¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ climbs the ranks of U.S. News & World Report annual Best Colleges List
Article By: Staff
The University of North Georgia (¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ) is ranked 20th among all public regional universities in the South on the U.S. News & World Report 2019 Best Regional Universities list released today.
In U.S. News’ annual ranking of universities and colleges, ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ was also ranked for the first time on the magazine’s Most Innovative Schools list, earning the 13th spot among regional universities in the South. This listing highlights colleges or universities that are making the most innovative improvements in terms of curriculum, faculty, students, campus life, technology, or facilities. Institutions were nominated by college presidents, provosts and admissions deans.
"At the University of North Georgia, we are proud of the high quality educational experience we provide our students that helps them succeed as leaders," ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ President Bonita Jacobs said. “Our continued recognition as a leading regional university is an indicator of the impact we are making on our students, our alumni and the communities we serve.”
U.S. News also ranked ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ No. 1 in the South for the least debt load, No. 2 among all public regional universities on the Student Debt Load at Graduation list, and No. 22 for Best Undergraduate Teaching Program among regional universities in the South. Additionally, ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ was listed as a best value among all regional universities in the South. The U.S. News Best Colleges rankings evaluate colleges and universities on 16 measures of academic quality. The results allow students and their families to compare at a glance the quality of U.S. institutions based on such widely accepted indicators of excellence such as first-year student retention, graduation rates and the strength of the faculty.
¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ also has placed well in other recent national rankings. In August, Forbes magazine named ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ one of the nation's top higher education institutions in its annual "America's Top Colleges" ranking. ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ was one of only six public universities in Georgia to be included on the 2018 list and ranked fourth among all public universities in the state.
¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ serves about 20,000 students and is one of the state's largest public universities. ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ's five campuses are located across northeast Georgia in Blue Ridge, Cumming, Dahlonega, Gainesville, and Oconee County. ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ offers more than 100 programs of study, including certificates, associate degrees, bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, and professional doctoral programs.
The complete list of colleges is available at the .
President Shannon: 'We are delivering'
President Michael Shannon shared his vision for the future of the university and his enthusiasm about its momentum Oct. 24 in his State of the University address.
Chancellor launches Ethics Week 
¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ will host the annual Ethics Awareness Week from Nov. 4-10, starting with a virtual panel hosted by USG Chancellor Sonny Perdue.  
¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ aims to ease application process
¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ is launching 'Apply to Fly!' nights on ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ's Blue Ridge, Cumming, Gainesville, and Oconee campuses this fall, with two events on each campus.
Shannon lays out bold vision for ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ
¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ President Michael Shannon laid out his bold vision for the university's future at 'Reveille,' launching a series of 'moonshot' goals aimed at relevance in a time of turbulence in higher education.