For the eighth consecutive year, UGA is ranked 22nd or higher among the top public universities in the nation, according to the 2007 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges” guide. The publication lists UGA as tied for 21st among top public universities and tied for 60th out of
124 institutions overall.
“We’re traveling in an impressive peer group of top institutions and are most pleased to be included among the nation’s top public universities again this year,” President Michael F. Adams said.
Great Schools, Great Prices
Selected institutions on the list:
1. Calif. Institute of Technology
9. UNC-Chapel Hill
17. U. of Virginia
25. Texas A&M
32. North Carolina State U.
45. UGA
47. U. of California—Berkeley |
Although this year’s ranking marks the first time in six years the university has not been in the top 20—last year it ranked 19th—the list should be taken in context, university officials said.
“U.S. News uses a complicated formula, and it’s hard to tell in any one year why a school moves a few points,” said Tom Jackson, vice president for public affairs. “It may be that others moved past us rather than us ‘falling.’ ”
“Every year we have said, ‘We can’t put too much stock in any one year in any one such survey,’ but the sum total of them show we’re traveling in good company,” Jackson added. “A two-point move up one year might be followed by a two-point move down in another. We need to look at the long-run, which is top 22 for eight consecutive years.”
U.S. News ranks UGA seventh among eight public universities in the “Great Schools, Great Prices” list, which also includes UNC-Chapel Hill, the University of Virginia, Texas A&M, the University of Texas-Austin, North Carolina State University-Raleigh, the State University of New York’s College of Environment, Science and Forestry and the University of California-Berkley. UGA placed 45th out of 50 ranked institutions in that listing.
The Terry College of Business is ranked 18th among undergraduate programs at public business schools and is tied for 29th overall, based on a survey of about 400 accredited business schools that are eligible for the ranking. Terry’s risk management and insurance program moved up one spot to second nationally in its ranking; the real estate program, likewise, climbed one spot and into a tie for second with the University of Wisconsin-Madison in its category.
“We’re always pleased to be mentioned as one of the top business schools in the country,” Dean P. George Benson said, “and we’re especially pleased that the rankings for both our insurance and real estate programs have risen to very high levels—behind the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. In general, I believe that the undergraduate experience at UGA coupled with Terry’s business curriculum and leadership development opportunities produces graduates for Georgia’s business community who are second to none.”
In the magazine’s “specialty” or departmental rankings, the business college’s management information systems, accounting and marketing programs were ranked 16th, 17th and 21st, respectively—the same positions as last year.
U.S. News considers several factors in producing the annual ranking. Among them are academic reputation, student retention, graduation rates, class sizes, faculty resources, student quality and alumni giving rate. |
