AU is continuing to receive positive recognition, as seen in the recent ranking as the 86th best school in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report. The improvement from 99th on last year's list was a pleasant surprise.
This shows that President Ladner's efforts to make AU a top-tier school are producing positive results and that AU is heading in the right direction. However, this is a reason to step up on school improvements, rather than resting on our laurels.
The ranking sounds great, but it only puts AU at the same level with schools such as the University of Alabama and the University of Tennessee. City-mates George Washington University and Georgetown University both have far better rankings.
At the same time, numbers cannot define the quality of education a student receives.
The low number of full-time faculty may have hurt AU's ranking, but adjunct faculty members bring invaluable practical experience to the classroom. Students benefit from faculty that are not only knowledgeable, but also are directly involved in current projects. Many of them also help students find valuable internships in their area of expertise.
Although higher rankings will attract better students. The Eagle thinks that education is what a person makes of it. AU students will get as good of an educational experience here as at other schools if they make the most of AU's resources.
The latest, higher rating is great, but it doesn't mean everything. Hopefully, the school will continue to do things right and improve, but students are the ones who will ultimately decide what kind of an experience they'll have at AU.
