NASHVILLE (ABP) — Forty-three member institutions of the International Baptist Association of Colleges and Universities were listed among the nation's best in a survey conducted by U.S. News & World Report.
The number of IABCU member schools ranked in the top tier was the highest in the history of the rankings, which appear annually.
For the report, U.S. News researchers studied more than 1,400 colleges and universities scattered across the United States, ranking them by graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving. The schools were then ranked against peer institutions and assigned a score based on the accumulated data.
Using the weighted system, the list ranked each school in four categories: Best National Universities; Best Liberal Arts Colleges; Best Universities — Master's; and Best Comprehensive Colleges — Bachelor's. Twenty-six Baptist schools appeared in the top tier, which means they were ranked in the top 100 schools for each category.
Based on the criteria used, the magazine also identified schools considered “Great Schools at a Great Price.” This category ranked schools that combined a high academic reputation with a reasonable price compared to peer institutions. Mercer University, Mississippi College, Carson-Newman College, Samford University, Wayland Baptist University, Ouachita Baptist University, East Texas Baptist University, and Howard Payne University received that distinction.
The rankings also noted institutions where students graduated with low amounts of debt. Among them were Gardner-Webb University, Mercer University, Southwest Baptist University, and Mid-Continent University. No IABCU member schools appeared among schools with students who had the most debt.
In addition to the larger categories, the magazine also ranked schools with outstanding undergraduate programs in business and engineering. The undergraduate engineering programs at Mercer (36th) and Baylor University (20th) were noted as among the best in the nation.
The survey also ranked schools by their graduation rates and rates at which they retain students who return after completing their freshman year.
Baylor had the highest graduation rate of the IABCU member schools, at 72 percent. Samford came in second at 70 percent.
Eighteen IABCU member schools reported freshman retention rates of more than 70 percent.
And Baylor was listed in the top tier of the Best National Universities category, ranking 81st among the 248 institutions that fit the profile. The group included 162 public institutions and 86 private institutions.
Among the Best Universities — Master's division, Campbellsville University, Charleston Southern University, Palm Beach Atlantic University, the University of Mobile and the University of the Cumberlands were listed among the schools in the South. Wayland Baptist University was listed among the schools located in the West. Southwest Baptist University was ranked in the third tier in this category in the Midwest region.
IABCU member schools within the Best Universities — Master's category included Samford University (4th ), Mercer University (9th), Belmont University (10th), Union University (25th), Mississippi College (29th), Carson-Newman (33rd), Campbell University (44th), Gardner-Webb University (61st) and University of the Cumberlands (64th) were ranked in the top tier of Best Universities — Master's in the South. Hardin-Simmons University (38th), Houston Baptist University (49th), California Baptist University (51st), University of Mary Hardin Baylor (57th) and Dallas Baptist University (61st) were ranked in the top tier of Best Universites—Master's in the West. Samford University was also listed among the top five in graduation rate within the category of schools.
Within the category of Best Comprehensive Colleges — Bachelor's, six IABCU member schools were ranked in the third tier. Virginia Intermont College and Williams Baptist College were listed among schools located in the South. In the Midwest, Hannibal-LaGrange College and Missouri Baptist University were listed in the third tier.
-30-