How are Alabama Baptist universities stacking up against other academic institutions around the U.S.? Based on the latest U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings released Sept. 12, both Samford University in Birmingham and the University of Mobile (UMobile) received high rankings in their respective categories.
Samford University was ranked fourth in the “Regional Universities-South” category for the second consecutive year, continuing a three-decade tradition of being ranked in the top tier of its peer group.
Samford was the highest ranked university in Alabama in any peer group and ranked very high among Southern Conference peers. Among Southern Conference schools only Elon University in North Carolina was higher, ranked second in the same category as Samford. Samford also was among the highest-ranking historically Baptist colleges and universities.
“Rankings are just one measure of an institution’s success,” said Samford President Andrew Westmoreland. “We always are interested in assessing our standing compared with our peers, but at Samford we believe that our best assessment is in the academic success of our faculty, students and alumni.”
Specific criteria
The rankings are based on the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching classifications and assess such criteria as academic reputation, graduation and retention rates, class size, faculty/student ratios and alumni giving, according to R. Phil Kimrey, Samford’s vice president for student affairs and enrollment management. Peer assessments from presidents, provosts and chief admission officers of institutions in the same classification also are used to determine the rankings.
Institutions in Samford’s classification are ranked in four regions. Samford’s overall score placed it 12th nationally among the 625 institutions classified as regional universities. This is the largest classification grouping in the U.S. News rankings.
Samford also was included on two of the special category lists that are part of the 2013 rankings.
The school was ranked 11th among regional universities in the South in the “Best Value Schools” category. According to U.S. News officials, only schools ranked in or near the top half of their categories are included in this list because they are considered the significant values.
In addition, Samford was named an “A+ School for B Students” among regional universities in the South. Institutions on this list admitted a “meaningful proportion of applicants whose test scores and class standing put them in non-A territory, but who have a decent shot at being accepted and thriving,” according to U.S. News.
“The rankings and assessments from our peers confirm what we at Samford University have known for years — that Samford’s emphasis on rigorous academics is succeeding,” Westmoreland added. “Many people have helped to build that strong reputation through the years.”
UMobile was ranked 28th in the “Regional Colleges-South” category. In addition, the school was listed as an “A+ School for B Students” in the “Regional Colleges-South” category.
“We appreciate the recognition that the University of Mobile received in this survey,” said Kathy Dean, director of media relations for UMobile.
“Our focus on quality academic programs and integrating learning, faith and leadership continue to attract attention beyond our region,” she added. “Surveys such as this are among many sources of information that prospective college students and their families can use to help find a school that is the right fit for them.”
Other Alabama schools ranking in the top 50 in the “Regional Colleges-South” category were Tuskegee University (13th); Huntingdon College in Montgomery (22nd); Faulkner University in Montgomery (42nd); and Oakwood University in Huntsville (49th).
In the “Regional Universities-South” category, Spring Hill College in Mobile (17th) and the University of Montevallo (37th) were ranked in the top 50.
In the “National Universities” category, the University of Alabama was ranked 77th and Auburn University 89th.
Judson College in Marion was listed in the “National Liberal Arts Colleges” category and its ranking was not published. (Samford, TAB)
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