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"In the early 1970s, as many eminent Catholic colleges began to detach learning from the Church's traditional principles, a small group of scholars in California formulated a new vision for liberal arts education," begins the chapter on Thomas Aquinas College in Choosing the Right College. "Today," the guide continues, "Thomas Aquinas College remains faithful to that vision." The guide, produced by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute in Wilmington, Del., takes a decidedly academic approach to evaluating colleges. Its focus is not on such qualities as the campus social scene or athletics program, but whether a school is truly educating its students. It bases its evaluations on "how rigorous a school's core curriculum is," "the school's attention to teaching," "free expression and open debate," and the "quality, safety, and sanity of life on campus and in dormitories." From that vantage point, Choosing the Right College credits
Thomas Aquinas College with having "one of the strongest curricula
of any school" and a "corporate commitment to a rationally
knowable objective reality." Further, it mentions that the
College "does not press its ideas onto students through lectures
and textbooks, but genuinely tries to lead them through the Socratic
method, placing the emphasis on their own reasoning powers as engaged
with a text and other readers." U.S. News: "America's Best Colleges 2010"
In the latest edition of its annual report, "America's Best Colleges 2010," U.S. News & World Report ranks Thomas Aquinas College in the top tier of American liberal arts colleges. The College is one of just four Catholic institutions to be ranked among the magazine's top 100. In addition to its high esteem for the College's academic program, U.S. News also recognizes Thomas Aquinas College among all liberal arts colleges for its affordability and the generosity of its financial aid program. The guide lists Thomas Aquinas College as one of the nation's "Best Values," rating it 32nd out of the top 40, and 45th of the top 50 institutions in terms of the "Least Debt" carried by its graduates. Forbes: "America's Best Colleges 2009"
Whereas most college guides create separate rankings for liberal arts colleges and universities, Forbes combines them all for a single list of 600, or the top 15 percent, of the more than 4,000 campuses in the United States. "It is important to note," the guide advises, "that if a school appears on this list at all, that indicates it meets a certain level of quality," due to the list's relative exclusivity. High academic performance and reputation are prerequisites for consideration. In its 2009 evaluations, the business magazine places Thomas Aquinas
College in the top third of this elite grouping. The College is
one of only a dozen Catholic colleges or universities to be included
in this upper echelon. Kiplinger's: "100 Best Values in Private Colleges"
Best known for its periodicals offering business forecasts and personal-finance advice, Kiplinger's also produces a college guide dealing primarily with value in education - that is, getting the maximum benefit out of every dollar spent on schooling. The guide starts with institutions known for offering high-quality education and then determines, among those, which are priced most reasonably. Using that measure, Kiplinger's has named Thomas Aquinas College
to its "100 Best Values in Private Colleges," ranking
it 33rd among liberal arts colleges. It also rates the College 3rd
among liberal arts colleges for lowest "Cost After Need-Based
Aid," 10th for the lowest "average debt" among its
graduates, and 2nd in the nation for lowest "total costs"
after factoring financial aid -- Qtrly Newsletter, Fall 2009 |
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