Freed-Hardeman University earned the 39 spot among numerically ranked Best Universities--Master's North, South, Midwest, West in the 2011 edition of America’s Best Colleges by U.S. News Media Group. Freed-Hardeman University was also one of only two universities in Tennessee (Lee University) to receive the prestigious Great School, Great Price distinction. FHU has received this recognition since 2006. The exclusive rankings, which include more than 1,400 schools nationwide, can be found at www.usnews.com/colleges, and will also appear in the September issue of the U.S.News & World Report magazine, on newsstands starting August 24th.
FHU moved up a spot from last year and remains in the top tier schools, a distinction the school has enjoyed for the last 10 years.
“I believe Freed-Hardeman University will continue to move in the ranking as we continue to grow and become the technological leader among schools in Tennessee and in the south,” said Dr. Joe Wiley, president of Freed-Hardeman University. “This is a tribute to the hard work our faculty and staff have done in the last year to make our university more healthy. We are ready for the challenges of the next decade, and are preparing our students to be prepared for the challenges of the next century. We are doing all of this while keeping our education affordable.”
Wiley attributes much of the university’s recent success to the iKnow Initiative that began last year.
“Our faculty have been called to go all over the nation to talk about what we are doing in the classroom and about our iKnow Initiative. The calls have come from businesses as well as other universities. Even today, members of our faculty are visiting a university in Pennsylvania to help implement a program similar to ours. This illustrates the regional and national success of our iKnow initiative. It is exciting to see other universities and even those in the private sector looking to us for leadership in technology and instruction. I believe we can continue this excellence while still providing an affordable Christian college education,” said Wiley.
The university has continued to focus on enhancing the academic experience for student by launching an iPad pilot program. The program focuses on doing away with dated formats of teaching like powerpoint and traditional note-taking by providing a device that allows for complete interaction with faculty, students and content. The test program will run through the fall and sprint semesters and will be reviewed for implementation before the 2011 semester.
The 2010 America’s Best Colleges package provides the most thorough examination of how more than 1,400 accredited four-year schools compare on a set of 15 widely accepted indicators of excellence. Among the many factors weighed in determining the rankings, the key measures of quality are: peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, alumni giving, and graduation rate performance (National Universities and Liberal Art Colleges). For more information about America's Best Colleges, visit www.usnews.com/colleges. To access the Premium Online Edition, go to www.usnews.com/usnews/store/products/college_index.htm