Local Colleges Make Magazine’s Bests List

Spokane’s Gonzaga University and Whitworth College ranked among the best regional universities and colleges in the West, according to an annual U.S. News & World Report survey released Thursday.

Gonzaga was rated fifth, up from sixth last year, while Whitworth was rated 11th, down from 10th in 1996. Trinity University in Texas was No. 1 among Western regional schools.

Whitman College in Walla Walla for the first time was named to the nation’s Top 40 liberal arts colleges or schools that focus primarily on undergraduate education.

Whitworth also was named the “Best Value” among regional universities and colleges in the West.

The magazine’s “America’s Best Colleges” report hits the newsstands Monday. It reports that business, education and engineering are now the most popular disciplines among undergraduates nationwide.

The ratings of 1,400 accredited, four-year colleges were based on surveys of college administrators and other sources.

, DataTimes