[ SOURCE: christianuniversitiesonline.org ]

Christian Universities Online published their second annual top 50 ranking of Christian Colleges and Universities in the U.S. for the upcoming 2015-2016 academic year. This ranking seeks to highlight intentionally Christian colleges and universities that excel in categories of personal attention to their students, selectivity, readily available financial aid and overall student satisfaction. Christian Universities Online (CUO) strives to be the go to and trusted resource for students and their parents in deciding which school to attend. CUO understands how important a decision this is and offer up this ranking as a great starting point.

The methodology behind this ranking began with schools with enrollment of at least five hundred students that have been accredited by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS), the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) or the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI). We then collected publicly available data for these schools in the following categories: 1) Faculty-to-student ratio, 2) Percent of full-time beginning undergraduates receiving grant or scholarship aid, 3) Selectivity, 4) Overall retention rate and 5) Overall graduation rate. Each category received equal weight in calculating the final ranking.

#8 - HOPE INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Located in the heart of Orange County in Fullerton, California, Hope International University (HIU) is an accredited, private Christian university. Established in 1928 in affiliation with non-denominational Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, the school’s mission is to “empower students through Christian higher education to serve the Church and impact the world for Christ.” HIU has an attractively low student/faculty ratio of 14:1 and smaller classroom sizes, providing students with valuable one-on-one attention from professors. HIU is made up of five colleges providing a variety of options not only for students seeking a traditional undergraduate degree but also online students, and students pursuing their graduate level degree. With an enrollment of over 2,000, HIU’s student-body is a diverse one, representing 35 states and 40 countries. This year HIU was named by Affordable Colleges Online as #5 Best Colleges in California.

HIU ranked #40 on the 2014 list, jumping up 32 spots in a single year!

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