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Scaling the Heights: Ranking Places Cedarville Among Top Three Christian Colleges

by Heidie Raine, Student Public Relations Writer

Students walking in front of Stevens Student Center with budding trees in the springAccording to the National Center for Education Statistics, there are approximately 600 Christian higher education institutions in the United States. A recent College Consensus report has Cedarville University ranked in the top 3. Talk about high marks!

Cedarville was recognized as the third-best Christian college in the U.S. in an April 2021 College Consensus Report. Additionally, Cedarville was recognized as the second-best online Christian college in the U.S.

At the heart of Cedarville’s mission are academic excellence and intentional discipleship, two factors that Dr. Thomas Mach, vice president for academics and chief academic officer, thinks play crucial roles in Cedarville’s institutional quality.

“It all starts with being faithful to the word of God,” Mach said. “As we pursue our two pillars of academic excellence and intentional discipleship — always in submission to biblical authority — we’re maintaining those distinctives that make us who we are.”

Flowing from these distinctives, Cedarville faculty and staff members enrich the university with strong commitments to their faith and their students.

“Any author in education recognizes that the teacher’s commitment to the success of their students makes a difference,” Mach noted. “At Cedarville, a mark of our faculty is their willingness to invest in a student’s spiritual walk as well as their academic success. Our faculty members recognize that they have a sacred calling to help prepare students for what God has ordained for their lives.”

Interwoven with exceptional faculty members, though, are also exceptional students.

“We have the privilege of working with great students who are committed to walking through four-plus years of biblical education for what God has called them to,” Mach shared. “This piece is equally vital.”

“When we look at our student data, we see students responding very favorably to the faith and academic components of Cedarville,” he added. “I think we rank so high amongst Christian colleges because in our commitment to both of these pieces, we meet our students’ needs.”

Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 4,550 undergraduate, graduate, and online students in more than 150 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is one of the largest private universities in Ohio, recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, strong graduation, and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings, and high student engagement ranking. For more information about the University, visit www.cedarville.edu.  

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