UNCW moves up in U.S.News 2008 rankings-August 20, 2007

For the tenth consecutive year, the University of North Carolina Wilmington is one of the top 10 public master’s universities in the South in annual college rankings by U.S.News & World Report. UNCW ranks sixth in the 2008 edition, moving up from its seventh place ranking last year. Among the 119 public and private universities in the South ranked by U.S.News that provide a full range of undergraduate and master’s level programs, UNCW improved its overall ranking to 14th this year, up from 20th in the 2007 list. UNCW’s ranking resulted from improving or maintaining performance in the following categories: -Peer assessment -Retention, which includes six-year graduation and freshman retention rates -Faculty resources, which includes class size, faculty salaries, proportion of faculty with highest degrees in their fields, student-faculty ratio and proportion of full-time faculty -Student selectivity, which includes student SAT/ACT scores and proportion of enrolled freshmen in the top 25 percent their of high school class and ratio of students admitted to applicants -Financial resources, average spending per student on instruction, research, student services and related educational expenditures -Alumni giving rate “I am pleased that we continue to be recognized by U.S.News & World Report as one of the top master’s universities in the South, and that we have improved upon last year’s strong ranking,” said Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo. “Our community of highly qualified faculty and dedicated staff truly cares about the academic and personal success of our students, which shows in their achievements. With continued strong support from the state of North Carolina as well as our alumni, friends and donors, UNC Wilmington is poised to soar even higher in the future.” UNCW continues to be the first-choice university for a growing number of high-achieving high school students. UNCW’s total enrollment for fall 2007 is expected to exceed 11,900 students. The university’s freshman class of more than 1,900 students has an average SAT score of 1160 and an average high school grade point average of 3.74. A complete report of the rankings can be viewed online at www.usnews.com or in the August 27 issue of U.S News & World Report and the newsstand book America’s Best Colleges, both of which go on sale today.