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St. Olaf jumps to U.S. News' top 50

By David Gonnerman '90
August 26, 2008

St. Olaf College has jumped seven spots to No. 47 in the latest edition of U.S. News & World Report college rankings, breaking the top 50 for the first time. The dramatic change takes into account a number of steps the college has taken in recent years to enhance the quality of a St. Olaf education.

"At St.Olaf we organize ourselves to provide the best possible liberal arts education for our students," says President David R. Anderson '74. "It's gratifying when that leads others to recognize us as one of the country's best colleges."

The ratings jump reflected institutional improvements to two items in particular that are solid indicators of academic excellence: increased faculty support and better management of class sizes. The success of an ongoing strategic effort to raise faculty salaries is reflected in the fact that St. Olaf gained 34 spots in the U.S. News faculty resource rank, moving from No. 165 to 131. And in only a few years the percentage of classes with fewer than 20 students has increased from 49 percent to 60 percent [from 2006 to 2007 data].

More selective
A result of the college?s growing attractiveness to prospective students and their parents and increasing national reputation, the acceptance rate has dropped substantially -- from the mid-60s several years ago to 54 percent this ranking cycle [2007 data]. Accordingly, St. Olaf's overall U.S. News selectivity rank increased 17 notches, from 52 last year to 35 this year.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.