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Find answers to common queries about the U.S. News Best Colleges rankings
Why U.S. News Ranks Colleges
1. Why rank colleges? A college education is one of the most important – and one of the most costly – investments that prospective students will ever make.
For this reason, the editors of U.S. News believe that students and their families should have as much information as possible about the comparative merits of the educational programs at America's colleges and universities.
The data we gather on colleges – and the rankings of the schools that arise from these data – serve as an objective guide by which students and their parents can compare the academic quality of schools.
When consumers purchase a car or a computer, this sort of information is readily available. We think it's even more important that comparative data help people make informed decisions about an education that can now cost more than $240,000 – including tuition, room, board, required fees, books, transportation and other personal expenses – for a bachelor's degree at some of the more expensive private universities.
2. Are the rankings objective and fair?
We do our utmost to make sure they are. Each school's rank, within its group of peer institutions, is based on the same set of quality measures.
Furthermore, 77.5% of a school's ranking in the National Universities, National Liberal Arts Colleges, Regional Universities and Regional Colleges categories is based on a formula that uses objective measures of academic quality such as graduation rates, faculty information and admissions data.
The remaining 22.5% is based on a peer assessment among top academics at colleges; in the National Universities and National Liberal Arts Colleges categories, that includes an additional academic reputation survey among high school counselors.
In the peer assessment survey, U.S. News asks the president, provost and dean of admissions at each school to rate the quality of the academic programs for schools in the same ranking category, including their own. Those unfamiliar with a particular school are asked to check a box labeled "don't know."
Peer assessments are subjective, but they are also important: A diploma from a distinguished college can help a graduate get good jobs and gain admission to top-notch graduate programs, just as a high school's reputation can help or harm an applicant's chances of getting into a good college.
3. Why are rankings helpful in choosing a college?
Rankings are helpful to applicants because they rate the strength of the academic program at each undergraduate institution. As such, the rankings give applicants information on a key factor to consider when selecting a college.
Furthermore, the rankings are based on accepted measures of academic quality chosen after careful reporting and research on measuring quality in education. U.S. News takes pains to gather data in a uniform way and eliminate any gaps.
Finally, the rankings condense a great deal of information about the quality of the education at each school, making it easier to compare institutions and select the best one for an individual.
How U.S. News Ranks Colleges
1. In brief, how does U.S. News rank colleges?
To rank colleges, U.S. News first places each school into a category based on its mission (research university or liberal arts college) and – for universities offering a range of master's programs and colleges focusing on undergraduate education at the bachelor's level without a particular emphasis on the liberal arts – by location (North, South, Midwest and West).
National Universities where there is a focus on research and that offer several doctoral programs are ranked separately from National Liberal Arts Colleges, and Regional Universities and Regional Colleges are compared with other schools in the same group and region.
Second, we gather data from and about each school in up to 16 areas related to academic excellence. Each indicator is assigned a weight (expressed as a percentage) based on our judgments about which measures of quality matter most.
Third, the colleges are ranked based on their composite weighted score. We publish the numeric rank of roughly the top three-fourths of schools in each of the 10 categories; the remaining lowest-ranked schools in each category are placed into the second tier and labeled Rank Not Published, listed alphabetically, based on their overall score in their category.
The data for the 2014 edition of Best Colleges were gathered in the spring and summer of 2013.
2. Does U.S. News rank all colleges and universities?
Not quite. To be included in the rankings, a college or university must be regionally accredited and have a total enrollment of at least 200 students. Also, we do not rank certain schools for school-specific reasons, such as schools that do not use the SAT or ACT in admissions decisions.
In addition, 79 of the 1,596 regionally accredited U.S. institutions that are part of the U.S. News data collection universe are specialty institutions that offer most or all of their degrees in fine arts, performing arts, business or engineering.
We also have gathered information on nearly 200 more schools that include some nontraditional and international students; these schools are not ranked and are also listed as Unranked.
As we have for many years, we have also ranked 467 accredited undergraduate business programs and 393 accredited undergraduate engineering programs. This information can supplement the colleges' overall rankings for students with an interest in these majors.
Once again, we have created groups of Unranked schools that we have listed alphabetically in separate tables at the end of each category in which they would have been ranked.
We have been doing this to some degree since 1990. U.S. News believes that because these schools are unable to report key educational characteristics or because they have certain other characteristics, it would be unfair to try to compare them statistically with the other schools that are part of the rankings.
In addition, for the seventh year in a row, those institutions that have indicated that they don't use the SAT or ACT in admissions decisions for first-time, first-year, degree-seeking applicants were included in the list of Unranked schools. The non-use of the SAT or ACT in admissions decisions is the main reason why schools are listed as Unranked.
In addition, some schools were not ranked because they didn't receive enough responses on the peer assessment survey to allow us to use their peer score as part of their overall rank.
In total, 141 schools in the National Universities, National Liberal Arts Colleges, Regional Colleges and Regional Universities categories are unranked because of the above reasons.
Other types of schools have been unranked in previous years and continue to be listed as Unranked this year. The largest group is the 79 specialized schools in arts, business or engineering. These schools are classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as "Special Focus Institutions."
3. Why does the methodology change most years?
U.S. News refines its methodology for one simple reason: to improve it. There is an active and ongoing debate about how best to measure quality in education, and U.S. News pays close attention to that debate. When new or better ideas for measuring quality are proposed, we evaluate them carefully and make changes to ensure that we provide the best possible rankings to our readers.
For example, over time, the ranking model has put less emphasis on input measures of quality (which look at characteristics of the students, faculty and other resources going into the educational process) and more emphasis on output measures (which look at the results of the educational process, such as graduation and freshman retention rates). This shift was consistent with the increased emphasis that educators, researchers and policymakers have placed on results when comparing and evaluating educational programs.
4. What changes, if any, were made this year to the methodology and the rankings?
U.S. News made significant changes this year to the Best Colleges ranking methodology to reduce the weight of input factors and increase the weight of output measures.
High school class standing: We reduced the weight assigned to the high school class standing of newly enrolled students in the ranking model for all categories and gave slightly more weight to SAT and ACT scores.
It is clear from the data that U.S. News collects that, as each year passes, the proportion of high school graduates with class rank on their transcripts is falling. As a result, the measure is less representative of each college's freshman class than it was five or 10 years ago.
The decline in importance of high school class standing in admissions decisions was confirmed in the National Association for College Admission Counseling's 2012 "State of College Admission" report. The report states that since 1993, "the factor showing the largest decline in importance is class rank." For fall 2011, just 19% of colleges rated it as considerably important, down from 42% in 1993.
This same research shows that SAT and ACT scores are growing in importance in admissions decisions. To better reflect this reality, the student selectivity indicator in our ranking model was adjusted so that the weight of high school class standing dropped from 40% to 25%, and the weight of SAT and ACT scores increased from 50% to 65%.
At the same time, the weight of student selectivity overall has declined from 15% to 12.5% to place less emphasis on inputs. This change reduced the effective weight of class rank in the overall rankings from 6% to 3.125%; increased the effective weight of SAT and ACT scores in the overall rankings from 7.5% to 8.125%; and slightly reduced the effective weight of acceptance rate in the overall rankings from 1.5% to 1.25%.
Graduation rate performance: We expanded the use of the graduation rate performance indicator to all the Best Colleges ranking categories; this meant that for the first time, it applied to Regional Universities and Regional Colleges, nearly 1,000 additional colleges.
Since 1997, this ranking factor had been used only in the National Universities and National Liberal Arts Colleges ranking categories. It now has a weight of 7.5% in the ranking model for all schools.
Incorporating this indicator for all schools improves the Best Colleges ranking methodology, as it's an important outcome measure that focuses on the difference between each school's predicted graduation rate (as calculated by U.S. News based on key characteristics of the incoming class closely linked to college completion, such as SAT and ACT scores and Pell Grants) and its actual graduation rate. The indicator gives credit to schools that have higher-than-expected graduation rates.
Other ranking factors: We changed other weights in the ranking model to further emphasize outcome measures.
The weight of the peer assessment score was reduced in the Regional Universities and Regional Colleges categories from 25% to 22.5%; the weight of graduation and retention rates was increased for National Universities and National Liberal Arts Colleges to 22.5% from 20%.
Since we added graduation rate performance as a ranking factor for Regional Universities and Regional Colleges, the weights for the graduation rates themselves and retention rates dropped from 25% to 22.5%.
As a result of the changes described above, many schools' ranks changed in the 2014 edition of the Best Colleges rankings compared with the 2013 edition.
If a school's ranking data changed in the 2014 edition compared with the 2013 edition, this could have had an impact on its new overall rank.
Even if a school's ranking data changed little in the 2014 edition compared with the previous edition, if the new methodology placed more emphasis on a ranking factor that the school scored relatively higher in, then its rank may have risen.
Similarly, if the new methodology placed more emphasis on a factor that the school was relatively weaker in, then its rank may have fallen.
In addition, U.S. News made changes in the methodology used to determine which schools made the list of A-plus Schools for B Students and also adjusted the methodology used in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities rankings to reflect some of the changes we made in the main Best Colleges rankings.
Beyond the ranking methodology changes, we used clearer footnotes to indicate the schools that did not report to U.S. News fall 2012 SAT and ACT scores for all first-time, first-year, degree-seeking students with these scores – including athletes, international students, minority students, legacies, those admitted by special arrangement and those who started in the summer of 2012.
The footnotes also include schools that declined to tell us whether all students with test scores were represented.
The value of those footnoted SAT and ACT scores reported by the school was reduced in the Best Colleges ranking model. This practice is not new; since the 1997 rankings, we have discounted the value of such schools' reported scores in the ranking model, since the effect of leaving students out could be that lower scores are omitted.
If a school told U.S. News that it included all students with scores in the reported SAT and ACT scores, then those scores were counted fully in the rankings and were not footnoted.
