Undergraduate Academic and Instructional Profile

Student Academic Profile

The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University together offer 37 major and 32 minor programs of study.

The five largest major programs of study at CSB/SJU – which in fall 2006 were Management, Biology, Communication, Psychology and Nursing – represented over 43% of all majors at the institutions.  The composition of the largest five majors has changed little since 1996, with only Communication and Elementary Education trading positions. 

There are, however, significant differences by gender.  Saint John’s students are fully three times as likely as Saint Benedict students to major in Management or Accounting and are more likely to major in a science or math field (excluding health sciences).  CSB students are significantly more likely than SJU students to major in a health science discipline, Elementary Education, Psychology, or Communication. 

In general, women and men attending CSB and SJU make academic choices similar to their female and male peers at other private colleges in Minnesota.

Persistence and Completion

First to second year retention rates at both the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University consistently have approached or exceeded 90% since the mid-1990s.  In fall 2006, 90% of the 2005 new entering class returned at both institutions.  Retention rates at CSB and SJU significantly exceed both local and national averages for private and public colleges. 

Completion rates have risen as retention rates have improved.  Four-year completion rates at CSB and SJU significantly exceed averages for private and public colleges regionally and nationally.  The average four-year completion rate for College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University students is 71%; the average at liberal arts colleges nationally is 50%. 

In 2005-2006, the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University awarded 836 baccalaureate degrees. Together, CSB and SJU conferred 10% of all baccalaureate degrees awarded by Minnesota’s private colleges. 

Study Abroad

The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University are ranked second in the nation for the number of students who study abroad.  Over 350 students studied abroad on one of the seventeen faculty-led semester-long trips last year.  In all, 62% of the 2003 new entering class at CSB and 59% of the 2003 cohort at SJU studied abroad. 

Instruction and Faculty Profile

Student-to-faculty ratios at CSB/SJU consistently have averaged between 12 to 1 and 13 to 1 for the past five years.  In fall 2006, the median class size for all 2 and 4 credit courses was 22.  Overall median class size has changed little in the last decade. 

More than 85% of all courses enroll 30 students or fewer.  In fall 2006, about a quarter of all 2 and 4 credit courses at Saint Benedict and Saint John’s enrolled 10 or fewer students or more than 30 students.

There are 358 faculty members teaching at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University in fall 2006.   

Approximately 85% of all faculty are full-time, significantly higher than the average for all of Minnesota’s private colleges (just 58% in fall 2005). 

The average faculty member at CSB/SJU has worked at the colleges for 15 years. The median age for the faculty in fall 2005 was 49.  Approximately 37% were under age 45 and 8% were older than age 64. 

A rising percentage of full-time faculty at CSB/SJU hold the rank of professor.  In fall 2006, 28% of all full-time faculty held the rank of professor, up from 25% in 2001-02. 

Professors and Associate Professors make up a larger share of full-time faculty at CSB/SJU than at Minnesota’s private colleges as a group.  Nearly 80% of all full-time faculty at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University are tenured or in tenure-track positions.