Adrian College once again recognized by Colleges of Distinction
Posted Friday, July 02, 2021
Author: Mickey Alvarado
Adrian College has once again been recognized for its commitment to engaged, experiential education by Colleges of Distinction, a one-of-a-kind guide for college-bound students.
As an institution whose primary goals are based on student success and satisfaction, Adrian College Vice President for Enrollment and Student Affairs, Frank Hribar, said it is an honor to be listed as one of the renowned Colleges of Distinction.
“Adrian’s designation as a College of Distinction is richly rewarding,” Hribar said. “Clearly, it recognizes the depth of the college’s programming and reaffirms a consistent commitment to student engagement. We understand that this engagement is vital to our students’ success in the attainment of their degrees. This recognition demonstrates our commitment to assuring that each of our students ultimately achieves their personal, academic and professional goals.”
While higher education has changed over the past 20 years, Colleges of Distinction’s selection process has stayed consistent — conducting in-depth research and detailed interviews with the schools themselves about each institution’s freshman experience and retention efforts alongside its general education programs, career development, strategic plan, student satisfaction, and more — and accepting only those that adhere to the Four Distinctions: Engaged Students, Great Teaching, Vibrant Community, and Successful Outcomes. Overlaid in the last few years have been a look into High-Impact Practices. This model prioritizes the opportunities institutions have for students that make for a fulfilling, individualized college experience.
Wes Creel founded Colleges of Distinction in 2000 to draw more attention to schools like Adrian College, whose student-centered education prevails in applying theory to practice while fostering a dynamic learning community.
Adrian College’s inclusion is informed by the unique ways it commits to achieving success.
Creel and his colleagues found that the most pervasive rankings systems rely on metrics, such as peer reputation, size of endowment, and alumni salaries. They believe most critical to the student experience were the kinds of engaging experiences that are found at Adrian College: first-year seminars, community-based learning programs, service-learning programs, alternative Spring Breaks, diversity and global learning programs, intensive language programs, intensive writing courses, interdisciplinary programs, collaborative assignments and projects, undergraduate research, living-learning communities, common intellectual experiences, capstone projects, study abroad programs and internships.
In recent years, Adrian College has experienced momentous growth, garnering national recognition. In its 2021 edition of America’s Best Colleges, U.S. News & World Report ranked Adrian College as a “Best Regional College in the Midwest.” The institution was also recognized by the organization as a “Best Value School,” a top “First-Year Experience” college and for “Best Undergraduate Teaching.” It was also ranked No. 2 as a “Most Innovative School.”
For more information about Adrian College, visit adrian.edu.
