Concordia is the No. 1 Nebraska school in the Midwest region of best baccalaureate colleges in the 2008 U.S. News & World Report survey, America’s Best Colleges. Concordia is ranked 19th in its class in the Midwest region. The rankings were made public Friday, Aug. 17.
Based an overall score of 61, Concordia also compares well with schools in other categories and regions. Concordia, Nebraska is the top-ranked school in the Concordia University System and placed in the top three schools of the Great Plains Athletic Conference.
“Concordia is pleased to receive a top tier ranking from US News & World Report,” said Brian Friedrich, president of Concordia. “It reflects on the strength of our faculty, the quality of our students and the tremendous support of our alumni and friends.”
This year's rankings included methodological changes that placed Concordia in the baccalaureate category. The U.S. News report uses the industry-standard Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching categorizations and based this year’s rankings on newly revised parameters published in 2006. "Concordia still offers multiple graduate degrees in programs that are growing," said Curt Sherman, director of admissions. "The motivation for our change in categories comes from Carnegie looking more closely at the total types of degrees awarded. We are a chiefly a residential, undergraduate school that offers a broad range of bachelor's degrees. This new category places us near institutions that are more similar to us."
Criteria evaluated in the rankings included academic reputation, retention and graduation rates, faculty resources, student selectivity and alumni support. “We thank God for all of His blessings; it is an exciting time to lead and serve this outstanding institution of Lutheran Christian higher education,” said Friedrich.
Complete rankings are available online at www.usnews.com/colleges and will be published in the magazine’s August 27 issue, on newsstands Monday, August 20.