Sept. 10, 2013
For Immediate Release
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| Campbellsville University freshmen listen to Jon Hansford, director of first year experience, at the class’ dedication service. CU has the largest number of students living on campus ever, and a strong overall enrollment of 3,550-3,600 students is projected. (Campbellsville University Photo by Linda Waggener)
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By Joan C. McKinney, news and publications coordinator
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – Campbellsville University has moved up from 74th to 69th in the top regional universities in the South, according to the U.S. News & World Report rankings, which were released today.
“Campbellsville University has once again ranked among the top regional universities in the South by U.S. News & World Report,” Dr. Michael V. Carter, in his 15th year as CU president, said.
“As we move forward in the ongoing implementation of ‘Vision 2025-Preparing Christian Servant Leaders,’ our blueprint for the future, CU is making excellent progress in the enhancement of academic excellence, student engagement and fulfilling our historic mission of serving a diverse student population.
“This 69th ranking affirms the growing reputation of CU in the higher education community as a comprehensive university where students are valued, servant leadership is emphasized, and individual lives are being transformed.”
Carter said, “We are most grateful for this very prestigious recognition in the latest U.S News ratings and consider it further verification of our ongoing efforts to move CU forward to new heights of excellence and higher education achievement – all of which benefit our students and graduates.”
Campbellsville University was ranked 74th in the regional universities in the South last year and is 69th this year.
Carter said, “It is very gratifying when CU is placed in the same category of such fine institutions as Belmont University, Samford University, Murray State University and Western Kentucky University, and other regional universities.”
To sort colleges and universities into their appropriate ranking categories, U.S. News & World Report uses the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching’s Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education 2010 revisions to its Basic Classification.
Regional universities offer a full range of undergraduate programs and some master’s
programs but few doctoral programs, and this is the third year Campbellsville University has been in the “regional universities” designation. The Carnegie categories are the accepted standard in higher education.
“Campbellsville University has set goals with our strategic plan and our Vision 2025 document, and they are paying off,” Carter said.
CU has been ranked in U.S. News’ “America’s Best Colleges” 21 consecutive years.
“We know we have innovative programs that prepare our students to be strong Christian servant leaders, and it is gratifying to see that our peers recognize our pioneering academic programs as well as our spiritual, athletic and extracurricular endeavors.”
“It is an honor to be recognized for providing students with an excellent educational experience,” Carter said.
Academic institutions are categorized by their mission and region with the gathering of data from each of 12 indicators of academic excellence. The schools are ranked against their peers, according to scores given by U.S. News & World Report.
The indicators used to capture quality fall into a number of categories: including graduation and retention rates, assessment by peers, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, graduation rate performance and alumni giving.
The indicators include input measures that reflect a school’s student body, its faculty and its financial resources, along with outcome measures that signal how well the institution does its job of educating students.
Carter said moving to a regional university status is one of the goals that was set in 1996 when Campbellsville became a university.
Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 3,600 students offering 63 undergraduate options, 17 master’s degrees, five postgraduate areas and eight pre-professional programs. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.