5. Why does U.S. News classify colleges into different categories before ranking them? How are the categories defined?
The purpose of grouping colleges into categories is to compare schools with similar missions. For example, schools that offer graduate programs and emphasize research are generally in different categories from colleges that focus exclusively on teaching undergraduates.
To define the categories, we used the 2010 Basic Classification system developed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, an accepted classification system in higher education.
U.S. News collapses 12 of the Carnegie categories, which are part of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching's 2010 revision of its Basic Classification, into four: National Universities, National Liberal Arts Colleges, Regional Universities and Regional Colleges. The Regional Universities and Regional Colleges are placed into one of four geographic categories: North, South, Midwest and West.
6. What are National Universities?
There are 281 national universities – 173 public, 101 private and seven for-profit – based on the 2010 Basic categories established by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
National Universities offer a full range of undergraduate majors as well as master's and doctoral degrees. In many cases, they place strong emphasis on research and receive federal money to support their research endeavors.
7. What are National Liberal Arts Colleges?
There are 248 National Liberal Arts Colleges – 220 private, 27 public and one for-profit. These schools emphasize undergraduate education.
To be included, colleges must award at least 50% of their degrees in liberal arts disciplines, such as languages and literature, biology and life sciences, philosophy, cultural studies and psychology.
8. What are Regional Universities and Regional Colleges?
Like National Universities, Regional Universities offer a full range of undergraduate programs and provide graduate education at the master's level. However, they differ by offering few, if any, doctoral programs. Of the 621 Regional Universities, 262 are public, 347 private and 12 are for-profit.
The 367 Regional Colleges, including 94 public institutions, 256 privates and 17 for-profits, focus on undergraduate education but grant less than 50% of their degrees in liberal arts disciplines. The Regional Colleges category includes institutions where in some cases only a small number of the degrees awarded are at the bachelor's level.
The Regional Universities and Regional Colleges are placed into one of four geographic categories: North, South, Midwest and West.
9. What are tiers, and why are some schools listed in tiers and not numerically ranked?
U.S. News publishes the numbered rankings of approximately the top 75% of schools in each of the categories. The remaining schools are placed in the bottom, or second tier, based on their overall score in their category, and listed alphabetically. Schools in the second tier are labeled as Rank Not Published on usnews.com.
The second tier, also referred to as Tier Two, is approximately the bottom 25% of schools that are just beneath the numerically ranked schools in the top three-fourths in terms of their ranks in that category. In other words, schools listed in Tier Two are ranked lower than all those that are numerically ranked. In that particular ranking category of schools, the Tier Two schools are the lowest ranked.
We believe that the data are complete enough to numerically rank schools in the top 75% of each category, given our robust methodology.
Another key reason we can rank that many schools numerically is that the quality of the data we collect has improved over the years, including our ability to get a school's data from other public sources, such as the U.S. Department of Education, for schools that don't report their data to U.S. News voluntarily.
These extended rankings also reduce ranking volatility, since far fewer schools will now drop in and out of the numerical rankings in any given year.
Schools in Tier Two are not numerically ranked since the data is not as complete and we want the numerical rankings to emphasize the top schools.
10. What measures of academic quality does U.S. News use in its rankings?
Indicators used to measure academic quality fall into seven broad areas: peer assessment; retention and graduation of students; faculty resources; student selectivity; financial resources; alumni giving; and graduation rate performance, the difference between the proportion of students expected to graduate and the proportion who do.
The indicators include both input measures, which reflect the quality of students, faculty and other resources used in education, and outcome measures, such as graduation and freshman retention rates and graduation rate performance, which signal how well the institution educates its student body.
11. Where do the data used in the rankings come from?
Schools report most of the information directly to us. Each year, U.S. News sends an extensive questionnaire to all accredited four-year colleges and universities in late winter through spring.
This year's data collection for the Best Colleges 2014 edition took place during the spring and summer of 2013. U.S. News is a founding member of the Common Data Set initiative. U.S. News incorporates items from the CDS and unique proprietary items on its survey.
When the surveys are returned, we enter and evaluate the data, checking for possible errors and consistency with related information. For example, SAT scores must fall in a particular range, and the score reported as the 25th percentile must be less than the score reported as the 75th percentile.
Where possible, we double check the data with information from other sources. For example, statistics about faculty salaries are compared with information collected by the American Association of University Professors.
For schools that don't return the questionnaires or don't answer all the questions, U.S. News uses comparable data from the Council for Aid to Education (for alumni giving rates), the National Collegiate Athletic Association (for graduation rates) and the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (SATs, ACTs, acceptance rates, graduation and freshman retention rates, student-faculty ratios, faculty counts, tuition, room and board, other students fees and financial resources), as well as data collected by U.S. News in previous years and data pulled from those schools' own websites.
In the case of colleges that have refused to fill out the U.S. News statistical survey during the 2013 data collection and are included as a ranked school in the 2014 rankings, we have made extensive use of the statistical data those institutions were required to report to NCES on such factors as SAT and ACT scores, acceptance rates and faculty and retention rates.
12. Which measure of quality is most important?
First, remember that each measure that U.S. News uses in its rankings captures some important dimension of the academic program. The weight, expressed as a percentage, tells you the relative importance that U.S. News places on each measure.
U.S. News weights outcomes more heavily than any other factor, since measures of graduation and retention are the most heavily weighted factors in the Best Colleges rankings. For National Universities, National Liberal Arts Colleges, Regional Universities and Regional Colleges, the ranking formula gives the graduation and retention measures a weight of 22.5% each.
In addition, the ranking model for all categories includes graduation rate performance, with a 7.5% weight, measuring whether the school is over- or underperforming in terms of graduating its students.
Overall, the factors that directly relate to graduation and retention have a total weight of 30% in the ranking methodology, far outweighing any other factor in the rankings.
The U.S. News ranking formula gives a weight (22.5%) to peer assessment scores because a diploma from a distinguished college helps graduates get good jobs or gain admission to top-notch graduate programs.
For National Universities and National Liberal Arts Colleges, in terms of the actual ranking calculations, the peer assessment score among academics and the high school counselor reputation score are computed as separate ranking indicators. This means that the academic peer score is weighted at 15% and the high schools counselor rating score counts 7.5%, for a total of 22.5%.
The Regional Universities and Regional Colleges rankings rely on one assessment score, by the academic peer group.
We recommend that prospective students consider which indicators are especially important to them and look at those individual elements as well as the school's overall rank. Our website's search and sort capabilities make it simple to locate schools that are strong in a particular area.
13. How did U.S. News decide how much weight to give each indicator in its ranking formula?
Analysts at U.S. News have chosen the weights used in the ranking formula. Our views of the appropriate weights may differ from those of other higher education experts. The weights were chosen based on years of reporting about education, on reviews of research about education and after consultation with experts in higher education.
Over time, including the changes we made for the 2014 edition, we have placed greater weight on the outcome measures of quality (such as graduation rate) and de-emphasized the input measures (such as high school standing and financial resources).
This change is consistent with a growing emphasis by education experts on outcomes in assessing the performance of complex institutions such as colleges.
There were some changes in the indicator weights used in the ranking methodology in the 2014 edition compared with the 2013 edition (see No. 4 above).
14. Why did my school's rank go up – or down – this year?
Each school's circumstances are unique, but we can tell you in general terms why rank changes.
In the 2014 edition of Best Colleges, the main reason why many schools' rankings changed compared with the 2013 edition is the various changes made in this year's ranking methodology, as described in detail in No. 4 above.
These changes include a significant reduction in the weight of high school class standing, adding graduation rate performance as a ranking factor to the Regional Universities and Regional Colleges categories and adjusting other weights of other ranking factors.
A school's ranking data may have changed little in the 2014 edition of Best Colleges compared with the 2013 edition. However, if the new methodology placed more emphasis on a ranking factor that the school scored relatively higher in, then its rank may have risen. Also, if the new methodology placed more emphasis on a factor that the school was relatively weaker in, then its rank may have fallen.
Another reason for why a school can move up or down in the rankings is because some or all of its ranking data moved higher or lower in the 2014 edition of the rankings compared with the 2013 edition. A college's rank may change from one year to the next when its performance and its data, relative to one or more of its peers in its ranking category, varies on one or more measures of academic quality used by U.S. News in the rankings.
In other words, a school's rank can vary because its performance on a measure changes or because the performance of other schools in the same peer group changes. Also, in some cases, schools report fuller and/or less complete data in one year versus the current year.
The changes in how schools report their data are among the key contributing factors why some schools have moved in the rankings.
As stated earlier, many of the changes in rank are likely to reflect the various changes made this year in the U.S. News methodology as described above, which have been made to improve the quality of the rankings. As a result, this may make it hard to identify the precise cause of why a school's rank did change.
15. Why do private schools fare better than publics in the U.S. News rankings?
Overall, private colleges and universities tend to do better on several measures in our ranking model, including student selectivity, graduation and retention rates and class size. Because of their mission to serve students in their state, publics generally don't score as high on selectivity as private colleges, many of which have more stringent admissions standards.
In addition, public colleges and universities tend to have lower graduation and retention rates and larger classes.
Finally, the public schools often lack the financial resources of the better-endowed private universities or have suffered from continuing budget cuts due to slow-growth economic conditions.
Note: U.S. News publishes separate rankings of the Top Public Schools in each category.
16. Why doesn't U.S. News rank undergraduate specialty schools in fine arts, engineering or business?
Seventy-nine of the 1,596 accredited undergraduate institutions in the U.S. that are in our data collection universe fall into a specialty category because they award most or all of their degrees in fine arts, performing arts, business or engineering.
These schools offer an important alternative for students aspiring to careers in particular fields. U.S. News provides pertinent data for each school but does not rank these institutions because there are too few in each category to allow a fair comparison and because their specialized focus would require a different system of ranking.
However, U.S. News does annually rank some the largest undergraduate majors. This year, as we have for many previous years, we ranked 467undergraduate business programs accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business and 393 undergraduate engineering programs accredited by ABET, formerly the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology.
