In its annual ranking of universities and colleges, U.S. News & World Report has ranked the University of North Georgia (UNG) 24th among public regional universities in the South. UNG has been in the top tier of the annual report's regional ranking for several years.
"Our consistent high-level ranking on this list reflects the quality of our educational experience, as well as the value of a degree from the University of North Georgia," said President Bonita C. Jacobs. "UNG continues to gain momentum and recognition as one of the region's top public universities."
The rankings are based on data related to academic quality, including freshman retention rates, peer assessment, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, graduation rates, and alumni giving. The rankings are based primarily on data from 2015 and, for some factors, include averages of the previous two to four years of data.
The Best Regional Universities list focuses on institutions that offer a full range of undergraduate and master's-level programs, but few doctoral programs. There are 653 regional universities ranked: 257 of them are public universities, 385 are private and 11 are for-profit. The list is further broken down into four geographic categories, and the South region includes Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. UNG was ranked as 72nd among Best Regional Universities in the South.
This fall, UNG is serving more than 18,000 students across its five campuses – in Blue Ridge, Cumming, Dahlonega, Gainesville, and Oconee County – and is one of the largest public universities in Georgia.
In July, Forbes magazine named UNG as one of the nation's top higher education institutions in their annual "America’s Top Colleges" ranking – marking UNG's first time on the list and ranking it fourth among the only six University System of Georgia institutions on the list. The Forbes report rated the nation's top 660 public and private universities as measured by the return students receive on their investment, and focuses on student outcomes in five categories: student satisfaction, post-graduate success, student debt, graduation rate and academic success.
