Saint Mary’s Position in U.S. News Rankings Moves up to 82 from 96

college logoSeptember 9, 2015 (Notre Dame, Ind.)—Saint Mary's College remains in the top 100 of the highest ranked colleges in the U.S. News & World Report’s Best National Liberal Arts Colleges list, which was released today. The College has been in the top 100 for seven years running, this year coming in at 82 out of at least 235 liberal arts colleges. Access to the national rankings can be found beginning today online or printed in the new “Best Colleges 2016” guidebook, available online and in stores later this month.

Saint Mary’s College President Carol Ann Mooney set and met a goal early in her presidency to move Saint Mary’s into the national liberal arts rankings. Her tenure began in 2004 and ends next May. 

“We know that national rankings are important to many high school students in their college search. I am very pleased that Saint Mary’s College continues to be ranked in the top 100 Best National Liberal Arts Colleges,” Saint Mary's College President Carol Ann Mooney. “Students graduate from Saint Mary’s with an education that challenges their minds, awakens their imaginations, and instills in them the desire to leave the world a better place. They are supported by dedicated faculty and a campus community that helps them to succeed.”   

U.S. News uses many indicators to capture academic quality, including assessment by administrators at peer institutions, retention of students, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, alumni giving, graduation rate performance.

Saint Mary’s College’s strong graduation and retention rates are among the factors that contribute to its performance in the U.S. News rankings. At Saint Mary’s, approximately 94 percent of students who graduate earn a degree in four years. This is favorable in comparison to the percentage of graduates that complete a degree in four years at other non-profit private (78 percent) and public institutions (54 percent).*  In addition, Saint Mary’s exceeded U.S. News projected six-year graduation rate for the College by nine percentage points.

Saint Mary’s is so confident its students will graduate in four years, in the fall of 2013 the College rolled out its Four Year Graduation Promise. Starting with the Class of 2017, students who follow the promise’s guidelines are guaranteed to graduate in four years or the College will pay for any additional courses a student needs to earn her degree.

The U.S. News college rankings, which group schools based on categories created by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, is a tool for students and parents considering higher education opportunities. The Princeton Review recently ranked Saint Mary’s among the Best in the Midwest for the 13thconsecutive year. There are other measures/indicators of academic quality/value as well. For instance, according to recent research from the Office of Institutional Research at Saint Mary’s College, one year after graduation 95 percent of May 2014 graduates were either employed or enrolled in graduate or professional school, while two percent were involved in service commitments.

*These figures are based on the percentage of total graduates in eight years who graduate in four-years or less.  Data comes from the National Center for Educational Statistics IPEDS Data Center using the 2006 entering cohort data graduating in eight years.

About Saint Mary's College: Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Ind., is a four-year, Catholic, residential, women’s liberal arts college offering five bachelor’s degrees and more than 30 major areas of study, such as business, nursing, art, chemistry, and social work. Saint Mary’s College also offers two graduate degrees: a Master of Science and a Doctorate. All programs that fall under these degrees are co-educational and include a Master of Science in Data Science, a Master of Science in Speech Language Pathology, and a Doctorate of Nursing Practice. Founded in 1844 by the Sisters of the Holy Cross, Saint Mary’s College seeks, according to its mission statement, to educate students, develop their talents, and prepare them to make a difference in the world. Saint Mary’s College ranks among the top 100 Best National Liberal Arts Colleges for 2016 published by U.S. News & World Report. Follow Saint Mary's College on Twitter @saintmarys and @saintmarysnews

Contact for News Media: Gwen O’Brien, director of media relations, Saint Mary’s College, gobrien@saintmarys.edu (574) 284-4579

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