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¹û¶³´«Ãº has once again been listed among the nation’s top liberal arts colleges in the most recent U.S. News & World Report rankings, which were recently released.

U.S. News moved ¹û¶³´«Ãº into the first tier with a ranking of 104th. The numeric rank puts ¹û¶³´«Ãº in the top half of schools in each of 10 categories. ¹û¶³´«Ãº is just one of two ranked members of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.

¹û¶³´«Ãº moved into the second tier from the third tier in 2003.

The news comes just days before ¹û¶³´«Ãº welcomes the class of 2009 to campus. Orientation for first-year students and their parents is this Thurs., Aug. 25, and classes begin next Mon., Aug. 29.

U.S. News & World Report uses a number of factors to achieve its rankings. First it places each school in categories based on mission. Then it gathers data from and about each school in 15 areas related to academic excellence.

In other areas not included in the national ranking, U.S. News lists ¹û¶³´«Ãº as one of the schools with the highest percentage of students who study abroad. Fifty percent of ¹û¶³´«Ãº students study abroad. ¹û¶³´«Ãº strongly recommends students to include off-campus programs as part of their undergraduate education. Current programs led by ¹û¶³´«Ãº faculty include semesters in England, Europe and Mexico. Dozens of ¹û¶³´«Ãº students have recently returned to the U.S. following summer intercultural service programs in Tanzania, Rwanda, Indonesia, Guatemala, Russia and Sri Lanka.

U.S. News also recognized ¹û¶³´«Ãº for its commitment to campus diversity. ¹û¶³´«Ãº ranked 45th among the nation’s liberal arts college for its high diversity index. ¹û¶³´«Ãº admissions’ officials say minorities will comprise more than 27 percent of the incoming class.