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 (GWU) in Boiling Springs at the head of the class for the second year in a row. The university was among only 21 colleges – and the only school in the Carolinas – to earn an “A.”
“This national recognition of our curriculum, something we neither sought nor applied for, stands as a significant affirmation of our academic program,” said Ben Leslie, GWU provost and executive vice president.
The 2012-2013 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.) and Baylor University (Waco, Texas).
“More than anything else, it is a tribute to the Gardner-Webb faculty, who along with their predecessors, have expressed a deep commitment to a broad-based general education in the liberal arts for many years,” Leslie said.
“Not only does GWU’s general education curriculum conform to the criteria set forth by ACTA, but we actually exceed their expectations by requiring courses in arts, health and wellness, religion and communications.”
Gardner-Webb University is the only college in the Carolinas to earn an “A” in the ACTA study, which 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.