JMU Holds Top Public Regional Rank for 14th Year in 'U.S. News' Survey

HARRISONBURG — James Madison University is the South's top public, master's-level university, according to the annual "U.S. News & World Report" 2008 America's Best Colleges guide. In addition to retaining its place in the news magazine's regional ranking for the 14th consecutive year, JMU earned national recognition for its outstanding first-year experiences, learning communities and service learning.

A total of 574 universities make up the Universities-Master's segment of the news magazine's college rankings. The universities in this segment provide a full range of undergraduate and master's programs but offer few, if any, doctoral programs. JMU provides doctoral programs in psychology, communication sciences and disorders, clinical audiology and musical arts. Schools in the Universities-Master's segment are ranked within four geographic areas — North, South, Midwest and West.

In the combined ranking of both public and private Southern master's-level institutions, JMU is ranked fourth.

In the "U.S. News" lists of schools with outstanding examples of academic programs that are commonly linked to student success, JMU is one of 23 colleges and universities recognized for its service learning program in which volunteer work is an instructional strategy to complement classroom studies.

JMU appears on two other "Programs to Look For" lists. The university is one of 24 schools "U.S. News" cites for exemplary learning communities, where students take courses as a group and get to know one another and their professors well. JMU is one of 40 schools on the first-year experiences list for excellence in programs that go beyond orientation to help freshmen feel connected.

JMU also is cited in the guide's list of the schools whose students in the class of 2006 graduated with the lightest debt loads. Among five schools in the Universities-Master's south category, JMU ranks fourth with 68 percent of graduates with debt and an average amount of debt of $11,932.

JMU, the only university in America named for U.S. President James Madison, offers programs on the bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels with its primary emphasis on the undergraduate student. The university values strong research opportunities for its undergraduates, while providing a foundational education in the liberal arts, augmented by a multitude of learning experiences outside the classroom.

The August 27 issue of "U.S. News & World Report," which includes college rankings, and the guidebook will go on sale Monday, August 20.