U of A Among Country's Top 20 "Best Bargains," says Princeton Review; Recentered Scoring Dramatically Alters Rankings Throughout "Best Colleges" and at U of A

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The Princeton Review has named the University of Arkansas one of the 20 "Best Bargains" in the country in its 2005 edition of The Best 357 Colleges. The university is the only Arkansas public institution included.

"The University of Arkansas and its faculty and staff work very diligently to be an asset to the state and its citizens. It can be a source of pride to every Arkansan when a national ranking publication acknowledges the growing quality of its flagship university," Chancellor John A. White said.

"To be recognized as a 'Best Bargain' among more than 350 institutions nationally and abroad is evidence that as the university becomes more and more competitive with esteemed, better-funded institutions, we manage to remain very affordable for students and their families."
Nearly all institutions in the book showed dramatically changed rankings in the four major categories of measurement­-academics, quality of life, admissions/selectivity, and financial facts. This was a result of a reexamination of how rankings have been calculated, said Michael Palumbo, student survey manager.

"There will be a statement in the front matter of The Best 357 Colleges saying that this year, more so than any previous year, readers should not compare our ratings to those that have appeared in past editions of the book," Palumbo said. "Almost every school in the book had improved in different ways over the last several years. This created a situation where the majority of schools in the book were receiving 'better than average' ratings in most categories."

"This diminished the value of the ratings to our readers," he said. "We recentered
and refined our ratings to increase differentiation. Many schools are receiving ratings lower than they have in years past. While it was once rare to see a school receive a rating in the 60s, it will now be quite common."

The University's rankings this year and last year are as follows:
Quality of Life 90 (last year 81)
Academics 71 (last year 80)
Selectivity/Admissions 91 (last year 81)
Financial Facts 71 (last year 91)

"We only include schools that are better than the vast majority of post-secondary institutions in the U.S. and Canada," Palumbo said. "A rating in the 60s or 70s does not mean that we feel a school is lacking in that particular category."

"The University remains competitively positioned among its peers and nationally," said Susan Rogers, associate vice chancellor for university relations.

"The rankings are of interest and give us a sense of how we are viewed externally that is helpful. The chancellor's concentrated focus on meeting our internal institutional goals, with or without such national recognition, is what has brought the University this attention. The dedication to meeting those goals remains in place and serves to guide us toward excellence as we define it with regard to the students and the state we serve."

The Princeton Review is a New York City-based company known for its test prep courses, education services, and books. It has conducted the survey since 1992, when it first published its annual "Best Colleges" ranking.

Ranking in The Princeton Review is based on a survey of 70 questions to more than 100,000 students nationwide. An average of 300 students per campus answer questions ranging from, "How many out-of-class hours do you spend studying?" to "How accessible are teachers outside of the classroom?"
The information is then used to assist in the creation of institutional profiles, but it is also used to rank colleges/universities in more specialized categories like "Best Overall Academic Experience for Undergraduates" and "Party Schools."
The university was the only Southeastern Conference representative listed among the 20 "Best Bargains."

Other institutions in the list included the University of Texas at Austin (10^th) and Kansas State University (5^th).

Hendrix, a private college in Conway, is also listed in the 2005 edition.
The following table lists the university's academic ratings among SEC institutions and projections of where it would rank among major institutions in three other athletic conferences:

In its summary of information about the university, The Princeton Review said, "All students who attend the U of A benefit from a range of choice in . academic programs; and yet, as research universities go, the U of A is on the small side. The student/faculty ratio is 17:1, which allows students to receive individual attention from faculty."