US News & World Report Best Colleges | 2019 Rankings for Pepperdine University

Source: US News & World Report, Best Colleges 2019 2

I. Pepperdine ranked 46th among the 2019 Best Colleges (National Universities) in the US

Pepperdine maintained its ranking of 46 (out of 312 National Universities) in the 2019 edition of the US News & World Report (USN&WR) Best Colleges.

Figure 1. Pepperdine’s USN&WR rankings (2001-2019)

Source: US News & World Report, Best Colleges 2019 3

2018 2019 Outcomesa 30.0% 35.0%

Graduation and retention (22.5%) (22%) Six-year graduation rate {18%} {17.6%} First-year retention rate {4.5%} {4.4%}

Graduation rate performance (actual-predicted) (7.5%) (8%) Social mobilityb - (5%)

Expert opinionc 22.5% 20.0% Peer assessment (15%) (15%) High school counselor assessment (7.5%) (5%)

Faculty resources 20.0% 20.0% Class size (8%) (8%)

Classes with fewer than 20 students {6%} {6%} Classes with 20 to 49 students {2%} {2%}

Faculty salary (7%) (7%) Proportion of faculty with highest degree in their field (3%) (3%) Student-faculty ratio (1%) (1%) Proportion of faculty who are full-time (1%) (1%)

Student excellenced 12.5% 10.0% Standardized test (8.1%) (7.75%) High school class standing (3.1%) (2.25%) Acceptance ratee (1.3%) -

Financial resources 10.0% 10.0% Alumni giving 5.0% 5.0%

Rankings are weighted based on the following indicators:

aAlso known as “graduation and retention rank.” bNew indicator for 2019 rankings. Refers to a school's success at promoting social mobility by graduating students who receive federal Pell Grants. cPreviously known as “assessment of excellence.” dPreviously known as “student selectivity rank.” eIndicator removed for 2019 rankings. Percentages in parenthesis refer to the sub-indicator percentage points that comprise the respective weight. For more information on rankings/methodology, see the USN&WR Methodology Report.

USN&WR Edition Indicators and sub-indicators Weights 2017 2018 2019 Changes USN&WR OVERALL RANK - 50 46 46 No change Outcomes ranka 35.0% 55 49 37 Improved

First-year retention rate (4.4%) 93% 92% 92% No change Six-year graduation rate (actual/non-Pell) (17.6%) 84% 87% 85% Declined Six-year graduation rate (actual/Pell) - - 83% N/A Grad. rate performance (actual - predicted) (8.0%) +7% +11% +9% Declined Social mobilityb (5.0%) - - - -

Expert opinion rankc 20.0% - - - - Peer assessment score (out of 5) (15.0%) 3.3 3.3 3.3 No change High school counselors score (out of 5) (5.0%) 4.4 4.3 4.2 Declined

Faculty resources rank 20.0% 34 37 33 Improved Classes under 20 (6.0%) 69% 69% 71% Improved Classes 50 or more (2.0%) 2% 2% 2% No change Full-time faculty with terminal degree (Univ.) (3.0%) 88% 88% 89% Improved Student-faculty ratio (1.0%) 13:1 14:1 13:1 Improved Full-time faculty (Univ.) (1.0%) 78% 79% 81% Improved Faculty salary (7.0%) - - - -

Student excellence rankd 10.0% 74 79 73 Improved SAT/ACT 25th-75th percentile (enrolled) (7.75%) 1100-1320 1110-1330 1200-1390 Improved Freshmen in top 10% high school grad. class (2.25%) 48% 49% 49% No change

Financial resources rank 10.0% 66 66 65 Improved Alumni giving rank 5.0% 175 152 122 Improved

Percentage (2-year rolling average) - 7% 8% 9% Improved

Table 1. Pepperdine’s detailed ranking

Unless otherwise noted, rankings are based on Seaver College data.

Source: US News & World Report, Best Colleges 2019 4

II. Peer & Competitor Schools | Ranking Comparison

Peer institutions are universities that are comparable to Pepperdine in one or more characteristics. These characteristics may include mission, size, enrollment, selectivity, or program offerings. While no one institution is a perfect match, peer institutions can be a resource for comparison when examining practices, policies, curriculum, or programs. Table 2 summarizes rankings of both peer and competitor schools for the past eight issues of USN&WR for schools that are categorized as “National Universities.” USN&WR assigns more than 1600 four-year colleges to a rankings group (i.e., National Universities, National Liberal Arts, and Regional Universities) based on the categories of higher education institutions developed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Thus, several Pepperdine peer schools (e.g., Santa Clara University, Loyola Marymount University, Chapman University, Calvin College, among others) are ranked in different categories, such as “National Liberal Arts Colleges,” or “Regional Universities.”

