Academy ranked 11th-best school in nation by Forbes

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U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  The Air Force Academy was ranked the 11th-best college in the nation on Forbes Magazine's 2010 America's Best Colleges list, which was released Aug. 12.

The rankings are compiled by Forbes and the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, which evaluated more than 600 undergraduate programs.

"I am proud to see a respected publication such as Forbes recognize the integrity, service and excellence that we have the privilege of seeing every day," said Academy Dean of the Faculty Brig. Gen. Dana Born. "This recognition is a great testament to the commitment of our U.S. Air Force and U.S. Air Force Academy faculty, (and) to everyone who takes part in molding cadets to become our future officer leaders of character, 'their success is our success.'"

According to Forbes, the rankings are based on a several weighted factors, including graduate surveys, graduates' average salaries, student evaluations of classes, number of alumni listed as corporate officers on Forbes listing, number of alumni listed in Who's Who in America, amount of student debt at graduation, freshman-to-sophomore retention rates and the percentage of students who graduate in four years.

These rankings put service academies in the same tier as Ivy League colleges. The Air Force Academy placed at No. 16 in 2008 and No. 7 in 2009. For the 2010 rankings, the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., ranked fourth on the list, while the U.S. Naval Academy came in at 29th, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy ranked No. 105, and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy earned the No. 165 ranking.

Thursday's Forbes ranking follows last week's national education rankings by The Princeton Review released Aug. 2, in which the Air Force Academy earned top honors for professor availability for the fifth time in six years. The Princeton Review ranked the Air Force Academy number one in professor availability in its 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 Best Colleges editions, and number four in the same category for its 2010 best colleges edition. At the U.S. Air Force Academy, the student-faculty ratio is 9:1, average class size is 20, 100 percent of the faculty is full-time, and no classes are taught by teaching assistants.

For more information on the Forbes rankings that were released Aug. 12, visit www.forbes.com/colleges. For more information on the Princeton Review rankings, visit www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings.aspx.