These rankings are based solely on peer assessment surveys that were sent in the spring of 2013. The results of these separate surveys are available on our website.
17. Does U.S. News consider economic diversity in its rankings?
Yes, for the eighth year in a row, we have included the proportion of the student body receiving Pell Grants in our predicted graduation rate formula. Pell Grants are an important indicator of how many low-income students attend a school, and adding them resulted in a model that better captures the school's student body and improves that indicator.
More about Pell Grants can be found in our Economic Diversity table.
18. What does it mean when a school is marked as Rank Not Published or Unranked?
For the third year in a row, U.S. News has labeled all the schools in the second tier of the National Universities, National Liberal Arts Colleges, Regional Universities and Regional Colleges categories as Rank Not Published to explain why some schools don't have a numerical rank and score listed next to them.
Rank Not Published means that U.S. News did calculate a numerical rank and score for that school, but decided for editorial reasons that since the school ranked below the U.S. News cutoff – the top three-fourths of each ranking category are numerically ranked – that U.S. News would not publish the rank and score for that school on usnews.com.
U.S. News will supply schools listed as Rank Not Published with their numerical rank and score, if they submit a request following the procedures listed in the Information for School Officials page. Schools marked as Rank Not Published are listed alphabetically.
Unranked means that U.S. News did not calculate a numerical rank for that school. The school did not qualify to be numerically ranked by U.S. News. Schools marked as Unranked are listed alphabetically and are listed below those marked as Rank Not Published.
U.S. News believes that because these schools are unable to report key educational characteristics or because they have certain other characteristics, it would be unfair to try to compare them statistically with the other schools that are part of the rankings.
There is a more detailed explanation above and in the general methodology for why a school is listed as Unranked.
19. How does U.S. News handle for-profits in the rankings?
All regionally accredited for-profit institutions are included in the U.S. News data collection. For the third year in a row, U.S. News has included in the rankings all for-profit colleges and universities that grant bachelor's degrees and are regionally accredited, and where eligible to be ranked, if they met the specific U.S. News ranking criteria to be included in the Best Colleges rankings. These include many schools that have large online bachelor's degree programs.
As a result of the U.S. News eligibility standards to be ranked, almost all of the for-profit institutions have been grouped with the Unranked schools.
Why? Their bachelor's degree candidates are largely nontraditional students in degree completion programs, for example, or they don't use SAT or ACT test scores in admissions decisions – both of which are factors U.S. News uses to decide if a school is eligible to be ranked. Since many of the for-profits generally don't use the SAT or ACT test scores in admissions decisions, they are listed as Unranked.
20. How does U.S. News handle schools that refuse to respond to the U.S. News annual statistical survey, given that many of them are still included in the rankings?
Nonresponders are still included in the rankings, if they are eligible to be ranked. If they were eligible to be ranked but refused to fill out the U.S. News statistical survey in the 2013 data collection, we have made extensive use of the statistical data those institutions were required to report to the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics on such factors as SAT and ACT scores, acceptance rates, number of faculty and graduation and retention rates.
How to Use the Rankings
1. What is the best way for students and their parents to use the rankings?
Students can use the rankings to create an initial list of schools to consider, to narrow down that list and to compare overall academic quality. Students can also use the data underlying the rankings to identify schools with specific characteristics that they value.
However, the editors of U.S. News believe rankings are only one of many criteria students should consider in choosing a college. Simply because a school is top in its category does not mean it is the top choice for everyone.
A prospective student's academic and professional ambitions, personal preferences, financial resources and scholastic record, as well as a school's size, atmosphere and location, should play major roles in determining a college choice.
Moreover, it is crucial to remember that schools separated by only a few places in the rankings are extremely close in academic quality.
2. How can I find the rank of a particular school?
U.S. News publishes the rankings in two places: in a separate college guidebook, "Best Colleges 2014," and on this website, which also offers the U.S. News College Compass – home to the most complete rankings and data. The guidebook is available for purchase at newsstands, by calling 1-800-836-6397, or visiting the U.S. News store. For discounts on bulk orders of 50 or more copies, please firstname.lastname@example.com.
If you are using the college guidebook, the only print version of the rankings, the index – where the schools are listed alphabetically – gives page numbers of any table in which a particular school appears. The index also shows the page number for the school's entry in our directory, which is filled with facts about each college and university.
Our website has the most complete data and, in some cases, more extended rankings than are published in the guidebook. If you are using our website's college search, simply type in the full name of the school, make sure you spell it correctly, and click "Search." That will take you to our online directory. The website also has search and sort features to help customize a college search.
If you can't find a particular school, make sure you are looking under the right category. The school may be too small, enrollment below 200, or too specialized to be ranked – although we do provide data on these institutions in the guidebook and on the Web.
Those interested in the most comprehensive data on each school and the most extensive rankings in each category can subscribe to the U.S. News College Compass.
3. How can I find out a school's rank from last year or an earlier year?
You can look it up in a past issue of the printed guidebook. Bear in mind that changes in a school's rank may reflect changes in other schools' performance or changes in our methods and not just changes in the school's programs.
If you do want to track down a back issue – despite this warning – here are the publication dates for all the issues of "Best Colleges/America's Best Colleges" and "Best College Values/Paying for College":
4. If a school goes up or down in the rankings, does it mean the school is getting better or worse?
Don't jump to this conclusion. Again, changes in a school's rank may reflect changes in other schools' performance or changes in our methods and not just changes in the school's programs.
Our primary objective is to serve students searching for the best school for them. With this goal in mind, we have worked with education experts to refine and evolve our ranking system over time. For instance, our ranking model now puts less emphasis on the qualifications of students entering the school as freshmen, such as average high school class rank.
Instead, we now put more emphasis on data that indicate how well each school is educating students once they enroll – such as the percentage of a college's entering class that returns for a second year and graduation rates. Because of such methodological changes, we suggest that college applicants focus on a school's current rank.
5. How can I compare a school in one category with one in a different category?
You can't really compare the rank of schools in different categories, but you can compare schools by the attributes that are most important to you, such as graduation rates or class size. The exception is the peer assessment score. Peer assessment data are not comparable because we survey different individuals about the schools in each category.
You should also consider such things as the size of each school, the degrees the school offers and other things that are important to you.
6. How can I compare two schools in the same category but different regions?
As in the previous question, look at how schools fare in the attributes that are most important to you.
7. Can I find out all of a school's U.S. News rankings in one place?
Each school has a Rankings tab on the top of the school directory pages that allows you to see all the different categories in which a school is numerically ranked in the Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools and Best Online Education Programs rankings.


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"Shiawase nara te o tatakou (If You're Happy, Clap Your Hands)" is a popular Japanese song that is based on a Spanish folk song. It became a big hit in 1964, when the song was released by Kyuu Sakamoto. As 1964 was the year that Tokyo hosted the Olympics, the song was heard and loved by many foreign visitors and athletes. As a result it became known all over the world.
Another famous song by Kyuu Sakamoto is "Ue o Muite Arukou", which is known as "Sukiyaki" in the US. Click this link to learn more about the song, "Ue o Muite Arukou".
Here are the Japanese lyrics of "Shiawase nara te o tatakou" in Japanese and romaji
幸せなら 手を たたこう
幸せなら 手を たたこう
幸せなら 態度で しめそうよ
そら みんなで 手を たたこう
幸せなら 足 ならそう
幸せなら 足 ならそう
幸せなら 態度で しめそうよ
そら みんなで 足 ならそう
Shiawase nara te o tatakou
Shiawase nara te o tatakou
Shiawase nara taido de shimesou yo
Sora minna de te o tatakou
Shiawase nara ashi narasou
Shiawase nara ashi narasou
Shiawase nara taido de shimesou yo
Sora minna de ashi narasou
Let's learn some vocabulary from the song.
shiawase --- happiness
te --- hand
tataku --- to clap (hands)
taido --- attitude
shimesu --- to show
Sora --- Here! Look!
minna --- everybody
ashi --- feet
narasu --- to sound
The English version of the song is, "If You're Happy and You Know It". It is often sung among children. Here is the English version of the song, though it is not a literal translation.
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands.
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands.
If you're happy and you know it,
And you really want to show it,
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands.
If you're happy and you know it, stomp your feet.
If you're happy and you know it, stomp your feet.
If you're happy and you know it
And you really want to show it,
If you're happy and you know it stomp your feet.
The "nara" used in the song, indicates a supposition and result. "Nara" is the simplified form of "naraba". However, "ba" is often omitted in modern Japanese. It translates into "if ~ then; if it is true that ~". "Nara" is often used after nouns. It is similar to the conditional "~ ba" and "~ tara" form.
- Mokuyoubi nara hima ga arimasu. --- If it's Thursday, I'm free.
- Asu ame nara, shiai wa chuushi ni narimasu. --- If it's raining tomorrow, the game will be cancelled.
- Taro ga iku nara, watashi wa ikimasen. --- If Taro is going, I am not going.
- Ichiman-en nara, kau n dakedo. --- If it is ten thousand yen, I will buy it.
- Anata ga tadashii to omou nara, shitagau wa. --- If you think it is right, I will follow you.
"Nara" also indicates that a topic is being brought up. It can be translated as "as for." Unlike the topic marker "wa", which introduces the topic originating from the speaker, "nara" introduces topics, which have often been suggested by the addressee.
- Sono mondai nara, mou kaiketsu shita. --- As for that problem, it had already been settled.
- Yoko nara, kitto chikara ni natte kureru yo. --- As for Yoko, she will definitely help you.
- Eiwajiten nara, watashi no ie ni arimasu. --- If it's English-Japanese dictionary (that you are looking for), it is in my house.
"Yo" is a sentence-ending particle, which emphasizes a statement of suggestion. It is used after the form "ou" or "you". There are quite a few sentence-ending particles used in Japanese sentences. Check out my article, "Sentence-Ending Particles" to learn more about them.
- Daibu aruita kara, chotto yasumou yo. --- Let's take a break, as we've already walked quite a bit.
