Anderson University (South Carolina)

Anderson University (South Carolina)

Anderson University is a selective private comprehensive university located in Anderson, in the U.S. state of South Carolina, offering bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees in approximately 60 areas of study. Anderson is affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention and accredited as a Level V institution by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. All of the University's professional degree programs eligible for additional specialized accreditation are so accredited at the national level: the College of Education programs are accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE); music programs are accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM); the College of Business is accredited by the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP); and the art, graphic design, and interior design programs are accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD). The School of Nursing programs, initiated in fall 2012, are approved by the South Carolina Board of Nursing and is in pursuit of specialized accreditation within the normal time frame following initiation.

Anderson is also recognized as one of eleven South Carolina Teaching Fellows institutions sanctioned to educate the state's future public school teachers. Anderson is ranked in the Top Tier of Southern Comprehensive Universities by U.S. News and World Report. It is also recognized as one of America's 100 Best College Buys by Institutional Research and Evaluation, Inc., one of America's Best Christian Colleges, and is consistently recognized by the Princeton Review as one of the top universities in the Southeast. Since 2009, Anderson has been recognized by U. S. News and World Report as one of a small number of "Up and Coming" institutions in the country for its recent advancements and innovation. In 2010 and 2011, Anderson was named the top "Up and Coming" regional college in the South.

Over the last ten years, enrollment has grown significantly (68 percent), from approximately 1,608 students in 2002 to 2,700 students in the fall of 2011.

Anderson University recently completed a new 102-bed residence hall, and re-purposed a historic campus building into a 26,000 square foot state-of-the-art nursing education center. Anderson is also raising resources to construct a new 60,000 square foot, $16 million student center in the heart of the campus.

Anderson participates in the NCAA Division II and is a member of the South Atlantic Conference. In its former athletic conference, Conference Carolinas, Anderson won the coveted Messick Award for sportsmanship several times and, over the course of four consecutive years, the Joby Hawn All-Sports Cup. The University's newly acquired 77-acre (31 ha) athletic campus stands adjacent to the academic campus and will be the site of significant growth in athletic facilities over the next decade. Of note is the men's basketball team's participation in the Elite Eight regional playoffs in the spring of 2011 and the University's numerous conference championships in several other sports.

Anderson has been named by Presidents Bush and Obama numerous times to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. In a typical year, Anderson students are required to contribute approximately 15,000 hours of service to numerous community human service organizations.