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MILLIGAN COLLEGE, TN (Sept. 12, 2012) — U.S. News & World Report released its 2013 “America’s Best Colleges” rankings this morning and Milligan College is the only Tri-Cities institution in the top 10 listings of any category.
In the Regional Colleges in the South classification, Milligan is ranked sixth overall, third among Best Value Schools, and sixth on the “A+ Schools for B Students” list.
In addition, Milligan announced its second-largest fall enrollment in the college’s history, with 1,164 students registered for fall classes. Last year, the college had an all-time high of 1,208. The previous record was in 2010, at 1,140.
Milligan has 882 traditional undergraduate students and 282 students in its graduate and professional studies programs enrolled this fall. Classes began Aug. 22.
“This is an exciting time at Milligan and things are on an overall positive upward trend,” said Dr. Lee Fierbaugh, vice president for enrollment management and marketing. “Retention is extremely strong, at 80 percent freshman-to-sophomore and 90 percent overall, our highest in several years.”
The average ACT score of this year’s entering class is 24 and the average GPA is 3.6 — higher than the state and national averages.
“It is important at Milligan that we maintain academic quality while growing,” Fierbaugh said. “Not only do we want to attract more students, but we want to continue to draw high-quality students.”
The college continues to explore new academic opportunities for students. This fall, it introduced a political science major and a Master of Science in counseling degree.
As the Milligan community expands, so does the need for additional housing. With residence halls near 100 percent capacity this fall, the college is making plans to accommodate its
student population. Construction on a new residential housing village is currently under way to help meet students’ housing needs.
“The timing of our new housing village is providential,” Fierbaugh said. “We continue to focus on serving students with our commitment to excellence in scholarship, community and faith.”
The criteria used to determine the U.S. News rankings 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. These measures include undergraduate academic reputation, retention, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, graduation rate performance, and alumni giving rate.
Milligan is recognized as a Best Value school based on its ratio of quality to price, need-based aid, and percentage of need-based scholarships and grants that offset total cost. The higher the academic quality and the lower the actual cost, the better the deal.
The “A+ Schools for B Students” list, which includes universities such as Elon, Belmont, and James Madison, looks at the school’s listing in the Best Colleges rankings and the average freshman retention rate. Milligan’s freshman retention rate is consistently well-above peers, averaging 80 percent for the past three years.
“Milligan is committed first and foremost to its mission of educating men and women as servant-leaders. We do this through a commitment to excellence in scholarship, community, and faith,” said Greer. “Choosing a college is one of the most important decisions a student will make, and Milligan is a wise economic and academic investment. We are honored to be recognized for these strengths in the U.S. News rankings.”
Over the past 29 years, the U.S. News college rankings has grown to be one of the most comprehensive research tool for students and parents considering higher education opportunities. The rankings are available online at www.usnews.com/colleges beginning Sept. 12. The 2013 Best Colleges guidebook will be on newsstands later this month.
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