For the fifth year in a row, McPherson College has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report on the 2021 “Best Colleges” list for Regional Colleges in the Midwest. Additionally, McPherson College was included on five of the publication’s other lists including Most Innovative Schools.

The Most Innovative Schools rankings are based solely on the response of college presidents, provosts, and admissions deans, who are asked to nominate colleges or universities in their ranking category that are making the most innovative improvements in terms of curriculum, faculty, students, campus life, technology, or facilities. According to U.S. News & World Report, “These rankings enable top college officials to pick schools that the public should be watching because of cutting-edge changes the colleges are making on their campuses.”

McPherson College was recognized again as a Best Value School by the publication. Only schools ranked in or near the top-half of their categories are included on the “Best Value Schools” ranking list. When evaluating colleges for this list, U.S. News & World Report considers the most significant values to be among colleges that are above average academically and takes into account academic quality as well as cost.

“It is an honor to be included on such a well-respected list,” President Michael Schneider said. “It’s further proof that McPherson College is being recognized for the work being done by our faculty and staff to ensure quality education, excellent student experience, and value.”

Initiatives such as the college’s Student Debt Project, which teaches students how to graduate debt-free, and the college’s successful career placement rate are just two examples of why McPherson College is recognized on the “Best Colleges’ list, according to President Schneider.

“We have some of the highest placement rates in the country with two-thirds of our graduates having jobs or graduate school placement before they even graduate,” President Schneider said. “Combined with our focus on eliminating student debt we are proving to students and families that a McPherson College education is the best choice, and resulting in growing enrollment this fall and steady retention over the past few years.”

McPherson College was also included in the top twenty schools for Ethnic Diversity, Schools with Most International Students, as well as in the top twenty of Top Performers on Social Mobility. The social mobility ranking measures how well schools graduate students who receive federal Pell Grants (those typically coming from households whose family incomes are less than 450,000 annually, though most Pell Grant awards to students with a total family income below $20,000.)

The U.S. News & World Report has been ranking colleges for more than 35 years. The rankings are based on several key measures, each weighted as a percentage of the total score. Graduation, retention rates, and social mobility, assessment of excellence by peers, quality of faculty resources (such as class size and student-faculty ratio) account for more than three-fourths of the ranking.

The remaining one-fourth of the ranking is determined by a college’s student selectivity, and amount of alumni giving and the financial resources at the institution’s disposal. The data gathered for the rankings serves as an objective guide for students and families who are making decisions about attending college.