How to read a faith scorecard and the Compass Score

Every Christian college on the Compass has a faith scorecard: four pillars, each made of indicators that a college either documents or does not. A grade is shown for each pillar. The Compass Score combines faith with academic excellence. This guide explains each part so you can read a scorecard in a few minutes.

The four pillars

1. Worship and chapel: how often students gather for worship, whether chapel is expected, prayer, campus pastors and a published schedule.
2. Bible and theology: how many Bible or theology courses every student takes, whether both Testaments are required, worldview courses, and whether faith shapes the whole curriculum.
3. Christian community: spiritual life staff, retreats, Bible studies and student groups, faculty who affirm the statement of faith, faith life in the residence halls, and help finding a local church.
4. Missions and service: service offices, service hours in the curriculum, missions trips, partnerships with churches and ministries, and cross-cultural programs.

Each pillar counts equally. Each indicator has points, and a pillar’s points add up to a score out of 100 on what we could document.

How a grade is worked out

• Each indicator is documented from a source: the college’s own catalog, handbook or website, or its sponsoring church’s site. Each fact has a quote and a date.
• A pillar is graded only when documented indicators carry at least 60 percent of its points, and any indicator marked as required for a grade is documented. Otherwise the pillar shows “Not enough information.” That means we could not document enough of the pillar. It does not mean the college lacks it.
• Grades run from A (85 to 100 points) through B (70 to 84), C (55 to 69) and D (40 to 54). Under 40 is an F.

Partly researched

Some colleges have verified facts but not enough to grade a faith score. Their page says Partly researched, lists the facts we could confirm, and shows no grade or Compass Score until enough is verified. That is a note about our research, not a judgment about the college.

What the grade does not measure

The scorecard does not rate the quality of a college’s chapel music, its professors, its reputation or how many students take part. It records what a college documents. Students may take part more or less than the documents suggest, so ask.

The Compass Score

The Compass Score combines the Faith score and the Academic Excellence score in a ratio of three parts faith to one part academics (75 and 25 percent). It is computed only when both are available. Academic Excellence comes from federal data: how many students graduate, how many return after the first year, how prepared entering students are, and how much teaching attention and investment each student gets. Cost is never part of any grade. It is shown separately in the cost and value panel.

A short reading order

1. Look at the grade for each pillar, and open the ones that matter most to your family.
2. Check which indicators are documented and which show “Not found.” Not found is not the same as no.
3. Read the Academic Excellence grade and the Compass Score together. The academic letter is set on a curve against every U.S. four-year college, so a C+ means the college sits in the lower part of that whole group, not that it failed.
4. Write down your questions and take them to the college.

Next steps

• How the Compass works, with the full faith rubric and the academic scales.
• Build your own order with the custom ranking, weighing the pillars you care about most.
• Browse Christian colleges and open any school’s scorecard.
• Read more about chapel and worship and Bible and theology requirements.