An annual study on core curriculum requirements at over 1,000 colleges and universities from all over the United States has placed Gardner-Webb University at the head of the class for the fourth year in a row.
Ranked among 23 institutions with an “A” grade, Gardner-Webb is the only school in the Carolinas to earn an “A” distinction for core curriculum standards.
The 2014-2015 What Will They Learn? study, conducted by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA), ranks the core curriculum of all the major public and private colleges and universities in all 50 states.
The ranking places GWU in the top two percent in the nation, included with schools such as Pepperdine University (Malibu, Calif.), Baylor University (Waco, Texas), Morehouse College (Atlanta, Ga.), and the United States Air Force Academy (Colorado Springs, Colo.).
The ACTA study analyzes seven core subjects and rates universities accordingly. ACTA believes that composition, U.S. government/history, economics, literature, math, science and foreign language components help students gain the knowledge and values necessary for responsible democratic citizenship.
“A”-rated schools require at least six out of the seven core courses; “B” schools must offer four or five out of seven. Other N.C. Baptist affiliated universities – Campbell, Chowan, Mars Hill and Wingate – received a “B.” Meredith College received a “B,” and Wake Forest University received a “C.” Both schools were founded by Baptists but are not aligned any longer.