- Ano resutoran ni itte miyou yo. ---Let's try that restaurant.
- Konya wa sushi ni shiyou yo. --- Shall we have sushi tonight?

subset: commoncrawl


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Earn My Keep SCHOOL &
Earn My Keep HOMESCHOOL
Earn My Keep SCHOOL and Earn My Keep HOMESCHOOL are not typical financial literacy curricula. They're easy to use and help strengthen students' creative-thinking and problem-solving skills. Our curricula include social studies, economics, financial literacy, social- and life-skills resources—even coordinated exercises to engage parents. We are science, technology, math-, and Common Core Standard-friendly, and blend easily into homeschool classrooms, from family to co-op.


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Some F-16-C fighter jets spotted recently around Barksdale Air Force Base are here for a training exercise.
The visiting jets are from the 187th Fighter Wing based in Montgomery, AL. They're at BAFB for a Green Flag East training exercise, which is described as a realistic combat training exercise designed to replicate deployed warfare conditions.
BAFB is home to the 2d Bomb Wing, equipped with the B-52H Stratofortress bomber, where all Air Force Global Strike Command and Air Force Reserve Command B-52 crews are trained.
The training is expected to continue through January 28.
Copyright 2014 KSLA. All rights reserved.
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Shreveport, LA 71101
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Woman taken to hospital after Dudley town centre crash (From Dudley News)
Get involved! Send your photos, video, news & views by texting DN NEWS to 80360 or e-mail us
Woman taken to hospital after Dudley town centre crash
Updated 5:14pm Monday 17th March 2014 in News
A WOMAN in her 50s was taken to hospital after a car hit a shop wall in Dudley town centre.
West Midlands Ambulance Service was called at 10.48am today (Monday March 17) to an incident in High street.
Fire crews from Dudley and Stourbridge were also sent to the scene.
The incident involved a car in collision with another car and then a wall.
The woman, who was driving one of the vehicles did not suffer any injuries as a result of the crash but was taken to Russells Hall Hospital for further assessment in relation to a suspected medical condition.
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Next, you'll be asked to connect with Twitter. Rest assured, we will never send a tweet from your account
without your permission.
We will send you an email with an invite soon.
Somebody down at VCU owe me some money.
See what's Trending Now for @LOScience
Follow @LOScience on Twitter


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Here is a link to the story:
Here is part of the story:
The roster is loaded with wing players. Iguodala would be in competition with stars Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony for a spot.
Iguodala started alongside Durant at forward for the USA team that won the 2010 FIBA World Championships in Turkey. USA coach Mike Krzyzewski raved about Iguodala's defense.
"He's great," Krzyzewski said two summers ago. "I love him."


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Authorities in Owensboro tell us a middle school student cut class and took school officials and law enforcement on quite a foot chase.
Daviess County Public Schools says that a student and two staff members were out doing an outdoor activity when all of a sudden the student just took off. The student climbed a fence behind the school and ran down the river bank.
The school says that staff tried getting the student to come back.
"One of our assistant principals went over the fence to try to bring him back but immediately he needed to call the police to get involved," says Owen Saylor, Daviess Co. Public School Superintendent.
The Daviess Co. Sheriff's office, Owensboro Police Department, and Fire Department all responded and one deputy slipped and fell into the Ohio River and was taken to the emergency room to be checked out.
The Sheriff's office says the student entered into an intake cistern and followed it until he was able to climb out to a manhole cover on E. 4th Street and then headed west.
OPD eventually caught up with the student a few blocks later at Battery Headquarters.
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Saturday, July 16, 2005
© Copyright 2014 Clayton News Daily
We could do worseWell, once again we have been regaled with another segment of "The world according to Cal 'The Reverend' Thomas." I say Reverend because Thomas usually laces his outpourings of prejudicial rhetoric with sanctimonious renderings of biblical scripture.In his most recent column ("Teaching the Constitution," July 14) he has deigned to advise the president on who he should nominate to the Supreme Court to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, whom Thomas has deemed a "disappointment" to religious conservatives. He went on to crow about how he was right and President Reagan was wrong in selecting O'Connor in the first place because of her failure to be in constant lock-step with the religious right in rendering her opinions. How dare she deviate from the game plan and act according to her heartfelt beliefs in her decisions. There just doesn't seem to be any wriggle room in Thomas' philosophy for diverse opinions and that, in my opinion, makes him irrelevant. Thomas makes reference to Reagan's alleged assurance to the Rev. Jerry Falwell that O'Connor would fall in line on the abortion issue. Are we to believe that Supreme Court judges are to be appointed according the whims of the likes of Jerry Falwell? The idea that the highest court in the land should be manipulated by a fringe group, religious or otherwise, is repugnant and unacceptable. The question should not be whether a Supreme Court judge is liberal or conservative in his political philosophy. It should be that he or she is fair minded in rendering decisions in accordance with constitutional law. Cal Thomas' opinion aside, we could do a lot worse than having another O'Connor on the court. - George Morin Auburn
More like this story
- Gay marriage vote cleared for Tuesday ballot ( October 27, 2004 )
- Letters to the Editor ( July 21, 2005 )
- Minors excluded from death penalty ( March 2, 2005 )
- CSU professor connects Georgia author, legendary 'Goat Man' ( March 13, 2008 )
- News of the Weird 8-13-2011 ( August 12, 2011 )


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A Shenandoah Valley man is celebrating after receiving a big honor this weekend.
The Virginia Auctioneers Association hosted the 36th annual State Champion Auctioneer Contest, which included several rounds, in Powhatan on Saturday.
The top prize went to Ben Svonavec of Mount Sidney. At 24, he was the youngest person to compete, and he says he was taken aback by the victory.
There were 13 other contestants from around the commonwealth. More than 150 people bid on coins, jewelry and other household items and judges evaluated the auctioneers based on their presence, voice and overall salesmanship.
Some of the proceeds from the event will go to Relay for Life.
Svonavec said he's also excited about the opportunity to become more involved with the association since the win.
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Quotes & Info
|SCI > SEC Filings for SCI > Form 10-Q on 25-Jul-2013
|All Recent SEC Filings
Quarterly Report
The Company
We are North America's largest provider of deathcare products and services, with a network of funeral homes and cemeteries unequalled in geographic scale and reach. At June 30, 2013, we operated 1,435 funeral service locations and 374 cemeteries (including 213 combination locations) in North America, which are geographically diversified across 43 states, 8 Canadian provinces, and the District of Columbia. Our funeral segment also includes the operations of 12 funeral homes in Germany that we intend to exit when economic values and conditions are conducive to a sale. Our funeral service and cemetery operations consist of funeral service locations, cemeteries, funeral service/cemetery combination locations, crematoria, and related businesses. We sell cemetery property and funeral and cemetery products and services at the time of need and on a preneed basis.
On May 29, 2013, we announced our execution of a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Stewart Enterprises, Inc. (Stewart), the second largest operator of funeral homes and cemeteries in North America. This transaction provides us with an opportunity for growth consistent with our capital deployment strategy and will allow us the ability to serve a number of new, complementary areas, while enabling us to capitalize on what we believe will produce significant synergies and operating efficiencies. The acquisition is subject to, among other conditions, antitrust clearance and approval of the Stewart stockholders. It is anticipated that the acquisition will be completed at the end of 2013 or in early 2014, however there can be no assurance that the acquisition will be completed by this time or at all.
Our financial position is enhanced by our $7.5 billion backlog of future revenues from both trust and insurance-funded sales at June 30, 2013, which is the result of preneed funeral and cemetery sales. Preneed selling provides us with a current opportunity to lock-in future market share while deterring the customer from going to a competitor in the future. We believe it adds to the stability and predictability of our revenue and cash flows. While revenue on the majority of preneed funeral sales is deferred until the time of need, sales of preneed cemetery property provides opportunities for full current revenue recognition (to the extent we collect 10% from the customer and the property is developed).
We believe we have the financial strength and flexibility to reward shareholders through dividends while maintaining a prudent capital structure and pursuing new opportunities for profitable growth. We currently have approximately $190.1 million authorized to repurchase our common stock.
Factors affecting our operating results include: demographic trends in terms of
population growth and average age, which impact death rates and number of
deaths; establishing and maintaining leading market share positions supported by
strong local heritage and relationships; effectively responding to increasing
cremation trends by selling complementary services and merchandise; controlling
salary and merchandise costs; and exercising pricing leverage related to our
at-need revenues. The average revenue per funeral contract is influenced by the
mix of traditional and cremation services because our average cremation service
revenue is approximately half of the average revenue earned from a traditional
burial service. To further enhance revenue opportunities we are developing
memorialization products and services that specifically appeal to cremation
customers. We believe that these additional products and services will help
drive increases in cremation revenue in future periods.
For further discussion of our key operating metrics, see our Results of Operations and Cash Flow sections below.
Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources
Capital Allocation Considerations
We rely on cash flow from operations as a significant source of liquidity. Our cash flow from operating activities provided $226.9 million in the six months ended June 30, 2013. In addition, we have $381.7 million in excess borrowing capacity under our bank credit facility. Subsequent to June 30, 2013, we repaid the entire $86.6 million outstanding under our bank credit facility in conjunction with entering into a new bank credit facility associated with the Stewart acquisition financing. This provides us with $468.3 million in excess borrowing capacity. We currently have no significant maturities of long-term debt until April 2015.
Subsequent to June 30, 2013, as part of establishing financing for the Stewart acquisition, we entered into a new $1.1 billion credit agreement due July 2018 with a syndicate of banks. The credit agreement consists of a $500 million bank credit facility and a term loan of up to $600 million. In connection with our entry into the new credit agreement, all amounts outstanding under the bank credit facility of $86.6 million were repaid.
