Forbes claims Wesleyan is America's 15th Best College Buy
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Magazine also places Wesleyan College in Top 100 Nationwide, again
Macon, GA -- Wesleyan College is among America’s Top 100 Best Colleges, according to new rankings from Forbes magazine. It is one of only two institutions from the state of Georgia to appear in the Top 100. Forbes magazine collaborated with Dr. Richard Vedder, an economist at Ohio University, and the Center for College Affordability and Productivity (CCAP), to create their own "America's Best Colleges" list. This year marks the publication’s second annual listing; Wesleyan also appeared on the inaugural list in 2008.
In addition to its America’s Best Colleges list, this year Forbes also released Best Value Rankings, comparing school quality to cost. Wesleyan College appears 15th in the nation among colleges and universities offering high quality education at an affordable price. According to the magazine’s editors, “We essentially computed a ranking that took account not only of quality (as indicated by the main ranking of 600 schools) but also costs. Where does a student get the most "bang for the buck?" To produce the ranking, CCAP divided each school's overall quality score by its average net (after allowance for scholarship grants) tuition rate from the 2003-2004 to 2006-2007 academic years.
For its main America’s Best Colleges list, the CCAP report ranked 600 undergraduate institutions based on the quality of the education they provide and how much their students achieve once they've graduated. Colleges in the report represent the top 15 percent of more than 4,000 institutions nationwide. The data compiled by CCAP show that students strongly prefer smaller schools to large universities. The median undergraduate enrollment in the top-50-ranked schools is just 2,285, and only one of the top 50 has more than 10,000 undergraduate students. “Small liberal arts schools shine in our rankings,” notes Forbes, “probably due to both the quality of their faculty and the personal attention they can provide.”
The report focused on seven areas, which were weighted by importance:
• Number of alumni in the 2008 Who's Who in America (12.5%)
• Salaries of alumni from PayScale.com (12.5%)
• Student Evaluations from Ratemyprofessors.com (25%)
• Four–year graduation rates (16.66%)
• Students Receiving Nationally Competitive Awards (8.33%)
• Faculty Receiving Awards for Scholarship and Creative Pursuits (5%)
• Four-year Debt Load for Typical Student Borrowers (20%)
According to the magazine, “a good college is one that meets student needs. While some college rankings are based partly on school reputation as evaluated by college administrators and on the amount of money spent, we focus on things which directly concern incoming students: Will my courses be interesting and rewarding? Will I get a good job after I graduate? Is it likely I will graduate in four years? Will I incur a ton of debt getting my degree?”
More information:
http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/02/best-buys-colleges-opinions-value_print.html
http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/02/colleges-university-ratings-opinions-colleges-09-intro_print.html
August 10, 2009 |
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Wesleyan College receives high praise from FORBES |
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