Nationally ranked by College Consensus

Alderson Broaddus University was named the Best College in West Virginia for 2018, with a first-place ranking by College Consensus, a reputable college ranking system.

To identify the Best Colleges in West Virginia for 2018, College Consensus averaged results from the most respected college ranking systems with thousands of real student review scores from around the web. This rating system is the most accurate and comprehensive ranking of a school’s reputation and quality.

“We are delighted to be recognized as the Best College in West Virginia,” President Dr. Tim Barry said. “Being ranked number one in the State is truly an accomplishment and shows that AB University is making a significant impact on students, transforming their lives and molding them into well-rounded, responsible citizens.”

The same source ranked AB University 18th overall in the Best Regional Colleges in the South. This ranking was determined by reviewing those colleges that provide top-tier undergraduate education in the South. This ranking puts the spotlight on the smaller regional colleges that deliver the grassroots foundations of higher education. According to College Consensus, regional colleges are designated as those that offer associate’s and bachelor’s degrees, usually in career and professional fields, and at affordable rates. That means regional colleges do the groundwork of educating a middle-class workforce, and in the South, that often means helping rehabilitate rural and industrial areas.

Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Joan Propst explained that AB has a distinguished history for innovative health education in Appalachia, pioneering the nation’s first baccalaureate physician assistant program of its kind in 1968 and West Virginia’s first four-year nursing program in 1945.

“AB remains an institution renowned for high academic quality and student achievement,” Propst said. “We have an outstanding faculty who are well known in their respective disciplines and bring their wealth of knowledge to the classroom every day. This year, with tremendous support from industry leaders, we developed and launched a new program in cyber-security. Curriculum for this program was developed to fit the current and future needs of industries including financial and healthcare as well as to help criminal justice agencies identify cybercriminals. From starting the first physician assistant studies program to the first four-year nursing program to focusing on cyber-security, we’re committed to graduating students ready to enter the workforce immediately. We’re equipping students to solve today’s problems.”

For more information on rankings, please visit: https://www.collegeconsensus.com

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To watch the news coverage, please click here: https://www.wboy.com/news/education/abu-named-as-best-college-in-west-virginia-by-college-consensus/1454495636

Alderson Broaddus University was the highest ranked West Virginia college or university in two different categories published in the U.S. News & World Report Best College Rankings.

AB ranked 30th nationally and first among West Virginia colleges in the 2019 Best Regional Colleges in the South category.

According to U.S. News & World Report, schools are ranked based on their performance across a set of widely accepted indicators of excellence. The 322 regional colleges—including 116 public institutions, 191 private schools and 15 for-profits—focus on undergraduate education but grant less than 50 percent of their degrees in liberal arts disciplines. The Regional Colleges category includes some institutions where only a small number of degrees awarded are at a bachelor’s level. Regional Colleges are placed into one of four geographic divisions, and AB falls within the South.

Only regionally accredited institutions with four-year undergraduate-degree-seeking students are surveyed and listed among U.S. schools. The statistical indicators that U.S. News uses to measure academic quality fall into eight broad areas: social mobility; first-year student retention and graduation of students; reputation; faculty resources; admissions selectivity; financial resources; alumni giving; and graduation rate performance, which is a comparison between the proportion of students expected to graduate and the proportion who did graduate.

“Being ranked as a top school by U.S. News & World Report is indeed an accomplishment,” President Dr. Tim Barry said. “We take pride in providing the highest quality education to our students and preparing them to succeed in their chosen fields. We know it’s important to invest in the success of our students and provide them with a valuable student life experience so that these students give back to our communities when they graduate.”

AB also ranked 10th nationally and first among West Virginia colleges in the Best Value Schools 2019 category. For this category, U.S. News & World Report rankings assess a school’s academic quality, as indicated by its 2019 U.S. News & World Report ranking, and the 2017-2018 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 ranked in or near the top half of their categories are included because U.S. News considered the most significant values to be among colleges that are above average academically.

“We understand the importance of value when it comes to the students and families who are looking for the best college experience,” said Dr. Eric Shor, vice president for enrollment management. “We attribute our top place rankings, in part, to the adoption of our affordability initiative.”

In 2017, AB became the first and only institution of higher education in the state of West Virginia to offer student loan assistance to all members of the incoming class with the announcement of the AB Advantage. The AB Advantage helps graduates with modest incomes repay their student loans after graduation. It applies to federal, private and Parent PLUS loans.

“We know that student loan debt is a concern for students in the region and around the country,” Shor said. “The AB Advantage is a way for us to be responsive to our students’ needs and continue to show the value of an Alderson Broaddus education.”

All members of the incoming freshman class are offered the AB Advantage at no cost to the student. Upon graduation from Alderson Broaddus, graduates making less than $43,000 a year will qualify for reimbursement of their student loans until they make $43,000 a year or the loan balance is repaid.

“The assistance that the AB Advantage provides is substantial,” Shor said. “For many graduates, it is the extra help they need to jumpstart their careers.”

For more information on the AB Advantage visit: ab.edu/ab-advantage

For more information on U.S. News & World Report rankings, please visit: https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges

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AB University welcomed the Class of 2022 to campus August 18-21, bringing an even more diverse and vibrant culture to AB and the community. Over 380 new, registered students representing 31 states and 18 countries participated in Orientation activities including the annual Battler Fair featuring local businesses and vendors who partner with AB.

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