Eastern Mennonite University is ranked in the “fourth tier” in the “best liberal arts colleges” category in the 2008 edition of “America’s Best Colleges” by “U.S.News & World Report” magazine.
The exclusive listings – which this year feature some substantial changes in methodology – will be published in the magazine’s Aug. 27 issue, on newsstands Monday, Aug. 20, and available online beginning Aug. 17 at www.usnews.com/colleges.
The Carnegie Commission defines a national liberal arts school as one emphasizing undergraduate education and awarding at least 50 percent of its degrees in the arts and sciences. There were 266 schools measured in the liberal arts category; most are private institutions; 27 are public.
A complete summary of the methodology used to rank each school can be found online at www.usnews.com/colleges.
Each college and university received a score based on 15 indicators, including peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty-studio ratios and class sizes, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving.
Within the 61 colleges and universities in the fourth tier, EMU rated high with an average freshman retention rate of 77 percent, well above the national average, and in the percentage of full-time faculty (85 percent). EMU’s alumni giving rate of 30 percent ranked second highest among all schools listed in the fourth tier.
“I am proud of the EMU faculty and students, and we are pleased to be recognized as a high quality private university,” President Loren Swartzendruber said of the “U.S.News” ranking.
All 2008 rankings are available on the magazine’s website at www.usnews.com