EMU ranked in 'America's Best Colleges' edition

Eastern Mennonite University

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Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Va., has again been ranked by U.S. News & World Report magazine on its list of "best U.S. colleges."

EMU placed 181 out of 266 national liberal arts colleges in its annual "Best Colleges" issue that hits the newsstands Aug. 31.

Each college and university received a score based on 16 indicators, including peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty-student ratios and class sizes, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving. The "National Liberal Arts" category, in which EMU is ranked, is defined as "schools emphasizing undergraduate education and awarding at least 50 percent of degrees in the arts and
sciences."

Within the 266 schools in the "national liberal arts" category, EMU rated high in several key areas, with an average freshman retention rate of 79 percent, well above the national average, a high percentage of full-time faculty (76 percent), a graduation rate (62 percent) that outperformed predictions by 3 percent and an alumni giving rate of 26 percent.

BJ Miller, director of institutional research and effectiveness, expressed disappointment that EMU wasn't highlighted by the publication as a school with "A Strong Focus on Student Success," noting: "Our cross-cultural experience is clearly a stellar example of a strong study abroad program, according to their definition, but I believe we weren't
included because we're not as widely-known as the schools that made the
list."

A complete summary of the methodology used to rank each school can be found online at www.usnews.com/colleges.

All 2011 rankings are available on the magazine's website at www.usnews.com.