Gordon in the News: last updated 08/23/2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 17, 2010
MEDIA CONTACT
Jo Kadlecek
Office of College Communications
978.867.4752
[email protected]
WENHAM, MA—Forbes Magazine recently recognized Gordon College as one of the top schools in the country for its students’ academic and postgraduate success.
Of just 610 undergraduate institutions across the country included on the Forbes Magazine annual list of America’s Best Colleges, Gordon College ranked 160. In the August 2010 issue of the magazine, editors chose to review only the top nine percent of all U.S. colleges and universities (out of 6,650 total accredited institutions). The magazine reported that those schools on the list were “among the best public and private institutions in the country from the student’s point of view.”
Criteria for the Forbes list were based on the quality of the education the institution provides, the experiences that the students reported and how much they achieved after graduation.
“What’s interesting about the list is that so many small liberal arts colleges, including Gordon, are ranked so well,” said Provost Mark Sargent. “It’s exciting to reaffirm what we’ve suspected for a while: today’s students are interested in many of the same things that have defined our mission from the beginning, such as a global perspective, innovative teaching, and faculty committed to mentoring students. What makes Gordon unique, of course, is that our Christian tradition is at the center of all we do. I’m proud of this recognition.”
Four of the list’s top eight institutions are in Massachusetts, confirming its place as an intellectual capital in the region with a total of 25 Bay State institutions making the list. Of those, Gordon places 12th just behind Mount Holyoke and ahead of nearby schools such as Boston University, Emerson, Simmons, Bentley, and Northeastern University.
Of the 110 sister schools which comprise the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU), only a dozen earned a spot on the list. Gordon ranked 4th just behind Wheaton, Westmont and George Fox University and ahead of schools such as Calvin, Taylor, Azusa Pacific, Messiah and Seattle Pacific University.
Using factors such as student satisfaction, postgraduate success, student debt, four-year graduation rates, and competitive awards, the Forbes’ list was compiled with no single factor counting as much as 20 percent. Yet because students have distinct interests, academic abilities and financial situations, Forbes cautioned that the “best” school for each student depended not only on overall quality (as measured by rankings such as this one) but on other considerations unique to each student.
For more information on Gordon’s programs, visit www.gordon.edu/academics.