Calvin College ranks near the top of the list in a handful of categories in U.S. News & World Report's 2011 edition of Best Colleges.

U.S. News & World Report ninth nationally in both the "Schools with a Strong Commitment to Teaching" category and in the "Up-and-Comers" category, which recognizes schools that have "made the most promising and innovative changes in the areas of academics, faculty, student life, campus, or facilities."

Best Colleges also distinguishes Calvin's strong focus on student success. Calvin is one of just 15 schools in the nation—the only one in the state of Michigan—to be recognized in the "internships" category and is one of just a dozen schools to be acknowledged for its academically based "service-learning" program.

"It is encouraging to see Calvin's continued pursuit of excellence in Christian liberal arts education reflected in these national rankings. Our students interact with outstanding faculty who are great teachers, and they graduate with a strong foundation for the next stage of their lives," said Calvin's provost Claudia Beversluis.

Overall, Calvin remained in the top tier of schools rated in the survey and moved into a tie for 101st in the National Liberal Arts Colleges rankings, up 11 spots from a year ago.

Note: The 2011 Best Colleges guide examines how 1,400 accredited four-year schools compare on a set of up to 16 widely accepted indicators of excellence, which include retention and graduation rates and strength of faculty, among many other factors. Also, opinions of high school guidance counselors were one of the new criteria given consideration for the 2011 guide.

For more information about the report, visit