St. Norbert College Moves-Up Among Catholic Colleges in 2012 U.S. News College Rankings

From , September 13, 2011
by Mike Counter, mike.counter@snc.edu, 920-403-3089

The 2012 U.S. News and World Report rankings have just been released and St. Norbert College is once again named one of "America's Best National Liberal Arts Colleges," ranking ninth among Catholic liberal arts college's nudging out St. Anselm College (NH) while holding steady at number 127. St. Norbert improved its overall score by three points, to 51. Several factors help account for the college's ranking. Its freshman retention rate is 83 percent, its graduation rate (77 percent) exceeds by 10 percent the predicted rate (67 percent) based on the college's student body, and 87 percent of the faculty are full-time, all key criteria in judging schools. Peer assessment, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving are also key factors.

For 18 years, U.S. News & World Report ranked St. Norbert College among the top comprehensive colleges in the Midwest. This is the fifth year the college has been listed among the nation's best liberal arts colleges. The change came following St. Norbert College's reclassification in 2006 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching--an independent policy and research center which partners with U.S. News & World Report for its rankings. The college's repeat in the number 127 position comes a year after a 14-place leap from number 141.

"St. Norbert College is delighted and gratified to be highly ranked again this year," said St. Norbert College President Thomas Kunkel. "This recognizes the momentum we have in building the St. Norbert College student experience. The rankings come at a time when we have the largest student body in our history--with the best academic profile in history. U.S. News once again recognizes our pursuit of excellence." "We appreciate this recognition and are proud to be among the nation's best liberal arts colleges," he said. "To be among the top nine Catholic liberal arts college's is even more gratifying as we work to further fulfill our mission."

U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" guide can be found online at www.usnews.com. The guidebook will be on newsstands Tuesday, Sept. 20.

St. Norbert was also recently ranked among the best colleges and universities in the country by Forbes.com. The magazine's fourth annual list ranks more than 600 schools in the country. St. Norbert College jumped 68 spots to number 84, out of all colleges and universities in the nation.

Forbes examined a number of criteria in determining its rankings, including: the amount of enjoyment students get out of their classes, students' success after graduation, the amount of debt incurred while in school, and success of students in distinguishing themselves academically.

To view the complete Forbes.com rankings and learn more about the methodology, go to http://www.forbes.com/top-colleges/list/.

St. Norbert College was also listed as a 2012 "Best in the Midwest" college by Princeton Review. The Princeton Review explains the criteria for each rating score on its site at http://www.princetonreview.com/college/college-ratings.aspx.