Buies Creek – Campbell University has once again been recognized in the top tier of best universities in the South with master’s programs by “U.S. News & World Report.” The rankings are part of an eagerly anticipated “2009 America’s Best Colleges” edition of the magazine.
Institutions included in the Best Universities-Master’s listing provide a full range of undergraduate and master’s programs, but offer few, if any, doctoral programs. Campbell offers three doctoral degrees—Juris Doctor, Doctor of Pharmacy and Doctor of Ministry. There are 572 universities ranked within four geographic areas in this category. The rankings are based on factors such as graduation rate, selectivity of the admissions process, class size, student-faculty ratio, the percentage of freshman who return for a second year and how the school is assessed by leaders at other colleges.
Other schools ranking in the top tier of Best Universities-Master’s category were Elon University, James Madison University, Mercer University and Appalachian State University. Researchers at “U.S. News & World Report” gathered data from each college for up to 15 indicators of academic excellence. Each factor is assigned a weight, the significance of which is judged by those who compiled the list. Finally, the colleges within each category are ranked against their peers, based on their composite weighted score.