The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education approved Trinity University’s request to be reclassified as a baccalaureate arts and sciences institution last week. The reclassification means the San Antonio school will now be ranked as a National Liberal Arts college instead of its current status as a “regional college,” in US News and World Report annual college rankings.
“We have earned a reputation as the premier liberal arts university in the Southwest,” President of Trinity University Danny Anderson said in a press release. “Now, we are positioned to become a highly ranked and nationally recognized institution.”
Trinity’s reclassification as a National Liberal Arts university comes days after the University of Texas at San Antonio was classified as an R1 research university, also by the Carnegie Classification.
Although now an R1 school, UTSA still falls short compared to schools like Texas Christian University, Southern Methodist University, the University of Texas at Austin, Rice and Baylor — which are all ranked as top 100 National Research Universities by US News and World Report.
Trinity also faces a tough battle due to its reclassification. Although ranked the best regional university in the West by US News and World Report, the school only has six graduate programs and will now compete against the elite liberal arts schools of New England, whose alumni include Nobel Prize winners and U.S. presidents.
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