FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SEPTEMBER 13, 2002

Wooster National Recognition | Independent Study

WOOSTER, Ohio - U.S. News & World Report has ranked The College of Wooster's Independent Study (I.S.) program the number two senior capstone experience in the nation, second only to Princeton University.

Wooster's I.S. is the centerpiece of a curriculum that emphasizes independent learning. Each Wooster senior creates an original research project, written work, performance or artwork in a yearlong project, supported one-on-one by a faculty mentor.

The ranking is one of several new initiatives in the 2003 edition of America's Best Colleges. For the first time, U.S. News asked college presidents, chief academic officers, and deans of students to nominate up to 10 institutions "with stellar examples" of academic programs in eight areas, including the senior capstone.

Wooster was also judged among the best in the nation for undergraduate research and creative projects (#18) and first-year experiences (#28). The magazine's editors also cited Wooster for having one of the highest proportions of classes under 20 and one of the lowest debt loads for graduating seniors. And they named the college one of the nation's best values - "great schools at great prices" - among liberal arts colleges.

"Independent learning has been the hallmark of a Wooster education, and I.S. has been its cornerstone, for more than 50 years," said R. Stanton Hales, Wooster's president. "So we are particularly pleased to have it recognized as one of the very best such programs in the nation."

The College of Wooster is an independent liberal arts college located in Wooster, Ohio. Founded in 1866, today the college enrolls some 1,850 undergraduate students.