Saint Mary's College Ranks Among the Top 100 National Liberal Arts Colleges

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Saint Mary's Once Again Ranks Among the Nation’s Top 100 Liberal Arts Colleges

Contact:
Gwen O’Brien
Director of Media Relations
Saint Mary's College
(574) 284-4579

August 17, 2010 (Notre Dame, Ind.)—U.S.News Media Group ranks Saint Mary's College among the “Best National Liberal Arts Colleges.” Saint Mary's comes in at 93 out of the 250 schools on the list, released today online and to be published in the September issue of U.S.News & World Report. U.S.News college rankings, which group schools based on categories created by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, is a tool for students and parents considering higher education opportunities.

Saint Mary's College President Carol Ann Mooney set a goal early in her presidency, which began in June 2004, to move Saint Mary’s into the national liberal arts rankings. A national standing for a fourth consecutive year indicates Saint Mary’s is on course to meet a key goal in the College’s Strategic Plan, which is to provide “Educational Excellence Equal to that of the Best Colleges in the Country.”

“We know that national rankings are important to our incoming students and their families. I am very pleased that we are ranked in the top 100. Students graduate from Saint Mary’s with an education that challenges their minds, awakens their imaginations, and instills in them the desire to leave the world a better place,” Mooney said.
 
Among the many factors weighed in determining the U.S.News rankings, the key measures of quality are: peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, alumni giving, and, for National Universities and National Liberal Art Colleges, "graduation rate performance" and high school counselor ratings of colleges.

In addition to being among top 100 “Best National Liberal Arts Colleges,” Saint Mary's College also made the top 100 list for "Best Colleges: Most students studying abroad." This U.S.News list is not limited to liberal arts schools. Saint Mary's came in at 99 with 42% of the College's 2009 graduates participating in international study abroad programs.

College-bound students and their parents look to rankings and other indicators of quality when making their decisions about college. Earlier this month, The Princeton Review rated Saint Mary’s College among the Best Colleges in the Midwest for the eighth year in a row. U.S.News & World Report and The Princeton Review, along with other resources such as the University and College Accountability Network (UCAN) and the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), enable them to garner information about Saint Mary’s and other institutions.

About Saint Mary’s College: Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Ind., is a four-year, Catholic, women’s institution offering five bachelor’s degrees and more than 30 major areas of study. Saint Mary’s College has six nationally accredited academic programs: social work, art, music, teacher education, chemistry and nursing. Saint Mary's College ranks among the top 100 “Best National Liberal Arts Colleges” in the U.S.News & World Report 2011 College Guide. Founded in 1844, Saint Mary’s is a pioneer in the education of women, and is sponsored by the Sisters of the Holy Cross.