ELCA Colleges and Universities Rank among U.S. Best

Chicago (ELCA)-DM -- Colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) rank among the best in the United States, according to U.S. News and World Report's 2002 edition of the "America's Best Colleges" issued Sept. 23. Compared with other public and private institutions, nine of the 28 ELCA colleges and universities are considered to have high academic standards at affordable costs.

For the past three years, Texas Lutheran University, Seguin, Texas, ranked best among the liberal arts colleges in the West. This year, in the best comprehensive colleges category, it ranks third.

"We are pleased that the outstanding quality and value of a Texas Lutheran University education continues to be recognized by U.S. News and World Report," said Jon N. Moline, president of Texas Lutheran University and board member of the ELCA Division for Higher Education and Schools. "The reason we are not number one this year is that we can no longer be underpriced. Being number one meant that we were the most underpriced university, but we can no longer afford that," Moline said.

Commenting on the ranking system, Moline said there are many other outstanding institutions that do not appear in the U.S. News report and parents and students should not rely solely on the list. Campus visits are still the best way to determine if the college is fit for the student.

Moline challenged ELCA colleges and universities to come up with good marketing strategies to encourage Lutheran families to send their children to Lutheran colleges. "Although most affluent Lutheran families graduated from ELCA colleges and universities, they are taking their kids to prestigious schools such as Yale and Duke and not to the colleges they attended," said Moline.

U.S. News and World Report ranks colleges and universities according to their academic reputation, retention of students, faculty resources, selection of students, financial resources, alumni giving and graduation rate performance (the difference between the number of students scheduled to graduate and the number of students who actually graduate). According to the magazine, the indicators include input measures that reflect the quality of students, faculty and other resources and outcome measures that signal how well the institution does its job.

Other ELCA colleges and universities listed are:

+ Best Liberal Arts Colleges -- Bachelor's

Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pa.

+ Best Universities -- Masters by Region

Capital University, Columbus, Ohio

Augsburg College, Minneapolis

Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Wash.

California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, Calif.

+ Best Comprehensive Colleges -- Bachelor's by Region

Lenoir-Rhyne College, Hickory, N.C.

Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa

Augustana College, Rock Island, Ill.

Texas Lutheran University, Seguin, Texas

*Diana Mavunduse is a communicator with the World Council of Churches, Geneva, Switzerland. This fall she is serving as a volunteer with the ELCA News Service.