OXFORD, Miss. – When economist Richard Vedder was compiling rankings of
American colleges and universities for Forbes.com, the performance of
the University of Mississippi surprised him.
Working with the Center for College Affordability and Productivity,
Vedder authored the Forbes.com inaugural ranking of America’s Best
Colleges. The report includes 569 undergraduate institutions, and UM
ranked 23rd among public universities.
“California has been the gold standard for higher education in the
U.S., and Ole Miss was ranked higher than all but two of the California
public universities,” said Vedder, Ohio University Distinguished
Professor of Economics. “Ole Miss did very well, and even surprised me.”
According to Vedder, the key to the university’s ranking was students’ perception of faculty. The ranking was based in part on student evaluations of professors from Ratemyprofessors.com.
“When it comes to undergraduate teaching, Ole Miss did better than the University of Virginia, Michigan, North Carolina at Chapel Hill and even UC-Berkley,” Vedder said. “These are top-flight institutions, and Ole Miss should be proud.”
In addition to student evaluations of professors, the rankings are also based upon listings of alumni in the 2008 Who’s Who in America, four-year graduation rates, enrollment adjusted numbers of students and faculty receiving nationally competitive awards, and the average four-year accumulated student debt of those borrowing money.
“We have worked hard for more than a decade to enhance our academic and research programs, with the goal of providing exceptional learning opportunities for all students,” UM Chancellor Robert Khayat said. “I congratulate our fine faculty and staff, our respected alumni and our wonderful student body. This ranking reflects positively upon our community.”
The only other Southeastern Conference schools listed among the Top 25 Public Universities are the universities of Florida and Georgia.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, there are more than 4,000 college campuses in the U.S. The CCAP ranks only the top 15 percent or so of all undergraduate institutions.
The Forbes.com rankings are to be an annual feature. To learn more, go visit Forbes.com .