Santa Clara University Called ``One of Best Values'' in West by U.S. News; SCU's Graduation Rates Are among the Highest in the Country

Business Wire, August 20, 2004

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- For the 15th year in a row, Santa Clara University was ranked second among 124 master's universities in the West by the U.S. News and World Report.

In an additional ranking listing "great schools at great prices" in four regions across the country, U.S. News ranked SCU second in the Western region. Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles) ranked third, Gonzaga University (Spokane, WA) was fourth, followed by California Polytechnic (San Luis Obispo, CA). To determine which colleges and universities offer the best value, the magazine uses a formula that relates a school's academic quality to the net cost of attendance for a student receiving the average level of financial aid.

In its annual ranking, "Best Colleges 2005," the magazine compared SCU to other similar comprehensive universities that offer a range of undergraduate programs and master's degrees, but few doctoral programs. The Western region includes all colleges and universities from Colorado to the West Coast, including Texas.

Additional highlights from the 2005 U.S. News rankings of master's universities in the West include:

--SCU had the highest average graduation rate -- 82 percent.

--SCU had the highest average freshman retention rate -92 percent, which reflects the percentage of freshmen who enroll in their sophomore year.

--SCU had the second highest peer assessment score - 4.0

--SCU had one of the highest average alumni giving rates -- 24 percent

Santa Clara University's residential learning communities, where students take linked courses as a group, live in the same residence hall and get to know one another and their professors well were also singled out in a list of academic programs that can contribute to student success.

The magazine's rankings relied on: academic reputation, graduation rates, class size, percent of full-time faculty, student/faculty ratios, retention of students, student test scores and grades, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving.

The "Best Colleges" rankings are on the U.S. News web site, www.usnews.com.

About Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located in California's Silicon Valley, offers its 8,047 students' rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, plus master's and law degrees. Distinguished nationally by the second-highest graduation rate among U.S. masters' universities across the country, California's oldest higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. More information is online at www.scu.edu.