Kent State University has been recognized once more in U.S. News & World Report. The College of Business undergraduate program has earned a ranking of 159th, earning a top-tier spot on the "2011 Best Business Programs" list.

The college offers degrees in fields that range from accounting to managerial marketing. Yank Heisler, dean of the College of Business, makes sure that the undergraduate program emphasizes "commitments to internships and international exposure for our undergrads," Heisler says.

"More than 300 undergraduates will receive this exposure during the calendar year 2011, up several hundred from calendar year '08," Heisler says.

Not only did the College of Business receive these accolades, but it is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). Less than one-third of U.S. business schools and only 15 percent of business schools worldwide meet the rigorous standards of AACSB International accreditation. The accounting program also has its own AACSB accreditation.

Elizabeth Sinclair-Colando, assistant dean of the college, says she is glad the college's efforts have garnered such positive attention.

"My feeling is that we worked very hard to get this recognition in that we're doing considerably more than ever to work with our students in retaining them at Kent State until graduation, and we've made curricular changes that are state-of-the-art," Sinclair-Colando says.

In the October 2010 issue of The Princeton Review, Kent State University was ranked as one of the best 300 schools. The ranking is based on surveys of 19,000 students attending the 300 business schools. The ranking does not place the schools by hierarchy, and there is no particular school that is best overall.

Heisler and his staff are pleased with the accolades, but they realize they must continually strive for perfection.

"We are not only very pleased to receive this recognition, but also very humbled by it," Heisler says. "We still need to get better!"

With The Princeton Review designation, the long list of Kent State awards only grows. Earlier this fall, Kent State was recognized by Times Higher Education, a higher-education magazine based in London, as one of the top 200 universities in the world in its 2010-2011 World University Rankings. Kent State also has been named one of the best national universities by U.S. News & World Report. Kent State is now ranked as the second largest public university in the state of Ohio. Also, Kent State reported a 4.56 percent enrollment increase for spring semester, which is a record for spring recorded enrollment.

For more information about U.S. News & World Report, visit www.usnews.com.

For more information about the College of Business, visit www.kent.edu/business.

For more information about the Princeton Review, visit www.princetonreview.com.

By Jaime Ramos