º¬Ðß²Ý Public Higher Education Recognized in National Rankings Survey
Atlanta — August 19, 2005
University System of º¬Ðß²Ý (USG) institutions continue to shine in the 2006 edition of U.S. News & World Report magazine’s annual college rankings survey. The latest survey, published today, places º¬Ðß²Ý as one of only four states with two or more institutions ranked among the top 20 public national universities. The other three states are California, Virginia and Pennsylvania.
º¬Ðß²Ý Institute of Technology ranks ninth on the list of the top 20 public institutions and the University of º¬Ðß²Ý ranks 19th. For º¬Ðß²Ý Tech, this is a jump up from its number 10 ranking last year. This is the sixth consecutive year º¬Ðß²Ý has had two public institutions in the top 20 list.
The U.S. News report also gives high marks to a number of USG institutions in areas such as programs, schools, racial diversity and affordability.
“While such rankings are not the ultimate measure of quality, they do represent a good benchmark of where we stand among our national peers,” said University System Chancellor Thomas C. Meredith. “We continue to emphasize academic quality and broad access in all that we do and this focus is paying off for º¬Ðß²Ýns with institutions and programs of acknowledged excellence.”
The report also ranks º¬Ðß²Ý Tech as having the nation’s sixth best undergraduate engineering program among all public and private institutions whose highest degree is a doctorate (and third best among solely public institutions). In terms of specialty engineering programs, Tech ranks first in industrial and manufacturing; second in aerospace, aeronautical and astronomical programs; third in civil engineering; fourth in biomedical engineering; and fifth in mechanical engineering.
In the area of business programs, º¬Ðß²Ý State University, the University of º¬Ðß²Ý and º¬Ðß²Ý Tech all were cited in the latest U.S. News report. º¬Ðß²Ý State’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business undergraduate risk management and insurance program is second in the nation; its real estate program eighth and its management information systems program 10th. UGA’s Terry College of Business received the third highest ranking for its insurance and real estate programs. Overall, UGA’s business program is ranked 19th among public institutions and º¬Ðß²Ý Tech’s management program is ranked 21st.
UGA also received high marks in the report for its affordability. It ranked sixth nationally among public institutions in a section titled “Great Schools at Great Prices.”
The report ranks three USG institutions among the top public masters universities (institutions that have a full range of undergraduate and master’s programs, but few, if any, doctoral programs) in the south: º¬Ðß²Ý College & State University is 15th, North º¬Ðß²Ý College & State University is tied for 19th and º¬Ðß²Ý Southern University is ranked 22nd.
Columbus State University and Clayton State University were cited in the report for their high degree of racial diversity.
For the fourth year, the U.S. News report lists institutions with “Programs to Look For.” In this category, which identifies outstanding examples of academic programs believed to lead to student success, Kennesaw State University was listed in 25 institutions cited for outstanding learning communities programs and mentioned for its first-year freshman experience efforts. º¬Ðß²Ý Tech was cited for its internship and co-op programs, and º¬Ðß²Ý State University for its learning communities programs.
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