(July 30, 2015)

Centenary earns high financial mark in "Top Colleges" ranking

SHREVEPORT, LA — Centenary received an "A" for financial health from Forbes Magazine in its annual "America's Top Colleges" ranking released Wednesday. For the eighth consecutive year, the College was also included in Forbes' list of "Best Private Colleges" and "Best Colleges in the South."

"Solid financial health equips Centenary to pursue its mission to develop leaders for a changing world," said Fred Landry, Vice President for Advancement. "I am pleased that the College has once again been nationally recognized not only for its academic excellence but also for its commitment to responsibly sustain a selective, liberal arts model in an incredibly competitive higher-education marketplace."

Forbes averaged data from 2011 through 2013, the three most recent fiscal years available from the Department of Education's IPEDS database, in order to determine its Financial Grade measure of more than 900 private, not-for-profit institutions. The grades measure the financial health of colleges like Centenary on the basis of several components, including broad categories such as balance sheet strength, operational soundness, and admission yield. The detailed methodology is available at Forbes.com.

Centenary joins peers Trinity University, Sewanee, and five other Associated Colleges of the South (ACS) institutions with top financial grades in the 2015 ranking. Centenary is the only institution in Louisiana to receive an "A" grade.

Partnering with the Center for College Affordability and Productivity (CCAP), Forbes considers student satisfaction, post-graduate success, student debt, graduation rate, and academic success in its general "Top Colleges" ranking methodology. The 2015 list is the first to feature a three-year "moving average" of school scores computed from 2013, 2014, and 2015 data.

Measurable outcomes such as Centenary's 90% medical school and 79% law school acceptance rates have played a role in the College's consistent presence among Forbes' "Top Colleges." Read more about Forbes' and other national recognition at centenary.edu/accolades.