BY CHRISTINE WOLFF
The Cincinnati Enquirer
DELHI TOWNSHIP -- The College of Mount St. Joseph continues to impress with its freshman retention and graduation rate in an annual ranking of colleges and universities by U.S. News and World Report magazine.
The Mount -- a Catholic coeducational private college -- was listed in the No. 1 tier of Midwestern regional universities, one of 18 schools and the only Tristate school to make that tier.
The rankings are part of the magazine's 12th annual America's Best Colleges edition, which began distribution Monday.
Xavier University did rank higher, in the overall top 15 of Midwestern regional universities, above the No. 1 tier.
Within that tier -- the top of four tiers -- Mount St. Joe maintained its first-place ranking for the percentage of freshmen who stay -- 85 percent -- and the percentage of students who enter as freshmen and graduate -- 76 percent.
The college also maintained its third-place ranking for alumni giving -- 35 percent of The Mount's alumni have supported the college. That's a measure of alumni satisfaction, said Linda Liebau, a college spokeswoman.
The move into the No. 1 tier is a step down for The Mount, which had been ranked for the past two years in the highest category for its classification -- the Top 15 of Midwestern regional universities, Mrs. Liebau said. The drop likely is attributed to upward movement by other colleges because The Mount's numbers did not change significantly in any categories, she said.
Mount St. Joseph, founded in 1920, started its fall term Monday, with a record number of freshmen and new students -- 353, up from 320 last year.
Other local schools recognized by the magazine: Miami University, ranked 36th among the 100 national universities; Thomas More College, in the No. 1 tier among Southern liberal arts colleges; and Wilmington College, in the No. 1 tier for Midwestern liberal arts colleges.
