Graceland University is one of the best universities in the Midwest according to The Princeton Review. The education services company selected the school as one of 158 institutions it profiles in its "Best in the Midwest" website section featuring the 2010 Best Colleges: Region by Region.
The 640 colleges named "regional best(s)" represent only about 25% (one out of four) of the nation's 2,500 four-year colleges. This makes Graceland's designation as a 'Best in the Midwest' university truly significant.
Graceland President Dr. John Sellars said the Princeton Review
ranking is another indication that Graceland is one of the best choices available for students and their parents searching for the right fit in a top private university. "We are consistently ranked among the best in the Midwest," said Sellars, "and this is no surprise to our faculty, staff and students. Graceland offers wonderful opportunities to our students. Their interests, curiosities and academic passions come alive on our campuses in Lamoni and Independence, Missouri, and through our impressive array of online programs." (President Sellars is pictured at right)
In the profile on Graceland at http://www.PrincetonReview.com, The Princeton Review describes the university as "...creating and maintaining high academic standards of excellence by prioritizing a close student/faculty learning environment, providing nurturing communities that foster intellectual engagement and curiosity, and embracing the philosophy that learning is not confined to the classroom."
Says Robert Franek, Princeton Review's V.P., Publishing, "We chose Graceland as one of our ‘regional best' colleges primarily for their excellent academic programs. We also work to have our roster of ‘regional best' colleges feature a range of institutions by size, selectivity, character and locale. We choose the schools based on institutional data we collect from several hundred schools in each region, our visits to schools over the years, and the opinions of independent and high school-based college advisors whose recommendations we invite. We also take into account what each school's customers - their students - report to us about their campus experiences in an 80-question student survey."
The 158 colleges The Princeton Review chose for this year's "Best in the Midwest" designations are located in twelve states: Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The Princeton Review also designated 218 colleges in the Northeast, 123 in the West, and 141 in the Southeast as best in their locales on the company's 2010 Best Colleges: Region by Region section on its site.
The survey for this project asks students to rate their own schools on several issues, from the accessibility of their professors, to quality of the campus food. They answer questions about themselves, their fellow students, and campus life. Actual comments from surveyed students appear in each Princeton Review college profile on its site.
Graceland University was established in 1895 as a non-sectarian liberal arts institution of higher learning. It operates campuses in Lamoni, Iowa and Independence, Missouri, and offers degree completion programs at three other sites - the Kirkwood Community College campus in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; the Indian Hills Community College campus in Centerville, Iowa; and the North Central Missouri College campus in Trenton, Missouri.
Students from 49 states and 41 nations choose from 50 academic programs at Graceland. For information about attending GU, please view our website: www.graceland.edu, and follow the links to Admissions and Financial Aid, call 866-GRACELAND, or write to Graceland University, Office of Admissions, 1 University Place, Lamoni, IA 50140.
