GAINESVILLE - For the fifth consecutive year the magazine U.S. News & World Report ranked 131-year-old Brenau University as the 10th best education value in the South, and Brenau jumped from 39th to 34th among all similar colleges and universities in the 11-state region.
Brenau's rankings appear among the magazine's listings of colleges and universities whose highest academic programs lead to master's degrees.
The only other Georgia institution in the best value top 10, Mercer, offers doctoral and professional degrees, but not enough of those programs to have bumped the Macon-based university into the magazine's doctoral degree-granting category.
The overall U.S. News 2010 rankings are based on assessments by all the university presidents surveyed, graduation rates, average admission test scores, faculty/student ratio and other criteria.
After jumping from 41st to 38th in the 2008 rankings and ending up in a four-way tie at 39th last year, Brenau tied in this year's rankings with Mississippi College for Women in the 34th spot.
Only private Mercer at 8th and public Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville at 31st ranked higher among all Georgia master's-level institutions.
"We are seeing a significant increase in the numbers of older students who are coming back into the classroom to complete degrees, get advanced degrees or prepare for a change in their careers to improve their standing in the job market," said Brenau President Ed Schrader. "Obviously they see the same thing that the magazine survey shows - that Brenau offers a cost-effective, high-quality higher education option."
Over the past 26 years, the U.S. News college rankings, which groups schools based on categories created by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, has grown to be the most comprehensive research tool for students and parents considering higher education opportunities.
The America's Best Colleges ranking package, which includes extensive editorial content and multimedia resources, has helped families navigate the difficult decisions involved throughout the college process, from college admission and selection to financing options.
Brian Kelly, editor of U.S. News & World Report, said this year's package is "especially relevant, as more and more Americans face an increasingly tough job market."
The U.S. News & World Report 2010 rankings followed Brenau recognition in other media as well. The Chronicle of Higher Education cited the university among its 2009 listing of Great Colleges to Work For and Princeton Review has once again listed Brenau among the best colleges and universities in the South.
The 2010 America's Best Colleges package provides the most thorough examination of how more than 1,400 accredited four-year schools compare on a set of 15 widely accepted indicators of excellence. Among the many factors weighed in determining the rankings, the key measures of quality are: peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, alumni giving, and graduation rate performance.
Monday
March 24th, 2025
3:13PM
