News: CCU Ranked in Top 2% for Sixth Year

CCU Campus and Denver city view

CCU Ranked in Top 2% for Sixth Year

The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) has released the annual What Will They Learn? report, which rates U.S. colleges and universities on the structure and requirements of their core curriculum. Colorado Christian University (CCU) is again one of only 24 colleges in the nation that received an A grade — for the sixth year in a row. CCU is the only college in Colorado, besides the United States Air Force Academy, to achieve the A rating.

"We don't want to merely prepare our students to be competent in the workplace, we want them to graduate with the confidence and desire to be engaged citizens," said Dr. Cherri Parks, CCU's vice president for Academic Affairs. "We are honored to be recognized for our commitment to preparing our students with a firm academic foundation."

The study surveyed over 1,100 public and private colleges across the country to determine the rigor and direction provided to students who attend those colleges. The ratings are based on whether an institution requires seven core subjects and are awarded grades on an "A" through "F" scale. Colleges that require at least six of the seven subjects receive an A grade for the curriculum.

According to the data from this year's study, the majority of colleges require students to study composition, math, and science, but only 17.6% require students to take a course in American government or history. Only 12% of the institutions require students to study three semesters of a foreign language and 3.1% require a course in economics. This year more than 66% of the colleges surveyed require three or fewer of the core subjects, which earns a C rating or below.

The What Will They Learn? project is directed by Dr. Michael Poliakoff, ACTA's president. Poliakoff is a former vice president for academic affairs and research at the University of Colorado - Boulder. He has also taught at Georgetown University, George Washington University, Hillsdale College, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Wellesley College. Poliakoff will visit Colorado Christian University in February 2018 to address CCU's Board of Trustees, cabinet, deans, and faculty about the importance of the ACTA designation.

For more on the What Will They Learn? study visit whatwilltheylearn.com.