LISA MARCHESONI, Senior Writer
Posted: Sunday, October 25, 2009 7:14 am

MTSU has earned a top ranking from Forbes magazine.

When reviewing colleges, Ashlee Gray and Katie Nowak didn’t choose MTSU first.

Gray, who is from Knoxville, wanted to attend the University of Memphis but her mother guided her to MTSU, a university her older sister loved.

Nowak of New Jersey learned about MTSU from a student from her high school who attended the university.

Both students now believe they made the right decision to attend MTSU. Gray, now a senior, believes she’s getting a “Grade-A Education.” Nowak, now a junior who chose MTSU for the Recording Industry Management program, learns from professors who work in the music business, giving her a chance for an internship next semester.

“It’s worth the $15,000 a year I pay for it,” Nowak said.

Gray and Nowak’s opinions were mirrored in a survey by Forbes magazine rating MTSU among the top 50 schools in the nation as a “Best Buy” in higher education. MTSU ranked as the top public university in the state and made the top 100 public universities in the nation.

Tuition ranges from about $6,000 for in-state students and about $16,000 for out-of-state students.

MTSU is the state’s largest university with 25,188 students enrolled in the fall semester.

Forbes evaluated universities based on faculty salary data, course evaluations, awards received by students and faculty, graduation rates and student perception of faculty quality.

MTSU President Sidney McPhee is not surprised at MTSU’s high ranking.

“I’ve always known we were an incredible value,” McPhee said, recalling almost nine years ago when he interviewed for the president’s job. He tried to establish a vision MTSU would offer a high quality education.

“Our goal was to offer an Ivy League quality education without the Ivy League cost or trappings,” McPhee said.

MTSU benefits

McPhee cited some of MTSU’s assets:

• Raising more than $5 million for one of the best Honors College facilities in the southeastern U.S.

• Recruiting the best students with National Merit Scholarship finalists, Fulbright honor students and National Achievement Scholars.

More than 400 students came to a Knoxville restaurant near the University of Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium to hear about MTSU.

“People are recognizing this is not just a school to go to when you can’t get into another,” McPhee said.

• Providing a combination of quality programs from the highly regarded Mass Communications with the Recording Industry Management program with 1,800 students considered No. 1 in the nation; aerospace and nursing.

• Recruiting a strong faculty who graduated from the top universities.

Faculty members care about students and work hard to graduate students, the president said. They are interested in teaching and mentoring undergraduate students, gaining the No. 1 graduation rate in the state at 52 percent.

• Establishing higher standards. For example, MTSU quit offering remedial classes about five years ago. When students reach those standards, they can enroll at MTSU.

• Keeping tuition and costs affordable. Even though state support has decreased, it still provides about 48 percent of the support. MTSU cut costs to reduce the burden of higher tuition.

The study committee recommended 109 ways to trim $26 million in faculty and programs to meet the budget. Stimulus funds helped reduce the cuts but McPhee estimates another $6 million must be trimmed because of lower-than-anticipated state tax collections this fiscal year.

Because of the cuts, McPhee anticipates tuition will not rise significantly next year, which is good news for consumers and students.

“But it does put a great deal of pressure on the university,” McPhee said. “Costs are going up. Something has to give.”

McPhee knows he has to balance his dreams with the reality of a budget.

“One of my dreams was to move the university into establishing a Phi Beta Kappa chapter,” McPhee said, adding budget cuts postponed the dream. He hasn’t given up.

“We just have to slow down a bit until we turn around with the economy,” McPhee said.

Academic views

Terry Whiteside, interim dean of the College of Education and Behavioral Science, has worked at MTSU 37 years. He taught as a psychology professor 35 years.

“I think at MTSU we absolutely value teaching,” Whiteside said, explaining the faculty conducts research while caring about students.

He wants to erase the perception students who attend MTSU “settle” by staying at home in Middle Tennessee.

“We have always been a great buy because we provided a first-class education for a lower price than a lot of the competition,” Whiteside explained. “We used to say we were one of the best kept secrets. Forbes magazine made it so it’s not a secret anymore.”

People should be appreciative of MTSU.

“We’re the best comprehensive university in the state of Tennessee and we’re affordable,” Whiteside said. “I call this a ‘mega university.’ Whatever you want, we have.”

Like Whiteside, Mark Byrnes taught political science for 19 years. He’s still teaching while serving as associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts.

The Forbes ranking showed MTSU is an excellent value with a convenient location.

“Most important is our quality of academic programs,” Byrnes said.

The College of Liberal Arts provides the general education classes to students.

“Our courses tend to be ones where students read, write and think critically,” Byrnes observed. “Those skills are in short supply out there in the world.”

Many students come to a university with no idea what they want to do. General education forces students to explore a wide range of subjects.

“They get excited about a topic or discipline they didn’t even know existed,” Byrnes said.

Gray falls into that category.

She changed her major from business administration to public relations.

Gray’s excited because she met a speaker in a class who may offer her a summer internship.

“To me, the money’s well spent,” Gray said.

Nowak believes she’s getting the best education at MTSU.

When asked if there was anything she didn’t like, Nowak didn’t hesitate.

“Parking,” she replied.

Lisa Marchesoni may be reached at 869-0814 or at lmarchesoni@murfreesboropost.com.