Published September 17, 2015
The University of Louisiana at Monroe has once again earned Tier One status on the
U.S. News and World report’s annual “Best Regional Universities” list. ULM made the
list for best southern universities at number 93.
An accompanying list was released, which ranked only the state-supported, or public
schools in the region. ULM came in at number 47 in the south for public universities.
“When implementing our newest strategic plan, we made it a top priority to become
known as a tier one regional institution. We accomplished that feat the very next
year, and have accomplished it again this year,” said President Nick J. Bruno. “This
ranking is a testament to the hard work of our faculty and staff to provide exceptional
education and unparalleled service for our students and their parents. With the continued
implementation of our strategic initiatives, I expect our position will continue to
improve in the years ahead.”
The rankings included scores on freshman retention, graduation rate, student/faculty
ratio, entrance exam scores, acceptance rates, faculty resources, and counselor assessment,
among others.
In the report’s “ranking indicators”— the statistics used to compile the ranking—ULM
had one of the highest percentages of freshman students ranked in the top 25 percent
of their high school graduating class—56 percent.
This statistic is indicative of the strength of ULM's 2015 freshman class, which boasts
some of the university's highest-ever GPAs and ACT scores.
U.S. News and World Report defines a regional university as an institution which provides
a full range of undergraduate majors and master’s programs, with fewer doctoral programs.
Since 1983, U.S. News and World Report has ranked institutions based on the Carnegie
Classification, created by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
These schools are ranked regionally due to their high student population from surrounding
states.
The southern region included Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee,
Florida, Kentucky, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
In recent years, ULM has received seven rankings from U.S. News World and Report for
its education programs, nursing offerings, and its online education and business programs—both
graduate and undergraduate, as well as online and on campus programs.
Since 2013, ULM has also earned over two-dozen national rankings from various higher
education resources.
