U.S. News and World Report today named Grace College to the top tier of its “Best Baccalaureate Colleges in the Midwest” for 2009.
U.S. News and World Report’s annual rankings are based on a number of criteria, including academic reputation, retention rates, graduation rates, faculty, selective admissions practices, financial resources, and alumni giving.
Grace College’s top-tier ranking comes at a time when large numbers of prospective students are applying to the college. The campus is preparing to welcome an estimated 350 new full-time freshmen and transfer students at its new student registration on August 30. The new students come from 26 states and nine foreign countries. Fifteen of the new freshmen at Grace this fall graduated high school as valedictorians and five as salutatorians.
The increasing numbers of applicants are attracted to Grace because of several factors, including the college’s commitment to academic achievement and to the Christian faith. In recent years, Grace has continued to build on its strengths with innovative programs such as the Millennial Scholars Academy, Orthopaedic Scholar Institute, and Presidential Scholarship Competition. In addition, Grace provides students with increasing opportunities for community involvement and domestic and foreign ministries.
Grace starts the fall semester this year with a newly implemented academic organization structure designed to further enhance its academic programs. The college consists of four schools: the School of Arts and Sciences, School of Ministry Studies, School of Music, and School of Adult and Community Education. Grace offers more than 50 undergraduate majors in its undergraduate departments: Art, Behavioral Science, Biblical Studies, Business, Communication, English and Journalism, Foreign Languages and Cultures, History and Social Studies, Nursing, Science and Mathematics, and School of Music. In addition, the college offers six undergraduate pre-professional programs: pre-law, pre-med, pre-veterinary, pre-physical therapy, pre-dentistry, and pre-physician assistant.
The Grace Graduate Department of Counseling and Interpersonal Relations offers two master’s degree programs. Master’s and doctoral-level programs are offered by Grace Theological Seminary.
Among new programs at Grace this year are two master’s degrees in the seminary featuring blended studies, with on-campus and online components. In addition, the college’s School of Adult and Community Education recently announced its new GOAL (Grace Opportunities for Adult Learners) degree completion program. GOAL provides the opportunity for those who have some college credits to complete their studies and earn a Bachelor of Science in Management degree in as little as 16 months on a convenient evening class schedule. GOAL classes begin in January 2009, and other undergraduate and graduate degree programs for adult learners and online blended learning are in development.
GOAL classes are scheduled in state-of-the-art classroom facilities in the newest building on the Grace campus, the Orthopaedic Capital Center, which was completed last year as the result of a partnership with the local orthopaedic businesses and community. In addition to classroom facilities, the Orthopaedic Capital Center houses an events and sports complex that is the largest of its kind in Kosciusko County.
Last month, Grace also was recognized by The Princeton Review as one of the best colleges and universities in the Midwest. The New York City-based education services company selected Grace as one of the institutions it recommends in its "Best in the Midwest" section on its Web site feature, 2009 Best Colleges: Region by Region.