Our bank credit facility requires us to maintain certain leverage and interest coverage ratios. As of June 30, 2013, we were in compliance with all of our debt covenants. Our financial covenant requirements and actual ratios as of June 30, 2013 are as follows:
Per Credit Agreement Actual Leverage ratio 4.00 (Max) 2.75 Interest coverage ratio 3.00 (Min) 4.94
The amended bank credit facility and the new one entered into subsequent to
June 30, 2013, maintains the same leverage and interest coverage ratios until
the Stewart transaction closes. Upon closing, the leverage ratio will increase
to a 5.00X maximum (as defined in the credit agreement), while the interest
coverage ratio will remain unchanged.
We believe the sources of liquidity can be supplemented by our ability to access the capital markets for additional debt or equity securities. We believe that our $221.1 million of cash on hand, future operating cash flows, and the available capacity under our credit facility will give us adequate liquidity to meet our short-term needs as well as our long-term financial obligations. It is our intention to evaluate the best uses of our cash flow that will yield the highest value and return on capital. Our capital deployment strategy is prioritized as follows:
Reinvest in the core business. We expect to continue to focus on funding growth initiatives that generate increased profitability, revenue, and cash flows. Our primary internal growth initiative is to increase our funeral and cemetery preneed backlog to grow the Company over the long-term. We will also invest in the construction of funeral home facilities and in the construction of cemetery property to promote future cemetery sales growth. Lastly, from time to time we may have other smaller capital projects, primarily related to the improvement of processes and systems.
Invest in acquisitions. We intend to make acquisitions of funeral homes and cemeteries when pricing and terms are favorable. We expect an acquisition investment to earn an after-tax cash return that is in excess of our weighted average cost of capital with room for execution risk. We target businesses with favorable consumer segments and/or where we can achieve additional economies of scale.
Repurchase shares. Absent a strategic acquisition opportunity, we believe share repurchases are attractive at the appropriate price. Currently, we have approximately $190.1 million authorized under our share repurchase program. We intend to make purchases from time to time in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions, subject to market conditions, debt covenants, and normal trading restrictions. Our credit agreement contains covenants that limit our ability to repurchase our common stock. There can be no assurance that we will buy our common stock under our share repurchase program in the future. Pay a dividend. Beginning in November 2007, we began to pay quarterly dividends of $0.04 per common share. The quarterly dividend has steadily increased over the past few years with the latest increase to $0.07 per common share approved by the Board
of Directors on May 8, 2013. We intend to continue to grow our cash dividend
commensurate with the growth of our free cash flow. While we intend to pay
regular quarterly cash dividends for the foreseeable future, all future
dividends are subject to limitations in our debt covenants and final
determination by our Board of Directors each quarter upon review of our
financial performance.
Repurchase debt. While the Company has no significant debt maturities until April 2015, we will seek to make open market debt repurchases when it is opportunistic to do so relative to other capital deployment opportunities in order to manage our near-term debt maturity profile.
We entered into a new bank credit facility subsequent to June 30, 2013 with a maturity date in July 2018 to provide SCI with the need financing capacity to acquire Stewart Enterprises and give us access to capital markets to refinance our long term debt if, and when, we choose to do so. The Company has a relatively consistent annual cash flow stream which is generally resistant to down economic cycles. This cash flow stream is available to substantially reduce our long-term debt maturities should we choose to do so. Furthermore, the Company's capital expenditures are generally discretionary in nature and can be managed based on the availability of operating cash flow. Cash Flow
We believe our ability to generate strong operating cash flow is one of our fundamental financial strengths and provides us with substantial flexibility in meeting operating and investing needs.
Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities increased $68.5 million to $226.9 million in the first half of 2013 from $158.4 million in the first half of 2012. This increase was driven by:
� a $98.2 million increase in cash receipts from customers;
� a $34.3 million increase in net trust fund withdrawals;
� a $2.2 million increase in General Agency (GA) receipts; partially offset by
� a $40.3 million increase in vendor payments;
� a $13.8 million increase in payroll;
� a $5.6 million excess tax benefit from share based awards in 2013; and
� a $4.7 million increase in cash tax payments.
Investing Activities
Cash flows from investing activities used $48.5 million in the first half of 2013 compared to using $60.0 million in the same period of 2012. This decrease was primarily attributable to a decrease of $6.9 million in cash spent on acquisitions, a $4.9 million increase in net withdrawals of restricted funds, and a $1.3 million decrease in capital expenditures, partially offset by a $1.6 million decrease in cash receipts from divestitures and asset sales. Financing Activities
Financing activities used $48.5 million in the first half of 2013 compared to using $122.5 million in the same period of 2012. This decrease was primarily driven by a $103.0 million decrease in repurchases of Company common stock, a $5.6 million excess tax benefit from share based awards in 2013, and a $1.1 million increase of proceeds from exercise of stock options, partially offset by a $12.9 million decrease in proceeds from the issuance of long-term debt (net of debt issuance costs), an $8.3 million increase in purchases of Neptune Society noncontrolling interest, a $5.6 million increase in payments of dividends, a $4.8 million increase in bank overdrafts and other, and a $3.9 million increase in debt payments.
We repurchased 0.1 million shares in the first half of 2013 for $1.7 million and 9.4 million shares in the same period of 2012 for $104.7 million. We paid cash dividends of $27.6 million in the first half of 2013 and $22.0 million in the same period of 2012. Financial Assurances
In support of our operations, we have entered into arrangements with certain surety companies whereby such companies agree to issue surety bonds on our behalf as financial assurance and/or as required by existing state and local regulations. The surety bonds are used for various business purposes; however, the majority of the surety bonds issued and outstanding have been used to support our preneed funeral and cemetery sales activities. The obligations underlying these surety bonds are recorded on the unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheet as Deferred preneed funeral revenues and Deferred preneed cemetery revenues.
The breakdown of surety bonds between funeral and cemetery preneed arrangements, as well as surety bonds for other activities, is described below.
December 31, June 30, 2013 2012 (Dollars in millions) Preneed funeral $ 104.5 $ 110.1 Preneed cemetery: Merchandise and services 110.5 114.6 Pre-construction 2.6 7.2 Bonds supporting preneed funeral and cemetery obligations 217.6 231.9 Bonds supporting preneed business permits 2.9 2.9 Other bonds 18.2 17.2 Total surety bonds outstanding $ 238.7 $ 252.0
When selling preneed funeral and cemetery contracts, we may post surety bonds
where allowed by state law. We post the surety bonds in lieu of trusting a
certain amount of funds received from the customer. The amount of the bond
posted is generally determined by the total amount of the preneed contract that
would otherwise be required to be trusted, in accordance with applicable state
law. For the three months ended June 30, 2013 and 2012, we had $4.8 million and
$5.3 million, respectively, of cash receipts attributable to bonded sales. For
the six months ended June 30, 2013 and 2012, we had $9.2 million and $10.1
million, respectively, of cash receipts attributable to bonded sales. These
amounts do not consider reductions associated with taxes, obtaining costs, or
other costs.
Surety bond premiums are paid annually and are automatically renewable until maturity of the underlying preneed contracts, unless we are given prior notice of cancellation. Except for cemetery pre-construction bonds (which are irrevocable), the surety companies generally have the right to cancel the surety bonds at any time with appropriate notice. In the event a surety company were to cancel the surety bond, we are required to obtain replacement surety assurance from another surety company or fund a trust for an amount generally less than the posted bond amount. Management does not expect that we will be required to fund material future amounts related to these surety bonds because of lack of surety capacity or surety company non-performance.
Preneed Funeral and Cemetery Activities and Backlog of Contracts In addition to selling our products and services to client families at the time of need, we sell price-guaranteed preneed funeral and cemetery contracts, which provide for future funeral or cemetery services and merchandise. Since preneed funeral and cemetery services or merchandise will not be provided until sometime in the future, most states and provinces require that all or a portion of the funds collected from customers on preneed funeral and cemetery contracts be paid into merchandise and service trusts until the merchandise is delivered or the service is performed. These trust funds own investments in equity and debt securities and mutual funds, which are sensitive to current market prices. In certain situations, as described above, where permitted by state or provincial laws, we post a surety bond as financial assurance for a certain amount of the preneed funeral or cemetery contract in lieu of placing funds into trust accounts.
Trust-Funded Preneed Funeral and Cemetery Contracts: The funds are deposited into trust and invested by independent trustees in accordance with state and provincial laws. We retain any funds above the amounts required to be deposited into trust accounts and use them for working capital purposes, generally to offset the selling and administrative costs of our preneed programs. The tables below detail our results of preneed funeral and cemetery production and maturities, excluding insurance contracts, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2013 and 2012.
North America Three Months Ended Six Months Ended June 30, June 30, 2013 2012 2013 2012 (Dollars in millions) (Dollars in millions) Funeral: Preneed trust-funded (including bonded): Sales production $ 44.4 $ 31.7 $ 90.7 $ 69.4 Sales production (number of contracts) 16,043 14,361 33,296 28,438 Maturities $ 47.0 $ 43.1 $ 97.9 $ 90.5 Maturities (number of contracts) 13,253 13,204 27,889 27,440 Cemetery: Sales production: Preneed $ 147.8 $ 139.9 $ 281.0 $ 264.4 Atneed 61.0 59.6 124.3 119.0 Total sales production $ 208.8 $ 199.5 $ 405.3 $ 383.4 Sales production deferred to backlog: Preneed $ 61.4 $ 55.6 $ 110.6 $ 110.8 Atneed 45.5 44.5 93.2 89.9 Total sales production deferred to backlog $ 106.9 $ 100.1 $ 203.8 $ 200.7 Revenue recognized from backlog: Preneed $ 39.4 $ 43.0 $ 75.3 $ 75.3 Atneed 45.8 44.0 91.3 88.0 Total revenue recognized from backlog $ 85.2 $ 87.0 $ 166.6 $ 163.3
Insurance-Funded Preneed Funeral Contracts: Where permitted by state or
provincial law, customers may arrange their preneed funeral contract by
purchasing a life insurance or annuity policy from third-party insurance
companies, for which we earn a commission as general sales agent for the
insurance company. The policy amount of the insurance contract between the
customer and the third-party insurance company generally equals the amount of
the preneed funeral contract. As the insurance contract is between the insurance
company and the customer, we do not reflect the unfulfilled insurance-funded
preneed funeral contract amounts in our unaudited condensed consolidated balance
The table below details the results of insurance-funded preneed funeral production and maturities for the three and six months ended June 30, 2013 and 2012, and the number of contracts associated with those transactions.
