St. Norbert College: Moves up eleven spots in National Liberal Arts category of 2015 U.S. News and World Report Rankings

From: Mike Counter, St. Norbert College, www.snc.edu, 920-403-3089, mike.counter@snc.edu

ST. NORBERT COLLEGE MOVES UP ELEVEN SPOTS IN NATIONAL LIBERAL ARTS CATEGORY OF 2015
U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT’S
“AMERICA’S BEST COLLEGES” GUIDE

(St. Norbert also Ranked Among Best Colleges for Veterans)

DE PERE, WIS.: The 2015 U.S. News & World Report rankings have just been released and St. Norbert College is once again named one of “America’s Best National Liberal Arts Colleges.” St. Norbert is listed in the top tier and moved up eleven spots from 134 to 123.

St. Norbert is among the top 10 Catholic liberal arts colleges in the nation.

St. Norbert College was also ranked fifth among national liberal arts institutions for “Best Colleges for Veterans.” Colleges making this list participate in federal initiatives helping veterans and active service members apply, pay for and complete their degrees.

“We appreciate this recognition and are proud to be among the nation’s best liberal arts colleges,” said President Thomas Kunkel. “It’s our mission to graduate outstanding citizens who make a difference in the lives of others.”

For 18 years, U.S. News & World Report ranked St. Norbert among the top comprehensive colleges in the Midwest. For the last eight years the college has been listed among the nation’s best liberal arts colleges. The change came following St. Norbert’s reclassification in 2006 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching – an independent policy and research center that partners with U.S. News & World Report for its rankings.

Several factors help account for the college’s higher ranking. Its freshman retention rate is 83 percent, and its graduation rate (74 percent) exceeds by 7 percent the predicted rate (67 percent) based on the college’s student body. Peer assessment, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving are also key factors.

“We continue to build the St. Norbert College student experience—we’ve enhanced our honors program, expanded our community outreach, and, with great donor support, invested nearly $100 million in new or renovated facilities in the last six years,” said Kunkel. “Our new Gehl-Mulva Science Center is a state-of-the-art resource for the natural sciences, and it also houses the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Green Bay-area campus. Pair that with having one of the best graduation rates in the state of Wisconsin, and we have genuine momentum at St. Norbert College.”

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. 23.

St. Norbert is also recognized as one of the Best Midwestern Colleges in the 2014 edition of The Princeton Review; is named as one of the best universities in the nation to learn, grow and succeed by Colleges of Distinction; was recently listed 32 in “America’s Best Bang for the Buck” rankings among liberal arts colleges by Washington Monthly; and has been named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with distinction.