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UMC Ranked “Best College” for Sixth Year
The University of Minnesota, Crookston, (UMC) has been ranked one of the best public colleges in the Midwest for a sixth consecutive year, according to U.S. News and World Report’s rankings for 2004. UMC was again ranked among the top three colleges in the category “Top Public Comprehensive Colleges–Bachelor's (Midwest).”
The 2004 rankings were made public Friday, August 22, at the U.S. News website www.usnews.com. UMC also receives the recognition in U.S. News and World Report’s annual “best colleges” issue, scheduled for release on August 25.
“This recognition certainly reinforces UMC’s commitment to offering a quality educational experience and acknowledges the work and accomplishments of our faculty, staff, and students,” said UMC Chancellor Velmer S. Burton, Jr
.
“Our goals now,” he added, “are to continue the
University of Minnesota tradition of excellence at UMC and to build on our strong educational foundation by expanding our academic offerings with new programs that feature our signature polytechnic approach of combining theory, practice, applied research and experimentation.”UMC’s category, Top Public Comprehensive Colleges–Bachelor's, contained 324 comprehensive colleges categorized into four geographical regions of the U.S.—North, South, Midwest, and West.
According to U.S. News these institutions focus on undergraduate education and offer a range of degree programs —in the liberal arts, which account for fewer than half of their bachelor’s degrees, and in professional fields such as business, nursing, and education.According to U.S. News, the method of ranking colleges and universities consists of three basic steps. The schools are first categorized by size, mission, and region. In the spring data is gathered from each institution regarding several indicators of academic excellence, including academic reputation; retention of students; faculty resources; student selectivity; financial resources; graduation rate performance; and alumni giving. Each factor is assigned a weight that reflects U.S. News’ judgment about how much each measure matters. Finally, the colleges in each category are ranked against their peers, based on their composite weighted score.
UMC is beginning its eleventh year as a baccalaureate degree granting university. It is also the college’s eleventh year of providing laptop computers to all full-time students and faculty members.
To see all the 2004 U.S. News rankings online go to www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/eduhome.htm.
Posted 08/22/2003
Contact: Andrew Svec,
218-281-8435