North America Three Months Ended Six Months Ended June 30, June 30, 2013 2012 2013 2012 (Dollars in millions) (Dollars in millions) Preneed funeral insurance-funded: Sales production (1) $ 147.6 $ 134.4 $ 285.5 $ 268.8 Sales production (number of contracts) (1) 25,349 22,940 49,483 45,716 General Agency revenue $ 26.8 $ 24.3 $ 52.0 $ 47.6 Maturities 80.7 $ 75.8 $ 173.4 $ 158.8 Maturities (number of contracts) 13,969 13,105 30,274 27,776
(1) Amounts are not included in our unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheet.
North America Backlog of Preneed Funeral and Cemetery Contracts: The following table reflects our North America backlog of trust-funded deferred preneed funeral and cemetery contract revenues, including amounts related to Deferred preneed funeral
and cemetery receipts held in trust at June 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012.
Additionally, the table reflects our backlog of unfulfilled insurance-funded
contracts (which are not included in our unaudited condensed consolidated
balance sheet) at June 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012. The backlog amounts
presented are reduced by an amount that we believe will cancel before maturity
based on historical experience.
The table also reflects our preneed funeral and cemetery receivables and trust investments (fair value and cost bases) associated with the backlog of deferred preneed funeral and cemetery contract revenues, net of the estimated cancellation allowance. We believe that the table below is meaningful because it sets forth the aggregate amount of future revenues we expect to recognize as a result of preneed sales, as well as the amount of assets associated with those revenues. Because the future revenues exceed the asset amounts, future revenues will exceed the cash distributions actually received from the associated trusts.
June 30, 2013 December 31, 2012 Fair Value Cost Fair Value Cost (Dollars in billions) Deferred preneed funeral revenues $ 0.53 $ 0.53 $ 0.53 $ 0.53 Deferred preneed funeral receipts held in trust 1.34 1.31 1.34 1.32 $ 1.87 $ 1.84 $ 1.87 $ 1.85 Allowance for cancellation on trust investments (0.16 ) (0.16 ) (0.15 ) (0.15 ) Backlog of trust-funded preneed funeral revenues $ 1.71 $ 1.68 $ 1.72 $ 1.70 Backlog of insurance-funded preneed funeral revenues (1) 3.73 3.73 3.68 3.68 Total backlog of preneed funeral revenues $ 5.44 $ 5.41 $ 5.40 $ 5.38 Preneed funeral receivables, net and trust investments $ 1.54 $ 1.51 $ 1.54 $ 1.52 Allowance for cancellation on trust investments (0.15 ) (0.15 ) (0.14 ) (0.14 ) Assets associated with backlog of trust-funded deferred preneed funeral revenues, net of estimated allowance for cancellation $ 1.39 $ 1.36 $ 1.40 $ 1.38 Insurance policies associated with insurance-funded deferred preneed funeral revenues, net of estimated allowance for cancellation (1) 3.73 3.73 3.68 3.68 Total assets associated with backlog of preneed funeral revenues, net of estimated allowance for cancellation $ 5.12 $ 5.09 $ 5.08 $ 5.06 Deferred preneed cemetery revenues $ 0.90 $ 0.90 $ 0.86 $ 0.86 Deferred preneed cemetery receipts held in trust 1.33 1.25 1.29 1.23 $ 2.23 $ 2.15 $ 2.15 $ 2.09 Allowance for cancellation on trust investments (0.15 ) (0.15 ) (0.15 ) (0.15 ) Total backlog of deferred cemetery revenues $ 2.08 $ 2.00 $ 2.00 $ 1.94 Preneed cemetery receivables, net and trust investments 1.91 $ 1.83 $ 1.82 $ 1.76 Allowance for cancellation on trust investments (0.16 ) (0.16 ) (0.16 ) (0.16 ) Total assets associated with backlog of deferred cemetery revenues, net of estimated allowance for cancellation $ 1.75 $ 1.67 $ 1.66 $ 1.60
(1) Amounts are not included in our unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheet.
The fair value of our funeral and cemetery trust investments was based on a
combination of quoted market prices, observable inputs such as interest rates or
yield curves, and appraisals. The difference between the backlog and asset
amounts represents the contracts for which we have posted surety bonds as
financial assurance in lieu of trusting, the amounts collected from customers
that were not required to be deposited into trust, and allowable cash
distributions from trust assets. The table also reflects the amounts expected to
be received from insurance companies through the assignment of policy proceeds
related to insurance-funded funeral contracts.
Trust Investments
In addition to selling our products and services to client families at the time of need, we sell price-guaranteed preneed funeral and cemetery contracts, which provide for future funeral or cemetery services and merchandise. Since preneed funeral and cemetery services or merchandise will not be provided until sometime in the future, most states and provinces require that all or a portion of the funds collected from customers on preneed funeral and cemetery contracts be paid into trusts and/or preneed escrow accounts until the merchandise is delivered or the service is performed. Investment earnings associated with the trust investments are
expected to mitigate the inflationary costs of providing the preneed funeral and
cemetery services and merchandise in the future for the prices that were
guaranteed at the time of sale.
Also, we are required by state and provincial law to pay a portion of the proceeds from the sale of cemetery property interment rights into perpetual care trusts. For these investments, the original corpus remains in the trust in perpetuity and the net ordinary earnings are intended to offset the expense to maintain the cemetery property. The majority of states require that net gains or losses are retained and added to the corpus, but certain states allow the net realized gains and losses to be included in the income that is distributed. Independent trustees manage and invest all of the funds deposited into the . . .


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Susan J. Woolford, M.D., M.P.H.
Medical Director, Pediatric Comprehensive Weight Management Center
Dr. Woolford's clinical and research interests focus on behavioral interventions in the clinical setting for the treatment of obesity, particularly for severely obese adolescents. Her research explores the delivery of weight management interventions and outcomes from multidisciplinary obesity care. In particular, Dr. Woolford's work focuses on the use of communications technology to enhance patient engagement and adherence to treatment recommendations. In recognition of her innovative work in the area of childhood obesity, Dr. Woolford has received awards from the American Academy of Pediatrics and from the Society for Adolescent Medicine.
M.P.H., Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan
M.D., College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University
B.S., Biochemistry, Andrews University
Pediatric Health Services Research, University of Michigan
Residency and Chief Residency
Pediatrics, Sparrow Hospital, Michigan State University
Peer-Reviewed Publications
The Role of Social Media in Online Weight Management: Systematic Review.
J Med Internet Res. 2013;15(11).
Let's Face it: Patient and Parent Perspectives on Incorporating a Facebook Group into a Multidisciplinary Weight Management Program.
Child Obes 2013;9(4):305-10.
Texting, Tweeting, and Talking via Facebook: Incorporating E- Communications with Teens into Primary Care.
Contem Peds (In Press)
Slow and Steady: Readiness, Pretreatment Weekly Strengthening Activity, and Pediatric Weight Management Program Completion.
Child Obesity 2013;9(3):193-9.
A Risk Score for Identifying Overweight Adolescents with Dysglycemia in Primary Care Settings.
J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab. 2013;26(5-6):477-88.
Mott Mobile Technology for Enhancing Child Health
To Pay or not to Pay: Public Perception Regarding Insurance Coverage of Obesity Treatment.
Obesity 2013;21(12):E709-14.
Longer Weekly Sleep Duration Predicts Greater Three Month BMI Reduction Among Obese Adolescents Attending a Clinical Multidisciplinary Weight Management Program.
Obesity Facts. 2013;6(3):239-46.
Learning from Families Attending a Multidisciplinary Pediatric Weight Management Program at the YMCA.
Child Obes.2013;9(3):200-7.
Eat, Play, Love: Adolescent and Parent Perceptions of the Components of a Multidisciplinary Weight Management Program.
Clin Pediatr 2012;51(7):678-84.
A picture may be worth a thousand texts: obese adolescents" perspectives on a modified photovoice activity to aid weight loss.
Child Obes. 2012;8(3):230-6.
School counselors perspectives of the barriers and facilitators associated with their involvement in the childhood obesity epidemic: A national K-12 survey.
Am J of Health Ed. 2012:43(4).
Bariatric surgery decision making challenges: the stability of teens' decisions and the treatment failure paradox.
Pediatr Surg Int. 2012;28(5):455-60.
Commentary: Examination of Health and Behavioral Code Reimbursement from Private Payers in the Context of Clinical Multidisciplinary Pediatric Obesity Treatment.
J Pediatr Psychol. 2012;37(5):519-22.
Association between physician recommendation for adolescents to join a weight loss program and BMI change.
J Prim Care Community Health. 2012;3(2):83-87.
Study design and baseline description of the BMI(2) trial: reducing paediatric obesity in primary care practices.
Pediatr Obes. 2012;7(1):3-15.
OMG do not say LOL: obese adolescents' perspectives on the content of text messages to enhance weight loss efforts.
Obesity. 2011;19(12):2382-7
The role of school counselors in the childhood obesity epidemic.
Journal of School Counseling 2011;9(3).
Results from a clinical multi-disciplinary weight management program.
Clin Pediatr 2011;50(3):187-91.
Tailored mobile phone text messages as an adjunct to obesity treatment for adolescents.
J Telemed Telecare 2010:16(8):458-61.
Physicians' perspectives on referring obese adolescents to pediatric multidisciplinary weight management programs.
Clin Pediatr 2010:49(9):871-5.
To cut or not to cut: physicians' perspectives on referring adolescents for bariatric surgery.
