Why Lutheran?

St. Olaf College The research carefully compared the college experiences of graduates from all types of institutions. Lutheran colleges were far more effective than large public institutions:

at actively involving students in the classroom
at creating interaction with faculty
at engaging students in experiential learning
at generating participation and leadership in extracurricular activities
at integrating faith and values throughout the college experience

In short, the learning environment and active student involvement make a great deal of difference.

Below are research results for the following topics:

Effectiveness
Rigor
Faith

Effectiveness

According to our alumni survey, Lutheran students were much more likely to have direct interaction with faculty members than their flagship public institution counterparts.

Many Small Class with Fewer than 20 Students
(Overall Comparison, 2005)

Personal Interaction with Professors
(Overall Comparison, 2005)

Conversations with Professors Outside of Class
(Overall Comparison, 2005)

Involvement With Faculty
(Lutheran Students Comparison, 2005)

Rigor

Lutheran college alumni report perceptions of higher quality teaching, reputation, and academic facilities than flagship public alumni.

(Overall Comparison, 2005)

Faith

First-year students at LECNA colleges are more likely to be surrounded by others of similar faith than all other colleges and consider themselves having above average spirituality. In addition, Lutheran college alumni are significantly more likely to report that their college helped them integrate faith into their daily lives.

(HERI 2001)

(HERI 2001)
(Overall Comparison, 2005)