08.22.07

Erskine College ranks second among baccalaureate colleges in the South

Erskine College earned the #2 spot among baccalaureate colleges in the South, according to the 2008 edition of "America's Best Colleges" by U.S. News and World Report.

The rankings — which this year feature some substantial changes in methodology — will be published in the magazine's Aug. 27 issue, on newsstands Monday, Aug. 20, and available online at www.usnews.com/colleges as of last Friday.

The annual rankings — in which U.S. News groups schools based on categories created by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching — provide a resource for parents and students contemplating one of life’s most challenging decisions.

More than 200 schools switched categories since last year's rankings and Erskine was one of those, because of the first major category revision by Carnegie since 2000. The Carnegie Classifications have been the basis of the Best Colleges ranking categories since the first rankings in 1983 and are used in higher-education research. For example, the U.S. Department of Education and many associations use them to organize their data and to determine colleges' eligibility for grant money.

The Best Baccalaureate Colleges are institutions that focus on undergraduate education and offer a range of degree programs — in the liberal arts, which account for fewer than half of their bachelor's degrees, and in professional fields such as business, education and athletic training.

"Whether Erskine is listed among the national liberal arts colleges or the baccalaureate colleges, we're always listed as among the best," Executive Vice President and Dean of the College Dr. Donald W. Weatherman said. "We always rise to the top."

There are 320 baccalaureate colleges within four regions: South, North, Midwest and West. Erskine ranks second among colleges listed in the South, trailing only Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas.

Other South Carolina institutions are listed in the baccalaureate college rankings, including nearby Lander University in Greenwood (ranked 41st), Anderson University (34th) and Newberry College (43rd).

Claflin College is ranked 10th, Coker College stands 14th, the University of South Carolina-Aiken is listed 26th and the University of South Carolina-Upstate is ranked 36th.

Conference Carolinas foe Barton College (N.C.) is ranked 41st, tied with Lander University.

Using a proprietary methodology, the annual U.S. News and World Report rankings represent a comprehensive look at how schools stack up based on a set of 15 widely accepted indicators of excellence and help prospective students and their parents evaluate and compare data compiled from more than 1,400 accredited four-year schools.

The rankings are facing particularly vocal complaints this year from a group of colleges and educators working to develop an alternative to the system.

An organized rebellion has begun against the magazine's long-criticized method of pitting school against school and so far, 62 college presidents have signed a letter pledging to stop filling out the U.S. News' reputational survey.

"One-fourth of the evaluation is the peer evaluation, which is purely subjective," Weatherman said. "That was the chief reason for the pullout by some institutions, including Furman (University) and PC (Presbyterian College).

"I think, in principle, they are right," he said. "Eighty percent of the liberal arts schools are in the northeast and they'll give low scores to Christian and Southern liberal arts schools because of their bias against Christian liberal arts schools in the South."

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