Obes Surg 2010:20(7):937-42
Does childhood overweight, parental perception of overweight, or family history of diabetes increase parental perception of type 2 diabetes risk for their child?
Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology & Metabolism; 2010:23(3):267-70
Waist circumference percentile thresholds for identifying adolescents with insulin resistance in clinical practice.
Pediatric Diabetes 2009:10:336-342
Feasibility and acceptability of a one-page tool to help physicians assess and discuss obesity with parents of preschoolers.
Clinical Pediatrics 2009:48(9):954-959.
Persistent gap of incremental charges for obesity as a secondary diagnosis in common pediatric hospitalizations.
J Hosp Med 2009;4:149-156.
Does high body mass index influence hospital charges in children undergoing adenotonsillectomy?
Obesity (Silver Spring) 2008;16(7):1667-71.
Physicians' perspectives on increasing the use of BMI charts for young children.
Clin Pediatr 2008;47(6):573-7.
Maternal perspectives on growth and nutrition counseling provided at preschool well child visits.
J Natl Med Assoc 2007;99(2):153-158.
Incremental hospital charges associated with obesity as a secondary diagnosis in children.
Obesity 2007;15(7):1895-901.
Mott Mobile Technology for Enhancing Child Health


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WASHINGTON -- The Nationals have been silent on whether or not they made a bid on Yu Darvish. Clubs had until 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday to make a bid on the right-hander. A baseball source believes the Rangers and Blue Jays will have two of the largest bids.
Darvish, 25, is considered an ace pitcher who could help a young rotation that includes Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann. Last year, Darvish won 18 games and had a 1.44 ERA for the Nippon Ham Fighters of the Japanese Pacific League.
"I like him. Big, strong, hard thrower," Nats manager Davey Johnson said last week at the Winter Meetings. "Actually throws a lot like Americans -- you know, big, awful hard stuff. He's got good command. That's going to be an expensive deal, too, right there, but I do like him."
On the last day of the Winter Meetings, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo declined to say if the club would make a bid on Darvish, but he said the team scouted Darvish numerous times this past season.
"He has the complete package," Rizzo said last week. "He is a physical guy with stuff. He knows how to pitch. He has had success in a substantially high level of competition."
If the Nationals are unable to win the bid for Darvish, look for them to make a trade for a starting pitcher. There hasn't been much talk between the Nats and free agent Roy Oswalt, who wants a three-year deal. Washington only wants to give Oswalt a one-year deal loaded with incentives because he had problems with his back last year and made only 23 starts.
Last week, Rizzo acknowledged that the Nationals had interest in Athletics left-hander Gio Gonzalez. There has been minor talk about Cubs right-hander Matt Garza, but Rizzo realizes that he would have to trade a lot of quality players in order to get a pitcher like Gonzalez and Garza.
Bill Ladson is a reporter for MLB.com and writes an MLBlog, All Nats All the time. He also could be found on Twitter @WashingNats. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Okay, that bit at the end is way too sweet!
It's refreshing to hear a man's perspective on diapering, and a good story along with it! It sounds like you have found a groove together as parents, and a way to share the load with a whole lot of love and respect. Thanks to you and your husband for sharing this fabulous post
Cloth Diapers: A Man's Perspective
Welcome to the First Annual Freedom of Cloth Carnival
This post was written for inclusion in the Freedom of Cloth Carnival hosted at Natural Parents Network by Melissa of The New Mommy Files and Shannon of The Artful Mama. This year's carnival will run from Sunday, July 3rd through Saturday, July 9th. Participants are sharing everything they know and love about cloth diapering, including how cloth has inspired them.
(The following is a guest post from my husband, Michael. I asked him to do a write-up on his thoughts concerning men, dads, and cloth diapers. Here's his motivational article. If your husband has a problem changing cloth diapers, maybe this will motivate him!)
Well Dads, let's just admit it — we hate changing stinky filthy diapers. When it comes to the idea of changing a cloth diapers, our faces go white and we plead to use a disposable diaper. This seems to be a general consensus, but let's admit it: that's not really true, at least for me. I struggled after the first month not to get my lovely wife to change all our daughters' diapers; I knew in my heart it wasn't fair to her. After all, to my wife those diapers are just as yucky. To top it off, we use cloth diapers for the most part. Guys, they have to be cleaned, not tossed.
The first week we had our beautiful daughter we used disposables, since a friend of my wife makes and sells cloth diapers and we had to wait for the order. One day during that time, I thought I was going to give up diapers for good. Here's the story:
My daughter needed a diaper change. When I opened the diaper it was a liquid-like movement. I removed the diaper and the two things happened at once: first she had not finished her movement and second, the cool air had triggered my daughters' bladder. Chaos ensued. I had my daughter held party out of the mess but a moving baby and loads of "mess" caused her to get filthy and me to panic.
"Something's not right," I anxiously squealed like a lost whale. I yelled for my wife to call the duty nurse because our daughter's movement just wasn't right. As I held the squirming, wiggling, messy baby, not having a clue what to do, I squealed "Why aren't you helping me?!"
"Quiet," she said, "I'm on the phone with the duty nurse." (Nada's Note: I knew nothing was wrong, but I knew if I didn't call the nurse, he'd be worried. Unfortunately I didn't think to help him deal with her mess first. I can admit now that I was laughing to myself the whole time. Poor Michael.)
Well I got our daughter cleaned and changed and found out that the watery movement was natural. I had made it though the worst disaster I have ever had with diapers thus far, paid my dues and was a seasoned veteran.
So what about cloth diapers? Well first I will let you know I made myself be an active participant in changing diapers, as it's only fair to my wife. I am a Christian man, and there are a load of misconceptions, as I see it, about who does what in the home. My wife spends 8 hours alone with our daughter every day and deserves to have a partner when I come home. After all, I become a full time parent after I get home from work. So guys I'm going to tell you: MAN up and do your part. Your wife is tired too, and no amount of out of the home work is going to change that fact.
Also as human beings living on this planet and as a Christian man, I am bound, as is my wife, to be good stewards of our planet. One of the easiest ways to do this is to get cloth diapers. They not only use less junk and pollutants than disposables, but they are CHEAPER. Yes it cost you less to save the planet, surprise!
Cloth diapers also are much better for your child's skin, helping relieve diaper rash and irritations, and because you have to change them more often, their sensitive behinds see more fresh air. We recently had an issue with a rash that, well , was bad, bleeding and red, but between coconut oil and cloth diapers (and sometimes letting her run around commando) we were able to clear the rash up without going to a doctor or having to use some medical cream with who knows what in it.
Once you commit yourself as a man to changing diapers, a bit of poop or pee don't bother you. If you get to the diaper relatively quick after a movement the fecal matter usually comes off without having to coax it. If you miss it that's okay — you're a seasoned veteran and cleaning a diaper shouldn't be too hard for someone like you, whose been through the trenches. What myself and my wife do is if there is a larger mess we team up, we work together to clean our daughter, then split into two teams: one of us cleans the cloth diaper and the other puts a new one on.
With a bit of respect for your wife (or husband!) and the environment, cloth diapers can be easy. Caring for your child builds an unbreakable bond and guys, your wife will appreciate it. So I hope you consider cloth diapers and being a partner to your wife.
Nada I love you, and hope I show it. (Nada's Note: Oh you do, Beloved. Every single day.)
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed my post, please subscribe to miniMOMist and share on Twitter or visit my Facebook page.
Visit Natural Parents Network for the most up-to-date news on the Freedom of Cloth Carnival!
Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants on the following themes. Articles will go live on the scheduled theme day:
- Sunday, July 3rd, 2011: Cloth Related Recipes — Writers share their best cloth-related recipes and tutorials.
- Monday, July 4th, 2011: Choosing Your Cloth Style — Today's posts discuss parents' individual journeys to finding the cloth diapering "style" that best suits their families.
- Tuesday, July 5th, 2011: Cloth Diapering Must Haves — Parents talk about the most important items in their diapering "stash" and why they love them.
- Wednesday, July 6th, 2011: Wordless Wednesday, Inspired by Cloth — We asked parents to share their favorite cloth-related photo with us and turned them into a fluffy Wordless Wednesday photo montage on Natural Parents Network. Link up your own Wordless Wednesday post there!
- Thursday, July 7th, 2011: Cloth Through the Stages: From Infancy to Potty Independence — Today's participants explain how cloth diapering has served their families throughout one or more stages of their children's lives.
- Friday, July 8th, 2011: Cloth Troubleshooting and Laundry Day — Seasoned cloth diapering parents share their best tips and tricks for handling common cloth problems and tackling the diaper laundry.
- Saturday, July 9th, 2011: Inspired by Cloth — For today's theme, we've asked writers to explore the ways cloth diapering has inspired them to become "greener" overall.
10 Comments
Okay, that bit at the end is way too sweet!
I love this new modern man's perspective! My husband helps with cloth and even suggests it to his coworkers who are about to become dads themselves (they work in a factory so that says a lot about his commitment to cloth – lol). Michael you are a credit to your faith and your family. Nada is a very lucky woman! Thank you both for sharing this.
Yaay for husbands who change diapers! And cloth diapers at that! Our daughter had to come out by caesarean, and Josh was more than happy to take over diaper duty completely during the first weeks I was healing. He owned it like a champ, laundering them and everything. And every single time a diaper was changed, she nailed him with fresh potty. In the middle of the night I'd hear a mumbled "ooooh, man!" and would giggle sympathetically. Thankfully, he has a fantastic sense of humor also.
It is such a great post – it's not very often that we hear cloth diapering from the dad's perspective. And not just cloth diapering, but being a co-parent too.
My husband had the same squeamish reaction to diapers at first too. And honestly, if we had disposables on hand, he's probably reach for them in a heartbeat (which is why we don't buy disposables even as back up). But the man changes diapers without complaining 90% of the time. And he's hooked to the cheaper price tag.
