Catawba College News Service

SALISBURY — Catawba College maintains its No. 4 position among the Best Regional Colleges in the South in the 2018 U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Colleges” rankings.

Last year, Catawba moved up 11 positions to the No. 4 slot.

“We continue to be pleased that national publications like U.S. News and Princeton Review recognize Catawba College as one of this country’s best institutions of its kind. Inclusion in these publications is indicative that our college continues to excel in our job of preparing our graduates to reach their highest potential,” Catawba President Brien Lewis said.

Catawba was one of 324 colleges in U.S. News Regional Colleges category, ranked according to geographic region: North, South, Midwest and West. Schools in this category focus almost entirely on undergraduate studies and offer a broad range of programs in the liberal arts (which account for fewer than half of the bachelor’s degrees granted) and in fields such as business, nursing and education.

U.S. News rankings are based on several key measures of quality, all of which are weighted. They include graduation and retention rates (22.5 percent); assessment of excellence (22.5 percent); faculty resources (20 percent); student selectivity (12.5 percent); financial resources (10 percent); graduation rate performance (7.5 percent); and alumni giving (5 percent).

Scores for each measure are weighted to arrive at a final overall score.

In the case of the national universities and national liberal arts colleges, the assessment represents input from both academic peers (15 percent) and high school guidance counselors (7.5 percent); for regional universities and colleges, it reflects peer opinion only.

U.S. News Best Colleges rankings are billed as a starting point “for families concerned with finding the best academic value for their money.” The “Best Colleges 2018” rankings mark the 33rd year of this publication, which was released online Sept. 12 at www.usnews.com/colleges.