JACKSON, Tenn. — Sept. 11, 2015 — 51社区 ranked in the top 15 schools in its category for the sixth straight year and had the highest freshman retention rate in the South, according to the annual rankings of colleges and universities by U.S.News & World Report released Sept. 9.
Union鈥檚 ranking of 14th among regional universities in the South鈥檚 marks the 19th straight year for Union to be recognized as one of the South鈥檚 best universities. A regional university, according to U.S.News & World Report, is one that provides a full range of undergraduate majors and master鈥檚 degree programs, while also offering a few doctoral programs.
The category includes 618 universities ranked within four geographic areas 鈥� North, South, Midwest and West. Other categories the publication uses are national universities, national liberal arts colleges and regional colleges.
鈥淲hile we don鈥檛 pursue rankings, we are always encouraged when others see the excellence of a Union education,鈥� Union President Samuel W. 鈥淒ub鈥� Oliver said. 鈥淥ur faculty and staff pursue our mission to the glory of God, and the work they do makes a huge difference in the lives of our students.
鈥淥ne way you see that demonstrated is in the fact that Union is the top university in the South region in terms of student retention. We are grateful that students love Union and are flourishing here.鈥�
Union鈥檚 freshman retention rate of 92 percent was the highest in its category. In addition, Union鈥檚 student/faculty ratio of 10:1 was tied for second.
For the eighth straight year, Union was selected as one of 23 鈥淎-Plus Schools for B Students鈥� in the South, a category that highlights those schools where students 鈥渨ith less-than-stellar test scores or a so-so GPA鈥� can flourish.
The full rankings are available at .