234 PRINCETON REVIEW NAMES MTSU ONE OF THE BEST IN SOUTHEAST

PRINCETON REVIEW NAMES MTSU 1 OF THE BEST IN SOUTHEAST
University's educational experience called 'best bang for your buck'

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan. 10, 2008
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Doug Williams, 615-898-2919

(MURFREESBORO)--The Princeton Review has designated MTSU as one among 146 "Best Southeastern Colleges" as the result of a survey of MTSU students by the publication.
According to survey findings, students said that MTSU offers "the best bang for your buck in academia, sports, parties and overall experience." The Princeton Review conducts surveys with millions of college undergraduates in hopes of identifying the top schools in each region of the country.
"We include schools that we have a high opinion of their academics and overall college experience," said Jen Adams, Princeton Review student survey manager. "We survey many, many students and guidance counselors before we make our selections. MTSU should be pleased with being part of this group."
In 2007, a random population of MTSU undergraduate students was surveyed by the Review and praised their professors as "extremely knowledgeable and very willing to meet with students outside of class." One MTSU junior offered that "if I've ever had a problem, the administration and professor were there to help me."
The comments mirror MTSU's efforts to be the best comprehensive university in the state of Tennessee and come as no great surprise, said President Sidney A. McPhee.
"We are very pleased to get this feedback from The Princeton Review that MTSU is one of their best rated universities in the South," McPhee said. "More importantly, we are pleased that our students feel MTSU is working hard to make sure they get the support they need from both the faculty and administration."
McPhee added that the designation by The Princeton Review reflects the values in the university's "I'M ONE" campaign of treating each student as an individual.
"This is another reminder that our faculty has a deep commitment to excellence in teaching and a willingness to be involved with every student as an individual," McPhee said. "We must each day reaffirm our commitment to helping students reach their full potential."
The Princeton Review is a for-profit educational preparation company that offers test preparation for standardized achievement tests and advice regarding college admissions. The Web site www.princetonreview.com gets approximately 1.2 million unique hits per year, according to Sat Sharma of TPR admissions services.
To read MTSU's complete entry in the rankings, visit www.princetonreview.com, register for free access and search for "Middle Tennessee State University" in the school search box.
Founded in September 1911, MTSU is the oldest and largest public university in the Tennessee Board of Regents System. Located 30 miles southeast of Nashville, the campus is on 500 acres in Murfreesboro, the geographic center of the state.
The university has a long-term history and commitment to educating Tennesseans, and with a fall 2007 enrollment of 22,641 students, is the largest undergraduate university in the state. Of the almost 77,000 total alumni, approximately 90 percent were born in Tennessee, and the vast majority remain in Tennessee after graduation.
MTSU is a member of Division I-A in all sports and a new addition to the 12- member Sun Belt Conference. MTSU athletes will compete against some of the nation's finest athletes in large media markets, including New Orleans, Denver and Miami. The Sun Belt Conference produced 23 All-Americans last year and 601 student-athletes were recognized for academic success.
A comprehensive university, MTSU offers over 140 undergraduate degrees in its six colleges-Basic and Applied Sciences, Business, Education, Liberal Arts, Mass Communication and University Honors-and over 55 graduate programs, including doctoral degrees.
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IN BRIEF: MTSU has been named one of the 146 Best Southeastern Colleges by The Princeton Review, which conducts surveys with millions of college undergraduates in hopes of identifying the top schools in each region of the country. "We include schools that we have a high opinion of their academics and overall college experience," said Jen Adams, Princeton Review student survey manager. "We survey many, many students and guidance counselors before we make our selections. MTSU should be pleased with being part of this group." To read MTSU's complete entry in the rankings, visit www.princetonreview.com, register for free access and search for "Middle Tennessee State University" in the school search box.
For MTSU news and information, visit www.mtsunews.com.
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