Lynchburg College ranks well above the national average of U.S. colleges and universities in student engagement, according to the 2006 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE).
The survey measures how colleges and universities engage their students in activities that are positively related to learning and personal development. LC ranked high in all five benchmarks: student-faculty interaction, supportive campus environment, level of academic challenge, active and collaborative learning, and enriching educational experiences.
"We have consistently been above our comparison schools," said Mari Normyle, assistant dean for academic and career services. This is the fourth year LC has participated in the survey.
In addition to comparing well with peer institutions, LC ranked high among a group of institutions dubbed "Colleges That Change Lives."
Lynchburg College is one of only two colleges in Virginia, 11 in the South, and 40 nationwide featured in the guidebook Colleges That Change Lives by Loren Pope, former education editor of The New York Times.
"It’s a very strong group of schools, and we appear even stronger," Normyle said.
More than 330,000 college freshmen and seniors were surveyed nationwide from 556 four-year institutions.
Both freshmen and seniors at LC report a high level of interaction with their professors outside the classroom that includes talking about career choices, planning internships and undergraduate research opportunities, and traveling together on study abroad programs.
Unlike larger institutions, LC does not rely on graduate student teaching assistants to teach classes. Fully credentialed professors, many with years of experience, teach students as freshmen through seniors.
LC also features living and learning communities that enable top scholars, freshmen, and others with similar interests to live and study together. Students in the Westover Honors Program, composed of top scholars, share residence hall and classroom experience. Other learning communities are course-based. One such community pairs World Civilization with Health and Wellness classes to see how the definition of the body and wellness have changed over human history.
LC is also committed to providing learning experiences outside the classroom in the form of study abroad, internships, and field research. Seventy-two percent of LC seniors have participated in those types of experiential learning.
The NSSE project is sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and the Pew Forum for Undergraduate Learning.
For more information about Lynchburg College, contact Shannon Brennan at 434/544-8609.