The College of Education at the University of Florida continues to rise as a leader among the nation’s top graduate colleges of education climbing to No. 12 among public education colleges, according to the latest U.S. News & World Report annual survey of America’s Best Graduate Education Schools, released Tuesday (March 17, 2020).
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida College of Education held on to its spot as the No. 1 education school in Florida and also was rated first among public universities in the Southeast, according to the U.S. News & World Report’s 2016 Best Graduate Education Schools rankings announced March 10.
UF climbed one spot to 20th nationally among public education colleges, and was rated 30th overall–including private and public schools–for the second straight year.
U.S. News also rated two College of Education academic programs among the top 10 in their specialty areas—special education at fifth and counselor education at No. 9. A third program made the second top 10, with elementary teacher education ranked 17th.
The college also received high marks in January when U.S. News ranked its online learning program 13th best among the nation’s graduate education colleges. Student admissions selectivity for the online program–an indicator of high quality student enrollment–was rated best in the nation.
For the latest US News rankings, 357 graduate education schools granting doctoral degrees were surveyed, with 246 providing the necessary data to be rated. Nationwide, there are more than 1,500 schools, colleges and departments of education.
UF’s college registered gains in several of the quality measures assessed in the rankings—improving its ratio of doctoral students per faculty instructor and hiking its scores for program quality from school superintendents and other education professionals surveyed—and showed continued strength in funded research activity.
Dean Glenn Good said that in the first half of this academic year (through Dec. 31, 2014), UF education faculty researchers doubled the amount of external research funding generated over the same period last year, attracting more than $16.3 million in grants and contracts.
“The College of Education has made dramatic strides over the past four years in the breadth and quality of our programs, and our rise in the rankings reflect that,” Good said. “We’re now in a position of strength to help the University of Florida meet its goal to become one of the nation’s preeminent research universities, while continuing our own rise in national prominence.”
The COE is involved in three targeted focus areas that UF is investing in to strengthen its interdisciplinary research and academic missions. The added preeminence funding is supporting aggressive investigations in early childhood development and learning, personalized online learning, and “big data” informatics research in education.
“There has never been a better time to be at the College of Education,” Good said. “Momentum is surging in our education reform efforts at every level, from cradle to college to career advancement.”
He cited a $5 million gift last fall from COE alumna Anita Zucker (BAE ’72) that is expanding the reach and breadth of the university’s and college’s trailblazing initiatives in early childhood studies. At the K-5 level, the college recently created a Center of Excellence in Elementary Teacher Preparation–one of four in the state–funded by the Florida Department of Education. Through the center, UF education professors are working with the local school district to pioneer new strategies and best practices for transforming elementary teacher preparation, eventually throughout the state.
The dean also cited the UFTeach program, a collaboration between the colleges of Education and of Liberal Arts and Sciences. UFTeach recruits top math and science majors on campus and prepares them to join the ranks of effective teachers in those vital disciplines in the middle and high school grades.
Aided by $25 million in federal support, UF special education faculty are helping multiple states strengthen their professional standards and methods for preparing teachers and leaders serving students with disabilities.
Statewide and beyond, the UF Lastinger Center for Learning is the college’s “education innovation incubator,” developing and field-testing novel learning system models that transform teaching and learning and promote healthy child development.
“We are closing in on our goal of becoming a top public university and a top-tier college of education,” Good said. “Achieving a ranking is nice and reflects the dedication and commitment of the entire College of Education community. The true measure of our success, though, is the impact we make on solving problems and making life better for everyone.”
To view the complete U.S. News Best Graduate Education Schools rankings, visit http://gradschools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-education-schools
CONTACTS
SOURCE: Glenn Good, PhD, dean, UF College of Education; 352-273-4135; ggood@coe.ufl.edu;
SOURCE: Tom Dana, PhD, associate dean, UF College of Education; 352-273-4134; tdana@coe.ufl.edu;
WRITER: Larry Lansford, communications director, UF College of Education; 352-273-4137; llansford@coe.ufl.edu;
GAINESVILLE, Fla.—The University of Florida College of Education has one of America’s best online master’s degree programs in teacher education, and some of the nation’s best graduate students, according to national rankings announced Wednesday (Jan. 7) by U.S. News & World Report.
The college’s distance learning program was rated 13th in the magazine’s 2015 Best Online Graduate Education Programs survey, an improvement of 34 positions over last year’s ranking of 47th.
U.S. News rated the COE’s “admissions selectivity”—an indicator of the high quality of its online graduate students—as tops in the nation.
“The college’s substantial spike in the rankings is well-earned recognition for our faculty and online support and instructional development teams. Their goal from the start has been to create a superb online learning experience for students of the same high quality as our on-campus offerings,” said COE spokesman Larry Lansford. “It’s what students expect from the University of Florida.”
Lansford said the college’s top national ranking in student selectivity “reflects the high bar we set to attract and enroll students with proven aptitudes, ambitions and accomplishments who can handle the demands of rigorous coursework.”
“Awarding online degrees judiciously will enhance the legitimacy of our graduates in the job market. Our ultimate goal is to develop master educators who can lead transformations in teacher practice and leadership that ultimately improve student learning,” he said.
The COE’s online program also scored high marks for new student retention rates: retaining 99 percent of new students in 2013 and 95 percent in 2014. U.S. News also cited the program’s on-the-job, cohort instructional approach as a distinguishing characteristic. Lansford said the “job-embedded” feature allows practicing educators to earn graduate degrees in education and teacher leadership while remaining on the job.
UF was one of three education colleges in Florida with online graduate programs ranked among the nation’s top 20 by U.S. News. The others were Florida State University (at No. 2) and the University of South Florida (20th).
UF also was one of the top two highest ranking education schools, along with Auburn, in the Southeastern Conference.
Among all UF graduate schools, only the fourth-ranked Hough Graduate School of Business rated higher in its specialty than the College of Education.
This is the third year that U.S. News has collected data on distance learning programs in higher education. Besides admissions selectivity, which accounted for 15 percent of the weighted ratings, the magazine ranked teacher education programs based on wide-ranging criteria that also included student engagement, faculty credentials and training, student services and technology, and peer assessment.
You can view the complete online graduate education rankings and accompanying data on the U.S. News website at: http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/education/rankings?int=a05609.
Two of the college’s individual online graduate degree programs–education technology and educational leadership–have received top 10 rankings over the past year from BestSchools.org, a higher education website for college information seekers.
CONTACTS
SOURCE: Tom Dana, associate dean, UF College of Education; 352-273-4134; tdana@coe.ufl.edu;
MEDIA CONTACT: Larry Lansford, communications director, UF College of Education; 352-273-4137; llansford@coe.ufl.edu;
Gainesville Sun, The Independent Florida Alligator, Business Report of North Central Florida
3-12-14, 3-18-14, 3-26-14
COE national rankings
The Gainesville Sun, The Independent Florida Alligator and the Business Report of North Central Florida quoted COE Dean Glenn Good and Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs Tom Dana in articles about the College of Education jumping 10 spots to No. 30 overall and nine spots – from No, 30 to No. 21 – among all public and private education colleges in the 2014 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools rankings. COE now has four programs in the top 20 nationally, including special education, which improved from its No. 6 ranking a year ago to No. 5; and counselor education, which rose three spots to No. 5. Elementary education moved two spots to 16th; and curriculum and instruction remained at No. 18. UF also remains the highest-ranked education school in Florida and in the Southeastern Conference. An article in the Business Report of North Central Florida reiterates the U.S. News and World Report rankings.
