Whitworth Not The Deal Report Made It Out To Be

Whitworth College may be a good educational buy, but it’s not quite the value U.S. News & World Report thinks it is.

Rankings released Thursday in the magazine’s “America’s Best Colleges” report show Whitworth as the “best value” among regional universities and colleges.

But a quick review of the submitted financial numbers by administrators brought unwelcome results.

“We submitted an erroneous financial aid figure that resulted in a No. 1 ranking in best value,” said Tim Wolf, Whitworth spokesman.

“Certainly that would take us out of the No. 1 spot. I don’t know if we’d remain on that list or not.”

The number was supposed to include the total average grant award per student, which ranges from $5,000 to $6,000 a year.

Whitworth submitted the average per student for the total aid package, about $12,000. That figure includes both grants and loans.

“It was just a mistake on our part,” Wolf said. “We misinterpreted a question and gave them a wrong number.”

Whitworth has informed the magazine of the mistake. The issue detailing the results hits newsstands Monday.

The erroneous number does not affect Whitworth’s overall ranking of 11th out of the 15 top regional schools.

, DataTimes