U.S. News and World Report ranked Ball State University 14th on its top 70 "Up-and-Coming Colleges" in its latest college listings.
"There are tremendous faculty members at this university who are looking to do innovative things to engage students in the learning process," Provost Terry King said.
Having any national recognition is great, King said, but from a magazine like U.S. News and World Report shows that Ball State's reputation across the country is growing.
U.S. News and World Report is a weekly news magazine that annually ranks colleges and universities. According to its Web site, the rankings came from nominations by college presidents, provosts and admissions deans from across the country. Nominators were asked to choose up to 10 schools that are "making improvements in academics, faculty, students, campus life, diversity and facilities."
Other national publications also have honored Ball State for its initiatives.
The Princeton Review listed Ball State among 157 best colleges in the Midwest, joining the ranks with other schools such as the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Indiana University Bloomington and the University of Notre Dame. The review chose 631 colleges and universities from around the country, basing its criteria on feedback from students and unspecified academic standards, according to its Web site.
King said the university's dedication to immersive learning and to finding ways to give students valuable experience is why Ball State gets recognition.
Immersion into a virtual world is what earned Ball State an award from Campus Technology magazine.
The magazine recognized Digital Corps and the Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts and Animation as 2008 Campus Technology Innovators.
Digital Corps was honored for its work with digital media training, and the IDIAA was awarded for developing an online course in the massive multiplayer online role-playing world Second Life.
IDIAA Director John Fillwalk said the department wanted to challenge itself to "virtualize" course work that traditionally was taught physically.
He said the course could be used as a prototype to move other classes into the virtual realm. The class provides a sense of community and the opportunity to collaborate, which is not offered with distance education, he said.
"[This type of project] is difficult to create in most universities," Fillwalk said. "There's a lot of support for it here. This type of work happens because of the support and encouragement of the institution."
Making the list
- Ball State ranked 14th out of 70 schools
- Nominators were asked to choose up to 10 schools
- The Princeton Review listed BSU among 157 best colleges in the Midwest
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