JMU #1 Public University in the South for 16 Straight Years

U.S. News and World Reports has once again ranked JMU at the top of the list for Master's public universities in the South (4th overall in the South). This is the 16th straight year we've gotten this recognition. According to the rankings, master's universities, "offer a full range of undergrad programs and some master's programs but few doctoral programs." If we keep it up two more years, JMU will have been the #1 public master's level university in the South for the entire life of incoming freshmen. We were also ranked as the #5 "Up-and-Coming" college in the South (#2 public). I've never really understood this category, as George Mason was ranked at the top of the national university list last year and is #2 nationally this year, which begs the question, "Them?" Anyway, I prefer looking at the more concrete categories instead of colleges that, "were singled out as schools that have recently made the most promising and innovative changes in academics, faculty, students, campus or facilities."

JMU also made a list of "Programs to look for" in the "First-year experiences" category. It is deemed an experience, " that goes beyond orientation programs for making freshmen feel connected." I'm glad this report came out as the 1787 Orientation is going on right now for over 4,000 incoming students. A report on this program will be coming in the next week on this year's outstanding orientation experiences.

James Madison University is also on an 80-school list, "A Focus on Undergrads," of colleges and universities that "were singled out most often when experts were asked to identify schools where the faculty has an unusual commitment to undergraduate teaching. The university is the top-ranked public institution for "A Focus on Undergrads" among universities-master's in the south region. Anyone who has attended this school can attest to the fact that if you're in need of any extra help, the faculty is usually more than willing to help. We also have an outstanding faculty-to-student ratio.

JMU's 91 percent freshman retention rate and 81 percent average graduate rate were among the factors contributing to the university's stellar ranking in the public master's level.

JMU news article

Forbes Ranks JMU #37 Public School In Nation

A rankings list released last week by Forbes.com listed James Madison University as the #37 public school in the nation and #234 overall. Now, let's look at how Forbes decided on this list, as it's a bit different than most other college rankings. Seven factors determine a school's rank:

• Student Evaluations from RateMyProfessors.com (25%)

• Four-year Debt Load for Typical Student Borrowers (20%)

• Four-Year Graduation Rates (16.66%)

• Listings of Alumni in the 2008 edition of Who's Who in America (12.5%)

• Salaries of Alumni from PayScale.com (12.5%)

• Students Receiving Nationally Competitive Awards (8.33%)

• Faculty Receiving Awards for Scholarship and Creative Pursuits (5%)

As you can see by the fact that faculty rating site RateMyProfessors.com is given the most weight, this is not a traditional rankings list, but tries to take in an array of factors. This is opposed to most lists that will focus only on academics. The full methodology behind the rankings can be found here.

Agree or disagree with how it's setup, it's time to look at the rest of the list. We've seen where JMU ranks, so let's check out some other rankings from the area and CAA. Top 100 Public schools have their rankings from that list in parentheses.

#34	Washington & Lee
#48	William & Mary (4)
#54	Hampden-Sydney
#64	Virginia (6)
#68	UNC (7)
#69	Sweet Briar
#79	VMI (10)
#95	Hollins
#102	Emory & Henry
#121	Mary Washington (13)
#146	Richmond
#34	Randolph
#217	Delaware (31)
#234	JMU (37)
#256	VT (44)
#257	Randolph-Macon
#263	Villanova
#289	Roanoke
#338	George Mason (75)
#368	Towson (89)
#387	Maryland (99)
#410	ODU
#465	CNU
#529	VCU
#564	Liberty

Complete list of overall rankings

JMU Students Very Happy and Eat Well

I hope this doesn't come as a surprise to anyone, but James Madison University students ranked in the 2009 Princeton Review of the best colleges as having some of the happiest students and having some of the top food in the nation.

JMU, after being ranked #5 last year (and I believe #6 the year before), kept rising in the rankings and is ranked as having the #4 food in the nation. My bet is that we move higher next year after the new East Campus Dining Hall opens.

Also, a new rank for us (even though we've always known it) is our selection onto the list of having the happiest students. We came in at #18 on this list that also includes schools like Harvard, Yale, and ranking us just ahead of Duke.

We were also again selected for the 2009 Best Value Colleges – Public and Best Southeastern Colleges lists.

JMU profile