USC Aiken Ranked First Public Regional College in the South by U.S. News & World Report
AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken is ranked first among the top public regional colleges in the South in the year 2012 edition of U.S.News & World Report's guide, "America's Best Colleges." This is the fourth consecutive year USC Aiken has been ranked in the top three public regional colleges in the South category by U.S.News & World Report.
USC Aiken has been ranked first eight times: 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. This year’s number one ranking in the list comes as a welcome addition to the University’s planned celebrations for its 50th anniversary. It also marks USC Aiken’s 14th consecutive ranking among the top three in this category and its eighth time in first place
"As we begin the celebration of our 50th year of service, this is a wonderful tribute to the legacy created half a century ago that is paying such dividends today!” said USC Aiken Chancellor Tom Hallman. “I am proud of the dedicated faculty and staff who make this possible. Our graduates are the real beneficiaries of such recognition, and I am very happy for them today.”
The exclusive rankings, available online today at USNews.com, will also be published in the September issue of U.S. News & World Report, on newsstands starting September 20.
Over the past two decades, the U.S. News college rankings, which group schools based on categories created by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, has grown to be the most comprehensive research tool for students and parents considering higher education opportunities.
The 2012 Best Colleges package provides the most thorough examination of how more than1,400 accredited four-year schools compare on a set of up to 16 widely accepted indicators of excellence. Among the many factors weighed in determining the rankings, the key measures of quality are: peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, alumni giving, and for National Universities and National Liberal Art Colleges "graduation rate performance" and high school counselor ratings of colleges.
2012 is the second year in which high school counselor’s opinion of schools was factored into the rankings. They were asked to consider how they decide to advise students on where to apply to college and what they knew about the schools’ academic records, curriculum, and other scholarly factors. Other changes made to the ranking methodology included designating schools as National Universities, National Liberal Arts Colleges, Regional Universities and Regional Colleges, and more heavily weighted graduation rate performance for National Universities and National Liberal Arts Colleges categories only. For more details on the ranking methodology employed by U.S. News for the 2012 Best Colleges’ list, go to www.usnews.com/collegemeth
 |  |
