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Fall 2017
Education Department Nationally Ranked
College Choice recently ranked Bethel No. 27 in the nation on its
list of “Best Elementary Education Degrees for 2017.” Criteria for
the ranking included reputation, affordability and specific program
ratings, and was based on reports from U.S. News & World Report,
the National Center for Education Statistics and the National
Council for Teacher Quality. The list included a variety of public
and private colleges from across the country.
New Bethel Students Serve the Community
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About 300 Bethel freshmen and transfer students served the
community as part of their First Year Experience (FYE) orientation
by helping the Mishawaka Parks and Recreation Department clean
portions of the Mishawaka Riverwalk. This is a tradition for new
students, emphasizing Bethel’s mission to “equip the whole person
for lifelong service,” and is part of the more than 22,000 hours
of community service that Bethel students volunteer through
Michiana each year. Bethel’s annual all-college service day was
Oct. 3.
Pastors Pray Over Campus
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On Aug. 25, several groups of pastors gathered around campus
to pray over students, faculty and staff as they began a new
academic year. The groups walked and prayed over campus,
concluding at the Everest-Rohrer Auditorium, where many stayed
for the first chapel service of the semester.
Bethel Launches New Chapel Podcast
This fall, Bethel launched a new Chapel Podcast, enabling more
accessibility for alumni and friends of the college to listen to
chapel services. Visit
Chapel.BethelCollege.edu to listen to the
live chapel stream or past messages, download messages for
later playback, subscribe to the archive as a podcast and view the
current semester’s chapel schedule. You can also download the
podcast on iTunes; search “Bethel College Chapel Podcast.”
— Erin Kinzel
the college, and John serves on Bethel’s Board of Trustees. “Bethel
College is so very grateful to John and Therese Gardner for their
many years of generous support of the college’s mission,” said
Steve Matteson, Ph.D., former interim vice president for institutional
advancement. “They were instrumental in transforming the
college’s main entrance on the west side of campus, and now we
celebrate their contribution in transforming the entrance on the
east side, which includes the softball stadium. We are honored by
their investment in our students and in the beauty of our grounds.”
Bethel Receives Best Value Award
For the third year in a row, Bethel has been selected out of nearly
8,000 postsecondary schools as the recipient of a Best Value
School award. The award is issued by University Research &
Review (URR), a company dedicated to improving the process of
how a student selects a postsecondary school. The committee
that reviewed more than 100 nominees out of the thousands
of eligible schools is made up of former university presidents,
CEOs, provosts and professors. Schools cannot pay to receive the
award; it has to be earned through the nomination and committee
evaluation process. Bethel was chosen by the committee because
it passed rigorous standards, including a combination of cost,
accreditation, variety and quality of school programs, and student
satisfaction with the institution.
Bethel College Ranked No. 2, No. 44 on
Washington Monthly
Lists
Washington Monthly has ranked Bethel College No. 2 of 364
colleges in the Midwest on its 2017 list of the “Best Bang for the
Buck Colleges.” Bethel was also ranked No. 44 of 632 national
colleges and universities on Washington Monthly’s 2017 list of “Top
Master’s Universities.” The guide ranks schools based on what
they are doing for the country, not just on measures of money
and prestige. The “Best Bang for the Buck” list rates colleges that
are doing the best job of helping non-wealthy students attain
marketable degrees at affordable prices. Schools on the “Top
Master’s Universities” list are chosen for their contribution to the
public good in three categories: social mobility, research and
service.
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