BROOKLYN AND PATCHOGUE, NY – September 1, 2006 – For the fifth consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report has ranked St. Joseph’s College as one of America’s Best Colleges by naming them to the top-tier of the “Northern Comprehensive Colleges – Bachelor’s” category in 2007. With campuses in Brooklyn and Patchogue, New York, this year the College’s annual ranking was again in the top 20.

“Our continued recognition by the U.S. News & World Report’s annual ranking as one of America’s Best Colleges exhibits the high quality of our students and excellent retention rates as well as illustrates the continuing dedication of the College’s faculty and staff to providing an outstanding liberal arts education,” noted President Sister Elizabeth A. Hill, CSJ, J.D.

The ranking of the “Comprehensive Colleges – Bachelor’s” category includes institutions that focus primarily on undergraduate education and offer a range of degree programs in the liberal arts disciplines and in the professional fields such as business, nursing and education. There are 320 comprehensive colleges-bachelor’s, ranked within four regions: North, South, Midwest, and West. The regional groupings are derived from classifications established by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

U.S. News & World Report bases its annual rankings on graduation and retention rate, faculty resources, selectivity, faculty/student ratio and the assessment of each school from its peers. St. Joseph’s College’s strong freshman retention rate helped secure the institution’s spot in the top-tier, while the College’s continuing dedication to highly personalized instruction is reflected in the 17:1 faculty-student ratio, as well as in the fact that the majority of classes have fewer than 30 students.

About St. Joseph's College

St. Joseph’s College has been dedicated to providing a diverse population of students in the New York metropolitan area with an affordable education rooted in the liberal arts tradition since 1916. Independent and coeducational, the College provides a strong academic and value-oriented education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, aiming to prepare each student for a life characterized by integrity, intellectual and spiritual values, social responsibility, and service. With campuses located in the Clinton Hill area of Brooklyn and in Patchogue, Long Island, the College offers degrees in numerous majors, special course offerings and certificates, affiliated and pre-professional programs through its School of Arts and Sciences and its School of Professional and Graduate Studies.