LAKELAND, Fla. (Aug. 29, 2006) — Florida Southern College placed in the top ten in the U.S. News and World Report 2007 college rankings recently published in U.S. News and World Report’s annual issue, America’s Best Colleges. FSC ranked 8th among “Comprehensive Colleges – Bachelor’s” in the southern region, up from 9th place in 2006. The college also ranked 6th in “Best Value” in the “Comprehensive Colleges – Bachelor’s” category. 

The colleges are rated on graduation and retention rates, class size, SAT/ACT scores of accepted students, student/faculty ratio and percentage of full-time faculty, among other criteria. The “Comprehensive Colleges – Bachelor’s” category features institutions that focus on undergraduate education and offer a range of degree programs in the liberal arts and in professional fields such as business, nursing and education.

U.S. News determines its “Best Value” ranking using a formula that relates a school's academic quality, as indicated by its U.S. News ranking, to the net cost of attendance for a student who receives the average level of financial aid; the percentage of students receiving need-based scholarships or grants; and the average discount students receive. The higher the quality of the program and the lower the cost, the better the value. U.S. News considered only schools ranked in the top half of their categories.

About Florida Southern College
Founded in 1885, Florida Southern College is a private, comprehensive, United Methodist college with a liberal arts core. The college maintains its commitment to academic excellence through 38 undergraduate majors and distinctive graduate programs in business administration, education, and nursing. Florida Southern has a 14:1 student/faculty ratio, provides strong student/faculty mentorship programs, boasts 25 NCAA Division II national championships, and is ranked by U. S. News and World Report as one of the top ten Southern Comprehensive Colleges-Bachelors and by the Princeton Review as a “Best Southeastern College.” Located on scenic Lake Hollingsworth, Florida Southern is the home of the world’s largest single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture.