A Regional College - A National Impact | back
Over the years, King's has changed from a small, local college to one recognized nationally for academic excellence. Serving as a model for other, often larger colleges and universities, King's College has earned a reputation as a leader in innovative teaching, curricular design, and assessment of student learning. Today, colleges and universities all over the country invite King's faculty to assist them in developing new curricula and in designing effective assessment programs.
The College's academic innovation and faculty activity have been widely recognized. U.S. News and World Report and Barron's consistently rank King's College as a leading liberal arts college, both regionally and nationally. The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) nominated King's as one of only five national "Centers of Excellence," which are now working together to enhance liberal education. In recognition of innovative undergraduate education, the AAC&U also designated King's College a National Leadership Institution, joining Duke, Colgate and just 13 other institutions across the country.
Further testimony to the College's effectiveness is its ongoing recognition by the John Templeton Foundation, which repeatedly has named King's to its Honor Roll for Character-Building Colleges , which identifies colleges that encourage and inspire students to lead ethical and civic-minded lives. The Templeton foundation recognizes that what students learn in the classroom at King's influences what they come to value as professionals and as persons.
Leading scholars have also recognized the College's success in educational innovation . In one chapter of his recent book, The Learning Paradigm College , John Tagg traces the positive transformation of teaching and learning at King's College. In "Designing Institutional Change," published in a recent issue of Liberal Education , Dr. Edmund Napieralski, formerly the associate vice president for academic affairs at King's College, and Dr. Jean O'Brien, the John H.A. Whitman Distinguished Service Professor at the College, describe the distinctive King's College comprehensive assessment program, which helps students become "intentional learners" through a student-oriented learning culture.
The latest indicator of the College's progress is the full accreditation of the McGowan School of Business by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB-International). King's has always enjoyed a reputation for its strong programs in accounting and business. Full accreditation, a credential conferred on fewer than one-third of the business schools in the nation, recognizes the high quality of the McGowan School curriculum.
