Erskine Ranked Among Nation's Top Christian Liberal Arts Colleges By U.S. News & World Report

Erskine College has again been listed in the third tier of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Liberal Arts Colleges rankings.

The rankings were to be published in the Aug. 23 edition of the magazine.

It is the third year that Erskine has been listed in the rankings.

Vice President and Dean of the College Dr. Donald Weatherman said the rankings translate into Erskine being “viewed as one of the 200 best liberal arts colleges in the United States.”

There are four private institutions of higher learning in South Carolina that earned spots in the rankings. In addition to Erskine, Furman, Wofford and Presbyterian College are listed.

“That is a credit to the state of South Carolina to have four ranked liberal arts schools,” Weatherman said. By comparison, he noted that the state of Florida has only one ranked liberal arts college in the rankings.

Weatherman said the ranking “speaks to the quality of our educational programs.”

Besides being listed as among the nation’s best liberal arts colleges, Weatherman pointed out that Erskine remains the highest-ranked Christian liberal arts college in the Southeast.

Erskine is also cited for the small financial obligations that graduates are faced with once they obtain their degree.

Among liberal arts colleges, Erskine ranks fifth (first among private schools) in lowest average amount of debt ($10,000) incurred by the 68 percent of graduates with debt.

Weatherman said that is a result of Erskine’s “generous financial aid packages.”

He said Erskine is “committed to students who are academically gifted to be able to come” to the college, regardless of their financial circumstances.

The Wylie Scholarship, for example, is established with the top priority in mind being minority students, Weatherman said.

Of the statistics that are considered and factored into the rankings for colleges, Weatherman said graduation rate is probably the most significant. Erskine stands at 71 percent and just a handful of schools in the third tier have higher graduation rates.

All of the schools in the top 10 liberal arts colleges in the nation have graduation rates of 89 percent and higher.

“We’re pretty consistently in the low 70s,” Weatherman said. “I think we’re committed to recruiting students who will be successful here.”

Another key statistic is the percentage of classes with fewer than 20 students — 63 percent of Erskine’s classes fall in that category — and the fact that none of Erskine’s classes have 50 students or more.

Weatherman said the college’s Board of Trustees mandated a 14:1 student-teacher ratio before his arrival.

As to the importance of the U.S. News & World Report rankings, Weatherman said it is “generally recognized” that the rankings are “extremely helpful to minority and first-generation college students” and have a bearing on where students decide to apply.

The benefit to Erskine, he said, is that the rankings “affirm what we constantly say in our publications — that we’re one of the best Christian liberal arts schools in the South.”

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