Winning distinction as “Great Schools at Great Prices” were five United
Methodist colleges: Duke, Emory and Syracuse universities; Wofford
College, Spartanburg, S.C.; and University of the Pacific. “The
calculation used here,” the report said, “takes into account a school’s
academic quality … and the 2009-10 net cost of attendance for a student
who receives the average level of need-based financial aid.”
A dozen United Methodist schools ranked as “A+ Schools for B Students.”
The top three United Methodist schools in the “university” category were
Syracuse University, Southern Methodist University and the University
of Denver. The top three United Methodist schools in the liberal arts
group were Willamette University; Drew University, Madison, N.J.; and
Cornell College, Mount Vernon, Iowa. Schools in this group “accept a
significant number of students with non-stratospheric transcripts,” the
report explained.
Ten of the denomination’s 11 historically black colleges and
universities made the list: Claflin University, Orangeburg, S.C.;
Dillard University, New Orleans; Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta;
Bennett College for Women, Greensboro, N.C.; Bethune-Cookman University,
Daytona Beach, Fla.; Huston-Tillotson University, Austin, Texas; Paine
College, Augusta, Ga.; Philander Smith College, Little Rock, Ark.; Rust
College, Holly Springs, Miss.; and Wiley College, Marshall, Texas. The
11th—Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tenn.—is a medical school so
was not evaluated.
‘Best colleges’ meet student needs
And in the “Up and Coming” group were six United Methodist schools: the
University of Denver, Emory University; Hendrix College, Conway, Ark.;
Willamette University; Otterbein College, Westerville, Ohio; and High
Point (N.C.) University.
The study also listed regional rankings as well as breakdowns by
business programs, engineering programs, “academic programs to look
for,” “best undergrad teaching” and “unranked specialty school.” The full reportis available here.
Though honored as a top liberal arts college, the University of Puget
Sound, Tacoma, Wash., does not generally promote the publication’s
rankings. “We believe the best college is the one that best meets the
needs of a particular student. The ‘best’ college for one student is not
necessarily the best one for another,” said Gayle McIntosh, school
communications director.
“The true value of the U.S. News college list,” she added, “is not in
the colleges listed or the order in which they are listed, but in the
way in which the list brings to the attention of prospective college
students the vast amount of choices they have when choosing a college.”
*Dunlap-Berg is internal content editor for United Methodist Communications.
News media contact: Barbara Dunlap-Berg, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5489 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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