Washington Monthly ranks NWC third in nation

In a ranking of colleges based on how well they prepare their students for lives of achievement, service and research, Northwestern College has been ranked as the nation’s third-best baccalaureate college. Washington Monthly released the rankings today.

Tuskegee University of Alabama and Cooper Union of New York are ranked first and second, respectively. In addition to Northwestern College, other baccalaureate institutions in Washington Monthly’s top 10 include Taylor University, fourth; Messiah College, sixth; and Augustana College of South Dakota; seventh. The only other Iowa colleges in the top 20 are Loras College, 12th, and the University of Dubuque, 13th. Northwestern is the highest ranked member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.

An article at www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide/toc_2011.php says the magazine’s rankings feature a unique approach. “Conventional rankings … are designed to show what colleges can do for you. Since 2005, our rankings have posed a different question: What are colleges doing for the country? Higher education, after all, isn’t just important for undergraduates. We all benefit when colleges produce groundbreaking research that drives economic growth, when they offer students from low-income families the path to a better life, and when they shape the character of future leaders.”

Among the factors figuring into the Washington Monthly rankings are the number of bachelor’s degree recipients who go on to earn doctoral degrees or serve in the Peace Corps; the number of students who participate in community service and the staff support those efforts receive; and the predicted and actual graduation rates based on percentage of Pell recipients and incoming SATs. Northwestern is in the top 10 in the percentage of alumni who complete doctorates and in support for community service.

“We are pleased to receive this high national ranking for what I observe on campus every day,” says Greg Christy, Northwestern College’s president. “The commitment of our students, faculty and staff to serve others and impact the world for good is amazing. Our society desperately needs leaders, especially Christian leaders, and Northwestern excels at educating Christian scholars and servant leaders who will make a significant difference in the world.”

Among the other institutions ranked in the top three in their category this year are the University of California–San Diego, UCLA and the University of California–Berkeley in the national universities category; Berea College, Morehouse College and Bryn Mawr College in the liberal arts colleges category; and Creighton University, St. Mary’s University of Texas and Truman State University in the master’s universities category.

Northwestern College is a Christian college of more than 1,200 students in Orange City, Iowa, committed to developing students’ minds and empowering their faith as they prepare to lead in the world.