Hillsdale College is the best liberal-arts college in Michigan.
That’s according to the 2018 annual college and university rankings from U.S. News & World Report, which ranked Hillsdale above any other liberal-arts institution in the state for the first time. Hillsdale was 71st on its list of 229 national liberal-arts colleges, rising 12 places from the 2017 rankings.
Provost David Whalen said although Hillsdale’s performance is useful for introducing people to the college, the rankings cannot fully describe the college’s strength and excellence. Having students who graduate successfully, are cultivated in character and mind, love to learn, and understand what it takes to live in a republic are the college’s goal.
“No ranking can hope to capture such things, but it can help attract attention to things that do matter,” Whalen said in an email. “These latter things are what we mean by ‘the best college in the United States.’ It would be nice if such were recognized by high rankings, but it is not essential. What is essential is that we do superbly what we were brought here to do.”
They ranked placed higher than Kalamazoo College, which fell from 68th in the 2017 rankings to 76th in 2018. Hillsdale ranked the best in Michigan in nine categories that U.S. News measured. It was the college’s graduation rate, however, that appears to have moved Hillsdale higher in rank, according to Director of Institutional Research George Allen.
An 83 percent six-year graduation for the class of 2016, which U.S. News used in its 2018 rankings, helped Hillsdale to recover from a 16-place drop from the 2017 rankings. The class of 2015 had a 77 percent graduation rate. Dean of Men Aaron Petersen told The Collegian previously that that class’s rate was an anomaly because a larger-than-average number of students did not return.
Hillsdale also saw improvement in seven other areas, including a peer assessment score based on feedback from other college administrators and standardized test scores. The alumni giving rank also increased from 180 to 162, and Hillsdale’s faculty resources category, which includes class size and faculty salaries, rose from 112 to 98.
Speculating on how the college could increase its rank, Allen said Hillsdale would benefit from decreasing class sizes, increasing alumni giving, and maintaining its high retention and graduation rates, high standardized test scores, and a low acceptance rate.
Administrators in the student affairs office have expressed their goal is to make Hillsdale the best college in the United States. Associate Dean of Women Rebekah Dell, however, said that benchmark may not appear in rankings such as those from U.S. News.
“Rankings are important, because it is related to the public at large,” she said. “We do value and pay attention to those, but they do not dictate the choices we make…At the end of the day, we want to produce intelligent, capable, happy students. Sometimes those can’t be captured in a percentage ranking.”
In college honors based on core curriculum standards and extracurricular opportunities as well as measures such as class size and faculty-to-student ratios, Hillsdale often fares well, too. Awarding organization Colleges of Distinction named Hillsdale a 2017-2018 College of Distinction for its engaged students, quality instruction, vibrant community, and successful outcomes. It will include the college in this year’s college guidebook for high school counselors, parents, and students.
Dell emphasized the college’s work to improve campus by partnering with students through various initiatives, including its Student Leadership Workshop program, resident assistant meetings, and student groups that provide feedback on renovation and building projects.
“We’re encouraged to be the best because of the great things we have to offer,” Dell said. “The college invests in all the things that help a student to grow physically, mentally, spiritually, and socially. We’re taking a very liberal-arts approach.”