Daniel-Moultrie Science Center at Erskine College
U.S. News Ranks Erskine Among the Best
Erskine College is the highest-ranked Christian liberal arts college in the South, according to the annual “America’s Best Colleges” guide released this month by U.S. News & World Report.
Erskine, a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU), a group of more than 100 institutions nationwide with clear Christian mission statements, hiring only Christian faculty, is the highest-ranked CCCU school in the South.
Erskine is one of the four highest-ranked CCCU schools nationally.
“Given our mission statement of Christian commitment and excellence in learning, we are right on the mark,” Erskine President Dr. John Carson said. “We are in the cream of the crop.”
Erskine’s mission statement has been unwavering since the school was founded in 1839, and Carson said, “Our mission is a historic mission. This is not a new direction for us. We are just perfecting the mission that we have historically embraced.”
Erskine was listed by the magazine in Tier III of “Best Liberal Arts Colleges.” In its tier of 50 schools, Erskine was among the leaders in almost every category.
Erskine was in the top 10 in “fewest classes with 50 or more” with 0 percent (first), “average alumni giving rate” with 35 percent (ninth), “acceptance rate” with 72 percent (ninth), and “2001 actual graduation rate” with 71 percent (ninth).
Erskine also ranked high in “2001 predicted graduation rate” with 68 percent (11th), “SAT Quartiles” (15th), “freshmen in top 10 percent of high school class” with 32 percent (17th), “2001 overperformance/underperformance” with plus-2 (17th), and “average freshmen retention” with 81 percent (18th).
Carson said the numbers reflect Erskine’s recent surge in enrollment, with the past two freshman classes being the largest of the past decade, last year’s class having the highest SAT average in school history, and this year’s class having the highest high school GPA of any entering class in school history.
“Students continue to come to Erskine because of its excellent academics, and because of the atmosphere that does not require them to sacrifice their Christian commitment,” he said.
“No school in the South combines those two elements, academic excellence and Christian commitment, better than Erskine.”
Copies of U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” are on newsstands now.
