Bluefield College has been ranked among the Top 50 “Best Comprehensive Undergraduate Colleges in the South” in U.S.News & World Report's celebrated issue “America's Best Colleges: 2007.”
The number 49 ranking for Bluefield College marks the fourth consecutive year the school has earned the Top 50 status and the third year in a row that Bluefield College has been the highest ranked college among local higher education institutions.
Three hundred-twenty comprehensive undergraduate colleges in four regions of the United States are evaluated annually by U.S. News for its well-known publication of “America's Best Colleges.” This year, Bluefield College was ranked among the leading tier (Top 50) in the Southern region. The Southern region encompasses 12 states, including Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas.
BC's number 49 (Top 50) ranking placed the institution with or above all other comprehensive undergraduate colleges in southwest Virginia and southern West Virginia, including Concord University (ranked also at 49), Bluefield State College (ranked in the Top 51-75), and Mountain State University (ranked in the Top 76-100). Bluefield College also landed ahead of other like competitors in the South, including Alice Lloyd (KY) College, Fairmont (WV) State College, Ohio Valley (WV) College, Shepherd (WV) University, Tennessee Wesleyan College, Virginia Intermont College, West Virginia State University, and West Virginia Tech.
In the U.S. News rankings this fall, Bluefield College was particularly recognized for its small class sizes and personal attention to students as evidenced best in its “proportion of classes with less than 20 students.” In fact, BC was listed second among all comprehensive undergraduate colleges in the South in terms of small class sizes. Eighty-six percent of Bluefield College's classes have fewer than 20 students. Only Mid-Continent (Ky.) University at 87 percent scored higher than BC in this category. Similarly, the college earned the best score possible (0%) in the category for “percentage of classes with 50 or more students.”
Special to the Herald