On Monday, September 12, U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges released its 2022-2023 rankings. Southwestern Adventist University was pleased to learn it had been ranked No. 3 for Top Performers on Social Mobility and No. 29 in the Best Regional Colleges West division. This news is even more favorable since this year’s rankings were based on academic quality measures reported from an all-time high of 1,500 U.S. bachelor’s degree-granting institutions nationwide, the most in the past 38 years.

A school’s Social Mobility ranking is based on the success of the school graduating students who received federal Pell Grants, students from households earning $50,000 or less annually. The report explains that Pell graduation rates and Pell graduation performance were the factors used, comparing each school’s six-year bachelor’s degree-seeking graduation rates of students who received Pell Grants to six-year bachelor’s degree-seeking graduation rates of students who did not receive Pell Grants.

The report methodology reveals that 40 percent of a school’s overall ranking is based on factors relating to how well it enrolls, retains, and graduates students “from diverse backgrounds with manageable debt.”

Southwestern Adventist University President Ana Patterson said, “We are pleased to be recognized by U.S. News & World Report as we strive to improve quality and experience for a diverse student body. These rankings reinforce our work and recognize some of the many aspects that make our campus a great place to learn. As a whole, we are proud of the work done on a daily basis to fulfill our mission of inspiring knowledge, faith, and service.”

Dr. Marcel Sargeant, vice president of institutional research and effectiveness, reported this year that the most popular majors at Southwestern Adventist University are registered nursing/registered nurse; education; business administration and management; biochemistry; exercise science and kinesiology; and theology. The faculty-to-student ratio is 1:12; average class size is 25 students; and more than two-thirds of Southwestern Adventist University professors have earned terminal degrees. The freshmen retention rate is 73 percent, a strong predicting factor of student satisfaction. “Southwestern is an institution where a student can rise to his or her full potential since we provide the resources needed for them to be successful in a Christ-centered environment,” he stated.

Ranking and U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges information is cited from https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges, a website devoted to helping students and families make informed decisions about their college investment.