BTW, it was great to hear a man voice a respect for SAHM's, be supportive of his wife and not trying to pull the "I worked all day" bull. It's refreshing to read on the internet, where you primarily read vents or complaints centered on how spouses aren't looking out for their partner.
Leave a comment
miniMOMist is an account of Mike, Nada and Naomi's journey into realistic minimalism, with the goal centered around simple living, and enjoying each other rather than things. We are a faith-based family and blog about our belief in God regularly. Our love for one another and our passion for a simple, minimalist life brings us much joy and pleasure.


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We're SorryClose
Disney's Magic of Healthy Living
Dancing it off
- Contest Photo by: buxfan19
- Grove City, OH
- Category: New Moves
Tell us your story:
We have been playing Just Dance 3 on the Wii with our 7 year old and 2 year old triplets to get some exercise.
Contest Photo Tips and Guidelines:
- Avoid clutter. Keep the background simple -- your family is the star!
- Daytime, natural light is best. If your area is bright enough, try taking the photo without the flash.
- Upload a horizontal photo. If you crop the image on your computer, make sure you keep a landscape 4:3 aspect ratio.
- For best results, make your image 1200x900 (or "save for web").
- With a digital camera, you can take as many photos as possible and choose the best one. Have fun!


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First of all, we hope you had a great German Unity Day, without which we here at Photocase would still be bopping around Dresden with a Praktika dangling from our necks wondering what bananas taste like. If you were anywhere outside Germany, we hope you had a great Wednesday.
Here's the list of new stuff for which we took to the streets in '89.
So knock yourselves out and, if you please, switch your brain into Test Mode and send any errors or bugs that you may find to support(at)photocase.com.
Have fun,
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Newspapers pride themselves on being watchdogs of government at all levels, and in small communities that role is even more vital. In remote Saltville, Va. (pop. 2,200, Encarta map), the nearest newspapers are two weeklies and a daily owned by Media General Inc., but the town's residents say they need someone else keeping tabs on local government. For now, a group of locals plans to form a group to send people to committee meetings and post updates on a Web site, reports Debra McCown of the Bristol Herald Courier (Media General's nearby daily).
"Some residents say they believe town meetings are conducted improperly, they feel they do not know what's going on and some claim there have been cases of favoritism and cronyism," she writes in a February article. The Herald Courier's Web site does not have any recent updates, and a quick search of the Web site for the Smyth County News & Messenger (a nearby Media General weekly) did not uncover an initial report or any recent news from Saltville.
The lesson here is the importance of local newspapers for local government, especially their ability to inform people about what is going on in committee meetings or other sessions. When no one is watching how officials are making decisions, residents lose touch with their government. In this case, it seems some residents are taking a proactive approach to solving that problem. (Read more)
Monday, March 17, 2008
With no local newspaper watching government, residents in Saltville, Va., work to keep tabs
Written by Tim Wiseman Posted at 3/17/2008 01:59:00 PM
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Theme: A day of Urban Inspiration
Abuja, Nigeria
October 13th, 2012
About this event
EDxCity2.0: A day of urban inspiration – October 13, 2012 TEDxAbuja in line with other TEDxEvents in the global community hosting TEDxCity 2.0 will feature the brightest local minds and biggest hearts. In unison, with the global community TEDxAbuja will share the stories of our beloved City. Where are the bright spots? The creative adaptations? The trans formative responses to injustice? Who is asking the most pressing questions? Pioneering the most complex solutions? Speakers for the event will focus on official City 2.0 themes, including Art, Education, Food, Health, Housing, Play, Public Space, and Safety–all elements whose presence will dictate the success of our future cities.
Confirmed Speakers
Stella Nwosu (Willi Willi)
She is the sound of Abuja air wave Nwosu Stella Anulika, a graduate of Mass Communication, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka Anambra state. presently works with 99.5 Wazobiafm a pidgin English Station in Abuja .With a radio name WillyWilly. AWARDS; Recognition award presented by the faculty of Arts University of Abuja, November 25th 2011 Recognition Award for Selfless contribution to Blood Safety & Availability In Nigeria by NBTS (NATIONAL BLOOD TRANSFUSION SERVICE ABUJA ) Certificate of Recognition for the promotion of Nigeria Pidgin (Naija langwej) Miss NGO beauty pageant show abuja, Excellence Award. Certificate of participation Award on Media Training on Women's sexual reproductive health and right. A member for Volunteers For Awareness Against Kidnapping And Human Trafficking (VAAKAHT). Advocate for family planning awareness, Advocate for epilepsy awareness. Presently on NIPR course (national institute of public relation)
John Elnathan
"Elnathan John is a Kaduna-born writer who trained as a Legal Practitioner. He has had both fiction and non-fiction published or upcoming in ZAM Magazine International, Otis Nebula, Per Contra, and Evergreen Review in addition to numerous Nigerian publications and newspapers. In 2011 he started the 'How To' series of political and social satire. He maintains a weekly column on Daily Times Nigeria online. He has just completed work on a new collection of short stories and is currently working on a novel. "
Timothy Adegoke
Pelumi is a singer-songwriter born and raised in North-Central Nigeria. He was influenced from an early age by contemporary gospel artistes of the 90s, featured as a soloist in a teenage choir and eventually began writing and recording songs shortly after high school. His first major single, self titled: "Oluwa Pelumi" became a runaway radio hit in his home state, Kwara and then filtered to Lagos following which he landed a record deal with the now-defunct StrictlyNextLevel Entertainment, affiliated to Nigezie Inc., under which he released a few more singles which were well received by the OAPs across Lagos and Abuja. By this time he was neck deep into medical school and as such, had to forfeit the record deal in order to complete his studies. 2012 marked the release of the rehashed inspirational single "All In Good Time" which is on high rotation currently in Lagos and the FCT: http://www.hulkshare.com/7yqy82ots0tm Pelumi is greatly influenced by artistes such as Deitrick Haddon, Lemar, Musiq Soulchild and John Legend. His deep and soulful lyrics combined with adroit vocals have made him a new force to reckon with on the Nigerian music scene.
Blossom Nnodim
She is the personality behind the brand blcompère which grew out of passion to Anchor events to a superb finish. Blossom is a great asset to the brand blcompère She currently a soon to be published Author, a certified Blogger and an amazing Compère and most recently, a lousy Designer.
Bukhari Mohammed Bello Jega
a passionate, creative and energetic citizen of Federal Republic of Nigeria. holds a Bachelors degree in Political Science and International Relation, a Masters degree in Political Economy and Development Studies (in View) from University of Abuja. He has spent the past seven years in pursuit of intellectual goals, humanitarianism and activism. With about 10 academic papers in reputable universities' journals on the subjects of Democracy, Leadership, Value System, Youth and Morality. a public affairs analyst, consultant, and research fellow with the Centre for Political Research, Education and Development (CEPORED). His life struggles, philosophy and challenges is centred on assisting in the growth and development of people especially children, youth and women. In his own word "my life struggles and challenges encountered so far have widened my horizons and believe that the human soul with the right opportunity and environment can achieve great"
Tahir Kabir
Kedron Omosigho
Kedron is a young and innovative entrepreneur, passionate about the power of ideas and creativity. One of his creativities is the Graduate Management Foundation Training (GMFT), an ICT and Life-Building skills training designed for fresh graduates in Nigeria to become highly functional and competitive in this fast-paced business world. He is an optimist and a nature lover. Enjoys picnic, reading, listening to music and being around kids.
Okechukwu Effoduh
Okechukwu has been a freelance journalist for 6 years. He anchors a radio programme under the BBC Media Action in Nigeria called "Flava" – a native youth programme on HIV and other sexual reproductive health issues which is aired on over 96 radio stations in Nigeria with about 24 million listeners tuning in weekly. It has become the most popular radio programme in West Africa. Okechukwu is also a Minority Rights Lawyer. His legal engagements are centered on Human Rights Law and the advancement of Clinical Legal Education in Nigeria.
Tahir Kabir
Tahir is a self employed, self serving and striving creative director working with Paragon EFX studios in Abuja. His experience in media relations and brand management granted him the chance to work with some of the best in the industry. he is an artist, producer, singer and an expert in media packages and graphic design. He studied multimedia technology at Greenwich university but had to differ his course for unforeseen circumstances. Although flawed like any other like him, he is optimistic that he can help change the perception of people to see beyond the obvious and amplify his community, the country and the world.
Venue and Details
RMRDC Maitama Abuja
Event Type (what is this?) TEDxCity2.0
This event occurred in the past.
See more TEDxAbuja events »
Darlington Uzoigwe
Abuja Fct, Nigeria
- Kedron Omosigho
- Online Content, Web Platform & Social Media
- Kehinde Adeyemi
- Volunteers Coordinator
- Kasham Keltuma
- Executive Producer


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Balanced Lifestyle Therapies - About the Practitioners - Woodland Hills, CA
About Bernhard
Witnessing the efficacy of natural healing methods and illness prevention I embraced these methods from a very young age. My own studies encompass Ayurveda, different dietary systems, essential oils, bodywork, and Raja Energy™ healing. Hand in hand went a lifestyle based on Kriya Yoga meditation and the teachings of Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda.
Today I draw from a wide variety of Western and Eastern Healing Modalities, Energywork, and Yoga. All my sessions are different and focus on the need of the individual at that moment.
About Laurie
Through my passion for music and chanting I have been helping people heal themselves through music for many decades. Formerly an opera singer I turned to Eastern thought and meditation early in life. For more than 20 years I have been practicing meditation and Kriya Yoga under the direction of my guru and avatar Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda.
A healing crisis introduced me to Ayurveda as well as Raja Energy™ Healing. Experiencing the powerful help received through these techniques, I intergrated them into our family life as well. Soon after I started to study Raja Energy ™.
Today I continue my music through divine chanting and helping others connect to the divine within. I homeschool my children and utilizing the Raja Energy™ Healing method, I help individuals to remove barriers in optimum health: physically, mentally and spiritually.
Balanced Lifestyle Therapies
21210 Costanso Street
Woodland Hills
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