University of Arkansas Named One of Nation's Best in 2005 Edition of the Fiske Guide to Colleges

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The University of Arkansas was recently named one of the nation's top institutions in the 2005 edition of the Fiske Guide to Colleges. The university maintained three-star ratings in the categories of academic quality and quality of life and a four-star rating for social environment.

The university remained Arkansas' only public institution included in the Fiske Guide. Hendrix College, a private institution located in Conway, was also included in the guidebook.

"The university's consistent placement among the nation's elite institutions during the past several years is gratifying," said Chancellor John A. White. "This distinction is a source of pride that can be shared by all faculty, staff, students and alumni, as well as all our university's friends."

Created in 1982 by Edward B. Fiske, former education editor for The New York Times, the guide was the first publication to rank institutions using various scoring systems. Now in its 21^st edition, the Fiske Guide to Colleges offers statistics on factors such as total enrollment, male-female ratios and standardized test score averages. Also, the guide rates each institution in three principle categories: Academic Quality, Social Environment and Quality of Life.

Of the 303 institutions included in the Fiske Guide to Colleges, 170, or 56 percent, received either a three- or a three-and-a-half-star academic quality rating. Eighty-seven institutions made up the four- or four-and-a-half-star group, constituting 29 percent of the guide and 35 five-star colleges and universities accounted for 12 percent. Only 11 institutions, or the remaining three percent, received two stars for their academic ranking, and no schools received one star.

Among Southeastern Conference institutions, University of Alabama, the University of Georgia, the University of Kentucky, the University of South Carolina and the University of Tennessee also received three stars for academic quality.

The University of Florida and Vanderbilt University, the SEC's only private institution, both received four stars for academic quality, and Auburn University and Louisiana State University each received two stars.

The University of Mississippi and Mississippi State University were not included in the Fiske Guide to Colleges.

"The university has maintained a strong three-star academic rating since 2001," White said. "While that rating is certainly noteworthy, we must now press forward to break into the four-star tier of institutions."