MAGNOLIA – The increase in graduate programs at Southern Arkansas University has been highly lauded across the region, but the University was recently officially recognized nationally when the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching reassigned SAU as a “Master’s M” level institution. Before this change, the University was classified as a bachelor’s degree-granting institution.
“This is a tremendous accomplishment, and we are very gratified by this news from the Carnegie Foundation” said SAU President Dr. David Rankin. “Our graduate program offerings have increased dramatically, and we have been noted as having the fastest-growing graduate programs in the state over the past five years. To have this new master’s-level classification will open many new doors for us.”
Rankin noted that granting graduate degrees is an integral part of the University’s mission that will also serve to bolster the economy of the region.
“This new designation is a reflection of the quality, productivity and integrity of our faculty, staff and students,” he said. “It also shows the University is dramatically expanding educational opportunities across the region and beyond.”
The Carnegie classification has been the leading framework for recognizing and describing institutional diversity in U.S. higher education for the past four decades. Starting in 1970, the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education developed a classification of colleges and universities to support its program of research and policy analysis. This framework has been widely used in the study of higher education, both as a way to represent and control for institutional differences. It has also been used in the design of research studies to ensure adequate representation of sampled institutions, students, or faculty.
The “Master’s M” classification under which SAU is now listed generally includes institutions that awarded at least 50 master’s degrees and fewer than 20 doctoral degrees in the update year. Since 2005, the University has awarded 467 master’s degrees. That number has increased from just 50 awarded in the 2005- 2006 academic year to 157 awarded in the 2009- 2010 academic year.
Founded in 1909, Southern Arkansas University is a quality, comprehensive regional university located in Magnolia. The University had a fall 2010 enrollment of 3,379 undergraduate and graduate students.
For more information about Southern Arkansas University, visit the website at www.saumag.edu.
