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8.24.05 Erskine Towers Erskine ranked among top liberal arts colleges Erskine College has again been ranked in the third tier of U.S. News & World Report's Best Liberal Arts Colleges rankings. It is the fourth year that Erskine has been listed in the rankings, to be published in the Aug. 29 edition of the magazine, which hit newsstands Monday. Erskine is one of four South Carolina institutions listed in the rankings. The others are Furman University, Wofford College and Presbyterian College. "That says a lot for South Carolina's commitment to quality higher education," Executive Vice President and Dean Dr. Donald Weatherman said. The state of Florida, for example, only has one school listed in the liberal arts rankings. The rankings place Erskine among the top 150 liberal arts colleges in the nation. Categories included are peer assessment score, average freshman retention rate, graduation rate (predicted and actual), percentage of classes with fewer than 20 students, percentage of classes with more than 50 students, percentage of faculty who are full-time, SAT/ACT scores, freshman in top 10 percent of high school class, acceptance rate and average alumni giving rate. Weatherman said the Carnegie Foundation has established categories by which liberal arts colleges are defined and a major one is that at least 50 percent of Erskine's graduates need to be in disciplines such as history, biology, chemistry and Bible, for example, rather than majors such as education and business. There are several reasons why the rankings are important, Weatherman said. First, the rankings are generally recognized as being extremely helpful to first-generation and minority college students and can be a factor in their decision about where to apply. Also, Weatherman said, the rankings are useful to college administrators. "I think the main quantitative aspect of the rankings is that it gives us the ability to compare ourselves to other schools," he said. Weatherman noted that the rankings provide "confirmation" that the college is doing a good job. "It demonstrates we're clearly a selective institution in our enrollment and we're not an elitist institution because of our mission statement — 'Christian commitment and excellence in learning' — which reflects our desire to reach out and help people," he said. The dean said he is pleased that Erskine is ranked among the nation's top liberal arts colleges. Weatherman said there is a factor, however, that sets Erskine College apart. Because of limited financial resources, Erskine officials have had to be creative about the way they offer a quality education for a price that will appeal to students and parents who are drawn by the college’s mission. "We're in a category with schools that have a lot more resources," Weatherman said. "Because of the strength and dedication of the faculty and our academic reputation, we're able to compete with many of these schools." |
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