The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is one of America’s best institutions for undergraduate education, according to Forbes, the popular business magazine.
Forbes’ 2009 “America’s Best Colleges” list ranks 600 institutions based on the quality of education provided by the schools, the experience of the students and the achievements of students and alumni.
With more than 4,000 colleges in the United States, the schools that appear in the Forbes rankings represent the top 14 percent of the nation’s four-year undergraduate institutions. UT Knoxville is ranked 422 out of 600. The full list of schools contains 217 public and 383 private colleges and universities.
“I am proud that UT Knoxville again has been named one of this country’s best universities,” said Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek. “The selection criteria — education quality, student experiences and alumni and current student achievements — is a wonderful snapshot of life at UT. We strive for excellence in these areas each day, and this recognition is a great honor.”
The survey results were compiled by Forbes and the Center for College Affordability and Productivity (CCAP). The center utilized data from a variety of sources, including student evaluations, number of prominent alumni, average amount of student debt at graduation, percentage of students graduating in four years and the number of students or faculty winning such national awards as Rhodes scholarships or Nobel prizes.
This year, CCAP also compiled a best-value ranking, comparing school quality to cost. UT Knoxville ranked 70 out of 100. To produce the ranking, CCAP divided each school’s overall quality score by its average net (after allowance for scholarship grants) tuition rate from the 2003-2004 to 2006-2007 academic years.
Forbes also ranked UT Knoxville’s MBA program as one of the nation’s best business schools. Forbes’ sixth biennial ranking of business schools is based on the return on investment graduates have achieved after five years. The MBA program at UT Knoxville was ranked 42 out of 75.
To view the complete rankings, visit http://www.forbes.com/colleges.
UT Knoxville also was named a 2009 Top 100 Degree Producer for African American doctorate degrees by DIVERSE: Issues in Higher Education magazine, a publication focusing on issues of diversity in higher education. For a complete list of rankings, visit http://www.diverseeducation.com/top09/top100listing.html.
UT Knoxville consistently has been ranked as a top university and best value institution by other organizations such as The Princeton Review, U.S. News and World Report and Newsweek.