MEMPHIS – Christian Brothers University (CBU) continues to claim its place among the Top Tier of Southern Universities according to U.S. News and World Report’s 2022-2023 edition of “Best Colleges.” U.S. News publishes the “Best Colleges” rankings each year to provide prospective students and their families with helpful data and information on factors such as graduation rates, social mobility, and graduate indebtedness.
Using a proprietary methodology, the annual U.S. News and World Report rankings represent a comprehensive look at how schools stack up based on a set of widely accepted indicators of academic excellence from more than 1,300 accredited four-year schools. Colleges and universities in each category are ranked against their peers, based on their composite weighted score.
Best Southern Regional Universities: CBU is ranked 18th of 135 schools included among the Southern Regional Universities category in the U.S. News methodology, which is based upon classifications created by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Regional Universities are defined as those offering a broad scope of undergraduate degrees and master’s degree programs but few, if any, doctoral programs.
“I am very pleased — but not at all surprised — to again be ranked among the Best Universities in the South by U.S. News and World Report,” said David L. Archer, CBU President. “This not only reinforces our belief in the exceptional quality of a CBU education, but also its financial value and affordability, the support system we offer our students and the commitment of CBU’s faculty and staff to their success, and our increasingly diverse campus population.”
Best Value: CBU is ranked third for best value among the Top Tier of Southern Universities. This ranking takes into account CBU’s academic quality, based on its U.S. News Best Colleges ranking, and the net cost of attendance for a student who received the average level of need-based financial aid. The higher the quality of the program and the lower the cost, the better the deal. Only schools in or near the top half of their U.S. News ranking categories are included because U.S. News considers the most significant values to be among colleges that perform well academically.
Ethnic Diversity: For students who are interested in a multicultural environment, CBU ranks fourth in the South for Campus Ethnic Diversity. CBU’s current undergraduate student body is approximately 30% Caucasian, 20% Black, 10% Hispanic, 5% Asian, and 35% unknown, international, or other.
“Because our student body actually looks like the real world, our students are far better prepared to succeed in a global marketplace and for life in a diverse world,” said President Archer. “It is also indicative of our commitment to the Lasallian mission and its foundational principle of inclusivity.”
Social Mobility: CBU was also ranked 22nd among the 135 schools included among the Southern Regional Universities category as a top performer on Social Mobility. This category recognizes universities that advance social mobility by enrolling and graduating large proportions of disadvantaged students awarded with Pell Grants. The vast majority of these federal grants are awarded to students whose adjusted gross family incomes are under $50,000, though most Pell Grant money goes to students with a total family income below $20,000. During the period that U.S. News studied student cohorts for this ranking, 37% of CBU students were Pell recipients, and of those, 54% graduated.
Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs: CBU’s School of Engineering was once again ranked among the Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs by U.S. News. The engineering program rankings were based solely on peer assessment surveys. To appear on an undergraduate engineering survey, a school’s program must be accredited by ABET and offer the bachelor’s or master’s as its highest engineering degree.
