Harding listed as top 10 school in Wall Street Journal national rankings

Sept. 29, 2017 |

The Wall Street Journal recently named Harding University in a list of top 10 schools for engagement and a list of top 10 schools for inspiration . The Wall Street Journal and the Times Higher Education College Rankings publish annual college rankings based on surveys that ask college students across the country about their learning and living environment. ­

According to the Wall Street Journal, 20 percent of a school’s total assigned rank is based on the engagement category, which pulls from more than 209,000 survey responses. In 2017, each ranked school in the engagement category was represented with a minimum of 50 survey responses. Harding University was ranked No. 8 with other schools and was the only Arkansas school included in this category.

“I'm not surprised at all!” said junior Megan Ledbetter. “This is what Harding is all about, and when people talk about the Harding experience, they talk about these aspects of campus that come in addition to a good education. Harding is Harding because of the people who are here.”

“Top Schools for Engagement” were described as “colleges with the highest scores for how engaged student feel they are with their professors and their education.”

“There are so many resources available to students in each department as well as campus wide like the library or the student success center,” Ledbetter said. “I am glad that Harding was not overlooked in this study by the Wall Street Journal because Harding spends a great deal of time and effort striving to help its students succeed academically and belong socially. This is what Harding is all about.”

The University was also listed as No. 9 on the Wall Street Journal’s list of “Students’ Top Schools for Inspiration” behind schools such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brown University, Dartmouth College and Harvard University.

This list was compiled using survey responses from students who answered the question, “Do you think your college provides an environment where you feel you are surrounded by exceptional students who inspire and motivate you?”

“A lot of times people have trouble putting their finger on what makes them love their time at Harding, but I think people are at the core of that indescribable feeling,” said junior Kaleb Turner.

Though the responses from this survey were not factored into schools’ total rankings, the results communicate the heart and sharp minds of the University’s student body.

“Our friends make leaving for the summer heartbreaking and make returning from break a celebration, and our professors push us to discover our passions and our place in the world,” Turner said. “It really is the people at Harding that have made this a community we love and cherish for a lifetime.”