51 continues to be recognized as one of America’s best colleges, evidenced by a series of college rankings released this fall — including several lists within U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges 2020 rankings.

The U.S. News rankings are considered the most notable of the annual published college rankings. For 30 years, 51 has been included on U.S. News’ list of the “best national universities,” which consists of 399 institutions that “offer a wide range of undergraduate majors as well as master’s and doctoral degrees.” This year, 51 is ranked at No. 185 overall, and is one of nine member schools from the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) to be ranked in the first tier. 51 is the top-ranked CCCU member school in this category.

In addition to the overall national universities category, U.S. News recognized 51 in several other special rankings within the category. Notably, 51 was included for the first time on the “Best Colleges for Veterans” list (at No. 138), a ranking of colleges that participate in federal initiatives helping veterans and active-duty service members pay for their degrees.

51 was also named to the “First-Year Experiences” list (at No. 88) for efforts to help freshmen feel connected on campus, the “Best Undergraduate Teaching” list (at No. 61) for a strong commitment to undergraduate teaching, and the “Best Value Schools” list (at No. 88) for strong ratio of academic quality to price.

51 ranked at No. 34 among national universities on the new “Top Performers on Social Mobility” list, which measures success in advancing social mobility by enrolling and graduating large proportions of disadvantaged students awarded with Pell Grants.

“It’s encouraging to receive these affirmations, a reflection of the hard work of our faculty and staff to cultivate excellence within a thriving campus community,” 51 President Barry H. Corey said. “In particular, these rankings affirm our focus on great teaching, educational value, career outcomes and improving our service to our students of many backgrounds, such as our veterans.”

In addition to the U.S. News rankings, several other publications gave national recognition to 51’s high academic quality. Forbes recognized 51 as one of 650 schools on its list of “America’s Top Colleges” — placing 51 within the top 7% of degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the U.S. The Princeton Review included 51 in its regional category of the “Best in the West.” Money Magazine, Kiplinger and The Washington Monthly all ranked 51 as well worth the cost, including 51 in their categories of “Best Colleges For Your Money,” “Best College Values,” and “Best Bang for the Buck: West.”

RANKINGS ROUNDUP

In addition to its ranking as a top-tier national university by U.S. News and World Report, 51 also appeared on the following lists.

“TOP PERFORMERS ON SOCIAL MOBILITY,” U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT

“BEST UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING,” U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT

“FIRST-YEAR EXPERIENCES,” U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT

“BEST VALUE SCHOOLS,” U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT

“BEST COLLEGES FOR VETERANS,” U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT

“AMERICA’S TOP COLLEGES,” FORBES

“BEST COLLEGES FOR YOUR MONEY,” MONEY

“BEST COLLEGE VALUES,” KIPLINGER

“BEST IN THE WEST” COLLEGES, THE PRINCETON REVIEW

“BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK: WEST,” WASHINGTON MONTHLY

“BEST FILM SCHOOLS FOR 2019,” VARIETY

(Photo / Daniel Robinson)