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U.S.News & World Report Ranks UW-Eau Claire
No. 4 Among the Midwest's Top Public Universities

RELEASED: Aug. 18, 2006

EAU CLAIRE — U.S.News & World Report magazine has again named the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire among the best public regional universities in the Midwest.

The 2007 edition of "America's Best Colleges" ranks UW-Eau Claire No. 4 among top regional public universities in the Midwest and 26th among all private and public institutions in the Midwest. The Midwest region includes schools in 12 states stretching from the Dakotas in the west to Missouri in the south and Ohio in the east.

"This is a ringing endorsement of the fine work of our faculty, staff and supporters of the university as they have built a solid and continuing commitment to excellence," said Chancellor Brian Levin-Stankevich, who became the university's chancellor June 1. "I am very impressed by how dedicated our faculty and staff are to their students. Every conversation centers on what they can do to make their students' time here even more valuable. Every school says it's student-centered, but not every school lives up to that claim. UW-Eau Claire definitely lives up to it."

Every year since 1999, UW-Eau Claire has been ranked among the top 30 regional schools (public and private) in the Midwest and among the top five public institutions in the region, the only Wisconsin school to consistently achieve such a high placement.

U.S.News & World Report ranks UW-Eau Claire in what is known as the "Best Universities-Masters" category. Public and private universities included in this category provide a full range of undergraduate- and master's-level programs, and typically draw students from surrounding states.

The rankings are based on data collected on more than 1,400 accredited four-year colleges. The regional rankings include 572 schools in four geographic areas (North, South, Midwest and West). The magazine compares such factors as academic reputation, faculty-student ratio, class sizes, graduation and freshman retention rates and alumni giving.

While the U.S.News & World Report ranking is just one of many tools used to measure the university's quality, it's an important tool because it helps to enhance UW-Eau Claire's reputation, a reputation that's important to alumni as well as students, Levin-Stankevich said.

"Most important is how much did the college experience add value to our graduates' lives," Levin-Stankevich said. "Judging by what I have learned from our graduates, the UW-Eau Claire experience creates successful and committed citizens, parents, colleagues and professionals. That, ultimately, is the true measure of our work."

U.S.News & World Report also recognized UW-Eau Claire's undergraduate research, study abroad and service learning programs in its 2007 "Programs to Look For" lists that are on its Web site. The lists include schools with outstanding examples of academic programs that are believed to lead to student success. U.S. News identified eight such types of programs, and invited college administrators from more than 1,300 schools to nominate institutions with stellar examples of each program type.

UW-Eau Claire was recognized in three of the eight "Programs to Look For" categories:

• Undergraduate research/Creative projects. Independently or in small teams, and mentored by a faculty member, students do intensive and self-directed research or creative work that results in an original scholarly paper or other product that can be formally presented on or off campus.
• Study Abroad. These programs involve substantial academic work a year or a semester or an intensive experience equal to a course and considerable interaction between the student and the culture.
• Service learning. In service-learning programs, volunteering in the community is an instructional strategy and a requirement of a student's coursework. The service relates to what happens in class and vice versa.

Rankings will be included in U.S.News & World Report's college guidebook, "America's Best Colleges," which will be available Aug. 21. Many of the rankings also will be included in the Aug. 28 issue of U.S.News & World Report magazine, available at newsstands on Aug. 21. Many rankings also can be found on the U.S. News Web site.

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JB

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