Auburn University ranked top public university in the state

Auburn University has been ranked the top public university in Alabama and number 52 overall by The Business Journals. The report identified 484 national public universities and colleges with an objective of recognizing those schools that offer the best educational experiences to their students.

"The rankings by The Business Journals affirm Auburn's commitment to our land-grant mission and reflect our institution's strategic goal of offering a quality education that encompasses impressive faculty, relevant programs and effective student services," said Timothy Boosinger, provost and vice president for academic affairs.

The rankings, which were compiled by The Business Journals' parent company American City Business Journals, were awarded to schools with highly selective admissions processes, strong retention and graduation rates, prestigious reputations, affordable tuitions and housing costs, diverse faculties and student bodies, and economically robust communities.

Auburn received four out of five stars in the selectivity, advancement and prestige categories, as well as posting an 89 percent retention rate.

Each public university and college chosen met four criteria: more than half of the degrees they granted during the most recent academic year were at the bachelor's degree level or higher, they have been classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as baccalaureate, master's or research institutions, they submitted the full range of 2013 data to the National Center for Education Statistics' Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), and they are not U.S. military academies.

For more information about Auburn's rankings, go to http://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/news/2015/02/12/college100858.html?page=all.