Points of Pride

Throughout its history, Concord has forged itself into an institution distinctive in Southern West Virginia and in the State, specifically---

· Concord is the only public college or university in the country selected to participate in the prestigious Bonner Scholars Program.

· Concord has ranked in the top three in peer assessment score among comprehensive colleges-bachelor’s in the South by U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Colleges for the past three years.

· Concord was number 13 in a nationwide ranking by the Wall Street Journal
(10-3-03) of best undergraduate public colleges and universities for admission of their alumni to the nation's most selective graduate schools.

· Three of Concord’s alumni are among West Virginia’s best-paid executives. (Charleston Gazette, August 8, 2004)

· Concord's enrollment is booming, having grown 36 percent from 1997 to 2001, compared to 3 percent growth for all state institutions. Enrollment went from 2,112 to 2,864 over that period. (Annualized FTE, FY97-FY01, Page 3, HEPC Enrollment Report, Fall 2001)

· Concord students are in demand by employers with 19.3 percent being recruited for their first job after graduation compared to a national norm of 12.7 percent. (American College Testing Program Alumni Survey, August 2001)

· The Concord social work program has been continuously accredited for 30 years by the Council on Social Work Education. (first accredited in 1974)

In addition:

· Recent graduates were admitted to the following graduate schools: American University, Carnegie-Mellon, Case-Western Reserve, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Florida State, Georgetown, Harvard, Hollins University, Indiana State, Indiana University, James Madison, Marshall University, New York Film Academy, North Carolina State, Ohio University, Old Dominion, Stanford, Suffolk University, University of California-Berkeley, University of Delaware, University of Kentucky, University of Oregon, University of Pennsylvania, University of Southern California, University of Virginia, University of Wisconsin, Utah State University, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Washington & Lee, West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, West Virginia University, and William & Mary.

· Concord enrolls students from 27 states and 15 nations. (2003-2004 academic year)

· Concord University is one of two institutions (WVU is the other) in the state to receive a Ronald McNair Program grant.

· Concord is a “best buy” at $9,188 for in-state students and $13,608 for out-of-state students. (2004-2005 rates for tuition, fees, room and board)

· Concord offers more than 80 major and minor programs and features pre-professional emphases in dentistry, law, medicine, pharmacy, and physical therapy.

· One hundred percent of Concord’s graduating pre-med students who applied to medical schools gained admission in 2004.

· Concord’s teacher education majors are found in 16 states and as far away as Japan and Uganda.

· Concord’s graduates are more than twice as likely to earn $50,000 as graduates of peer institutions. (American College Testing Program Alumni Survey, 8-01)

· Concord was ranked Number 52 of over 1,000 colleges in a nationwide survey of “most-wired colleges” by ZDNet. (ZDNet: College Guide: America’s Most Wired Colleges 2000)

· Academic reputation and reasonable cost are two of the top four reasons students choose Concord. (American College Testing Program Alumni Survey, 8-01)