{"id":2954,"date":"2016-10-06T07:30:27","date_gmt":"2016-10-06T11:30:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/?p=2954"},"modified":"2016-10-06T07:30:27","modified_gmt":"2016-10-06T11:30:27","slug":"centre-college-ranked-highly-in-latest-u-s-news-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/2016\/10\/06\/centre-college-ranked-highly-in-latest-u-s-news-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Centre College Ranked Highly in Latest U.S. News Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY SEBASTIAN DUNCAN – STAFF WRITER<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

On Sept. 13th, U.S. News & World Report ranked Centre College as #44 in the \u201cBest National Liberal Arts Colleges\u201d ranking.<\/p>\n

Centre rising from #45 to #44 in U.S. News & World Report\u2019s ranking is not a dramatic increase. However, this change is a direct result of gradual improvements throughout college, and this consistent trend of improvement will most likely be beneficial for Centre in the future.<\/p>\n

According to Director of Communications Michael Strysick, four specific factors have improved Centre\u2019s U.S. News ranking. First, Centre improved in the \u201cGraduation and Retention\u201d category. Centre\u2019s \u201cFaculty Resources\u201d category also improved, which is determined by factors such as class sizes and the student-faculty ratio. The third factor that contributed to Centre\u2019s increased ranking is the \u201cnumber of incoming first-years who were ranked in the top 10 percent of their graduating class.\u201d Finally, Centre\u2019s acceptance rate decreased slightly, \u201cwhich makes [Centre] appear to be more selective.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chief Planning Officer Patrick Noltemeyer added that Centre\u2019s improvement in the \u201cGraduation and Retention\u201d category probably contributed the most to the U.S. News ranking.<\/p>\n

Noltemeyer also mentioned that Centre \u201ccontinues to have a strong reputation with peer institutions resulting in a positive peer assessment rating, as well as a strong rating by high school counselors who are familiar with the quality educational experience Centre provides.\u201d<\/p>\n

Noltemeyer and Strysick both stated that Centre does not prioritize rankings over the overall educational experience for students and faculty, although they acknowledge the importance of rankings for the college.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause rankings are highly influential in the college search process, the new ranking is very helpful,\u201d Strysick said.<\/p>\n

Strysick stated that maintaining a high rank is an important aspect of staying competitive in higher education.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Centre\u2019s U.S. News & World Report rank] suggests to prospective students that we maintain a high level of quality, and it suggests to our alumni and other potential donors that Centre is worthy of support and a good investment,\u201d Strysick said.<\/p>\n

Noltemeyer also asserts that Centre\u2019s rankings are an important part of the decision-making process for prospective students. However, he also stated that the administration \u201c[tries] not to put too much stock in [Centre\u2019s] ranking by any publication or website.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is always a good thing for us to do well in the rankings, but it is really the efforts of our students, faculty, and staff that earn us such a positive reputation,\u201d Noltemeyer said.<\/p>\n

Both Strysick and Noltemeyer believe that other rankings also signify Centre\u2019s consistent excellence.<\/p>\n

\u201cCentre College offers prospective students a very strong value proposition, since we are lower priced relative to other schools ranked in the top 50,\u201d Strysick said. \u201c[Centre College continues] to be honored by all those rankings that focus on \u201cbest value\u201d, whether it\u2019s Kiplinger\u2019s, Fiske, or Money magazines.\u201d<\/p>\n

Centre\u2019s value for students is also reflected in how likely it is for alumni to give back to the college.<\/p>\n

Alumni generosity allows Centre to invest more money back into college programs, such as the Third Century Campaign, the Grissom Scholars program, and the Lincoln Scholars program. These programs help improve Centre\u2019s rankings, which in turn have the potential to further increase alumni giving.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur alumni are among the most loyal in the country and were ranked this year #12 in the nation for their giving participation rate,\u201d Strysick said. \u201cWe simply could not be as successful as we are without the continued generosity of our alumni and other donors, and we are forever grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finally, Strysick praised Centre\u2019s study abroad ranking.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have often been ranked #1 in the nation but consistently among the top 5 for our study abroad participation rates,\u201d Strysick said.<\/p>\n

This sentiment is seconded by Noltemeyer, who is \u201cpleased that [Centre is] recognized with a high ranking by Institute of International Education.\u201d<\/p>\n

Noltemeyer also stated that he is proud of \u201cthe dedication of Centre students to community service\u201d, which is reflected in the rankings of magazines such as the Washington Monthly<\/em>.<\/p>\n

All of these rankings are tied to Centre\u2019s consistent success on U.S. News & World Report\u2019s \u201cBest National Liberal Arts Colleges\u201d ranking, which is one of the most influential college ranking reports in the United States.<\/p>\n

Although a change from #45 to #44 in the nation among liberal arts colleges is not a radical change in Centre\u2019s ranking, it is proof that Centre is making incremental improvements.<\/p>\n

Hopefully, Centre\u2019s national and international success will remain as consistent and significant as it has in the past.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY SEBASTIAN DUNCAN – STAFF WRITER On Sept. 13th, U.S. News & World Report ranked Centre College as #44 in the \u201cBest National Liberal Arts Colleges\u201d ranking. Centre rising from #45 to #44 in U.S. News & World Report\u2019s ranking is not a dramatic increase. However, this change is a direct result of gradual improvements […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1427,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}