By CAROLINE MOSLEY
News Reporter
Creighton University was recognized as the No. 1 Midwest Masters University according to the U.S. News and World Report annual college rankings. Released late Aug. 2009, Creighton has remained No.1 seven years in a row based a combination of weighted factors, including peer assessment, student retention, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, graduate rate performance and the alumni-giving rate.
The Dean of the College of Business Administration, the Dean of the Graduate School and the Vice President for Academic Affairs summarized Creighton’s success not to a specific program or characteristic, but instead emphasized how Creighton’s diverse programs and outstanding faculty and students help Creighton stand out and make it unique for its small size.
“We take pride in being recognized and respected for our accomplishments,” said Dean of College Business Administration Anthony Hendrickson, Ph.D. “Our perennial award validates Creighton as an institution where great students come and apply themselves.”
Competing with 146 other universities in the Midwest category, Creighton offers a wide range of diversity for a university of its size.
For 12th time out of the last 14 years, Creighton has been recognized in “America’s Best Colleges” edition as No. 1.
Other schools in the Midwest Masters universities category are Drake, Xavier, Bradley, John Carroll and Truman State.
“Creighton is not placating to rankings,” said Hendrickson. “It is reassuring that we are recognized in a positive fashion by our peers.”
In the masters universities category, Creighton provides its 7,000 students (about 4,000 undergraduates), with more than 50 undergraduate majors, 24 masters degrees, three Ph.D. programs, as well as a law school, medical school and several other health-related schools.
All ranked universities as divided up into specific categories based upon the Carnegie Foundation, with the masters universities rankings focused on undergraduate programs.
Dean of Graduate School and Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs Gail Jensen, Ph.D, credits part of Creighton’s accomplishments to the Jesuit foundation. “The Jesuit mission and the emphasis on social justice and responsibility resonate with faculty and students and create an ideal foundation for graduate and professional education,” Jensen said.
Vice President for Academic Affairs Patrick Borchers named several programs that have grown in recent years and contributed to Creighton’s successes.
“The Werner Institute for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution in the law school, the Center for Health Policy and Ethics, the Doctor of Nurse Practitioner program and in business the portfolio analysis masters have attracted various students who are taking advantage of the university’s complexity,” said Borchers.
The largest percentage of the ranking, 25 percent, is based on peer assessment, which includes input from presidents, provosts and deans of admission.
The selected faculty is sent surveys, which asks them to rank schools using a one to five scale. US News and World Report obtains the majority of the information directly from the schools, which is then double-checked for accuracy.
“US News and World Report is good for getting basic information and helpful in comparing data from other schools,” said Borchers.