Lipscomb University has been chosen for inclusion in the top rankings of U.S. News and World Report's "America's Best Colleges" for the ninth consecutive year.
Lipscomb ranks 31st on the publication's "Best Universities-Master's" list, an improvement of two positions from last year's ranking.
"We are pleased to be included, and to be associated with the other universities in the top tier of the rankings. By looking into the specific numbers, one sees that there is less separating the top institutions than the overall ranking indicates," said President Steve Flatt.
"As pleased as we are to be included, we believe there are subjective attributes to our program at Lipscomb that enhance our quality beyond any objective measure and make Lipscomb a truly distinctive Christian university," Flatt said.
U.S. News bases its rankings of institutions like Lipscomb on assessments of what the magazine says are six key indicators: peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, and alumni giving.
The magazine gives greatest weight to the first two categories, with 25 percent of the weight being given to the subjective assessments of peer presidents, chief academic officers and deans of admission. Another 25 percent is given to retention and graduation rates.
From last year's publication, Lipscomb showed improvements in student retention, graduation rate, full-time faculty percentage, number of students enrolling who were in the top 25 percent of their graduating classes. The largest percentage improvement was in alumni giving, which jumped from 21 percent the previous year to 29 percent this year.