OTTERBEIN COLLEGE RANKS HIGH IN U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT

In the 2009 edition of U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges," Otterbein College earned the ninth highest peer assessment (academic reputation) score in the Universities-Master's (Midwest) category and earned the 15th highest overall score among its 140 peers.

"This is our first full year in this category and we are especially pleased to be ranked 9th out of 65 in peer assessment (academic reputation)," said Otterbein College President Brent DeVore. Some peers in the category include Butler, Drake and Xavier Universities.

According to the guide, institutions in the Universities-Master's category provide a full range of undergraduate and master's programs while offering few, if any, doctoral programs.

This is Otterbein's second year in the Universities-Master's (Midwest) category. Otterbein consistently ranked in the top 10 of its previous category, Comprehensive Colleges (Midwest).

This year Otterbein competed with 140 colleges from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and Missouri for this honor. The rankings are based on 15 measures of "academic excellence," which fall into six categories, peer assessment and graduation and retention rates being the most important. Presidents and academic vice presidents are surveyed in the spring each year and are asked to rate their peer institutions (those schools in the same category and region) on a scale of one to five, one being "distinguished" and five being "marginal." Otterbein officials are confident that the College's rankings will climb in the coming years as its new peer institutions become more familiar with the College and its programs.

Other ranking categories include faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving rates. For a more detailed report, visit www.usnews.com.