U.S. News And Others Rank Penn State Among Most
Efficiently Operated Universities In The Nation

8-25-97
University Park, Pa. -- Consistent with earlier rankings by other organizations, "U.S. News & World Report" in their August 25, college guide cites Penn State as one of the most efficiently operated universities in the nation.

In its 11th annual America's Best Colleges issue, the magazine rates Penn State as the fourth most efficiently operated national university. The ranking "identifies schools that rate relatively high in educational quality...but spend relatively less money to achieve quality."

Penn State is the only Pennsylvania institution on the list of top ten efficiently operated national universities for 1997. The university moved up five spots on this ranking, from its 1996 position of being 9th most efficient.

How does Penn State do it?

"We have an obligation to spend tax dollars and student tuition dollars wisely and Penn State has always taken that obligation seriously," according to President Graham Spanier.

"We receive far less money from the state than any of our Big Ten counterparts. And here in Pennsylvania, we receive far less state dollars per student than any of the other state-owned and state-related institutions," he said.

"We spend carefully, we plan for the future and we have dedicated faculty and staff," Spanier said. "It is nice to be recognized year in and year out for the value and efficiency with which we operate Penn State, but to be honest, we could do even more for the people of Pennsylvania if our funding level was closer to that of our peer institutions."

Although it educates more students than all but one other university in the Big Ten, Penn State receives an average $88 million less in state appropriation than the other schools receive from their states.

In recent years Penn State has also consistently been included in the guidebook, "101 of the Best Values in America's Colleges and Universities", which cited the University Park campus for its "multitude of superior academic offerings."

And "Money Magazine" in 1996 and again in 1997 included Penn State on its list of Best College Buys "when you consider the quality of education offered versus the tuition charged."

Robert R. Sullivan, in his book "Ivy League Programs at State School Prices," includes Penn State among a list of universities where students can get academically superior educations without paying Ivy League prices.

In the same issue of "U.S. News & World Report" Penn State is ranked 12th in the nation overall among public universities and is the only Pennsylvania institution listed among the top 25 public national universities.

Contact: Bill Mahon (814) 865-7517 office or email np3@psu.edu