OLYMPIA - They're celebrating at Evergreen State College in Olympia.

"Yeah, you know we're really excited," says Evergreen's Anthony Sermonti.

A widely respected national survey just marked Evergreen in the top 10 percent of all the nation's colleges and universities in terms of our academic challenge.

The study, founded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, says Evergreen students are better analyzing theories and spending more time preparing for classes as well as reading textbooks.

"They also cite the remarkable student interaction with their faculty members," says Sermonti.

The study ranked 523 colleges, but unlike other ranking systems this one puts more emphasis on successful student learning and high quality research.

"For years, researchers have pointed to involvement in educationally purposeful activities as the gateway to desired outcomes of college," says George Kuh, the director of the survey in a written statement. "Students who engage more frequently in educationally effective get better grades, are more satisfied and are more likely to persist."

Evergreen was founded in 1967 as an alternative to traditional higher education.