Covenant College Ranks #4 in U.S.News & World

In its 2009 edition of America's Best Colleges, U.S.News & World Report ranks Covenant College #4 among baccalaureate colleges in the South and #4 in the "Great Schools, Great Prices" category in the same field.

This placement continues a steady upward trend for Covenant, which ranked #7 and #6, respectively, in the same categories last year. This marks Covenant's 6th consecutive year with a solid position among the top ten baccalaureate colleges in the South.

Covenant continues to have the 4th highest graduation rate in its field.

"The U.S. News rankings are based on a set of criteria that, while they aren't the most important or mission-critical values we embrace, nevertheless reflect some of the attributes that often characterize excellent institutions," said Covenant College President Niel Nielson.

"We are pleased with Covenant's high ranking in terms of both overall excellence and financial value. At the same time, we pledge to continue to focus on those aspects of Covenant's work that enable us to stay true to our founding mission and our aim to declare and demonstrate the preeminence of Jesus Christ in all things."

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Southern Adventist University is ranked one of the "Best Baccalaureate Colleges" in the South by the U.S. News & World Report in its 2009 "America's Best Colleges" edition. This is the seventh year Southern has been listed as a Top Tier college.

Of the 48 colleges and universities garnering the coveted Top Tier ranking this year, Southern was listed as number 31.

To create these rankings, U.S. News surveyed 1,476 colleges and universities, which were divided into categories based on Carnegie classification and region. A baccalaureate college is one that focuses on undergraduate education and offers a range of degree programs.

The seven indicators used to assess these colleges and universities were: assessments by presidents at peer institutions, retention of students, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, alumni giving, and graduation rate performance.

In the area of faculty resources, small class sizes and low student-faculty ratio were looked at favorably. In the U.S. News article, "How We Calculate the Rankings," Robert J. Morse and Samuel Flanigan stated, "Research shows that the more satisfied students are about their contact with professors, the more they will learn and the more likely it is they will graduate."

"This is an area where Southern shines particularly strong," says Vinita Sauder, vice president for Marketing and Enrollment Services at Southern. "In addition to our 16:1 student-teacher ratio and small class sizes, we have professors who are deeply committed to our students' overall success and therefore engage with them both inside and outside the classroom."

Home to more than 2,600 students, Southern is a graduate and undergraduate co-educational university. The academic program consists of six graduate degrees and ten undergraduate degrees with more than 70 areas of study.