Table 2. Ranking history of peer and competitor schools (national universities) Ranking year School Description 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 University of Notre Dame Competitor 19 17 18 16 18 15 18 18 Georgetown University Competitor 22 21 20 21 21 20 20 22 Univ. of Southern California Competitor 23 24 23 25 23 23 21 22 Wake Forest University Competitor 25 27 23 27 27 27 27 27 New York University Competitor 33 32 32 32 32 36 30 30 University of Rochester USN&WR peer 35 33 32 33 33 32 34 33 Boston College Competitor 31 31 31 31 30 31 32 38 Boston University USN&WR peer 53 51 41 42 41 39 37 42 Tulane University USN&WR peer 50 51 52 54 41 39 40 44 Pepperdine University - 55 54 57 54 52 50 46 46 Southern Methodist Univ Current peer (OIE/WSCUC) 62 58 60 58 61 56 61 59 George Washington Univ USN&WR peer 50 51 52 54 57 56 56 63 Baylor University Current peer (OIE/WSCUC) 75 77 75 71 72 71 75 78 University of San Diego Current peer (OIE/WSCUC) 97 92 91 95 89 86 90 85 University of the Pacific Competitor 101 106 112 116 108 111 110 106

Note: schools are sorted by current ranking. USN&WR peer: universities that are historically ranked near Pepperdine in USN&WR Best Colleges. Current peer (OIE/WSCUC): universities that are currently used for institutional research/effectiveness, accreditation for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), or reporting purposes.

Source: US News & World Report, Best Colleges 2019 5

III. Pepperdine ranked 39th among the Best Value Schools (National Universities) in the US

Pepperdine ranked 39th among the nation’s Best Value Schools according to USN&WR, which declined from 2018’s ranking of 35th (see orange box in Figure 2). The calculation used to determine this particular ranking takes into account a school’s academic quality, based on USN&WR Best Colleges ranking, and the 2017-2018 net cost of attendance for a student who received the average level of need-based financial aid. The higher the quality of the program and the lower the cost, the better the value for students. Only schools ranked in or near the top half of their categories (which indicates that they are above average academically) are included.

Figure 2. Top best value schools (national universities)

Source: US News & World Report, Best Colleges 2019 6

IV. Pepperdine ranked 40th in the High School Counselor Rankings (National Universities)

In Spring 2018, USN&WR surveyed 24,400 public, private, and parochial high school counselors nationwide in order to assess which schools the counselors felt offered the best undergraduate education to their students. Counselors rated universities on a five-point scale, with 1 = marginal to 5 = distinguished. Counselors were instructed to mark “don’t know” if they were unfamiliar with a particular college. The three most recent years of survey results (i.e., Spring 2016, Spring 2017, and Spring 2018) were averaged to compute the high school counselor reputation score. Pepperdine garnered a score of 4.2 out of 5.0, ranking 40th among National Universities (see orange box in Figure 3), which declined from 2018’s ranking of 35th.

Figure 3. Top national universities according to high school counselors.

Source: US News & World Report, Best Colleges 2019 7

V. Pepperdine received a campus diversity rating of 0.59 (National Universities)

USN&WR edition Diversity index

(1 = highest) 2013 0.59 2014 0.63 2015 0.66 2016 0.65 2017 0.62 2018 0.59 2019 0.60

Table 3. Pepperdine’s diversity index score

VI. Other US News & World Report rankings

USN&WR identifies colleges where students are most likely to encounter undergraduates from diverse ethnic backgrounds, by factoring in the proportion of minority students—leaving out international students—and the overall mix of groups in each institution’s 2017-2018 student body. The ethnic categories used in the calculations were African-American (non-Hispanic), Hispanic, American Indian, Asian American, Pacific Islander, White (non-Hispanic), and multiracial (two or more races). The formula produces a diversity index that ranges from 0.0 to 1.0. The closer a school’s number is to 1.0, the more diverse the student population (i.e., the closer the number is to 1.0 the more likely it is for students to encounter students from a different ethnic group). Pepperdine received a score of 0.60, which increased from 0.59 in 2018 (see Table 3).

Ranking

(1 = highest) School Program 2018 2019 Graziadio Business School Best Undergraduate

Business Programs 45 44

Best Business Schools 65 72 Best Part-time MBA 29 51

Best Online MBA Programs 21 19 School of Law Best Law Schools 72 b

Dispute Resolution 1 1 Graduate School of Education and Psychology Clinical Psychology 143 143 School of Public Policy Public Affairs 68 64 Best Colleges for Veteransa - 18 20

aThe top-ranked schools that participate in federal initiatives helping veterans and active-duty service members pay for their degrees. bUnranked. Rankings based on data available on 9/10/18.

Table 4. Other USN&WR rankings for Pepperdine