Posted: Wednesday, August 4, 2010 12:18 pm

The Messenger 08.04.10
The University of Tennessee at Martin is one of the best colleges in the Southeast, according to the nationally-known education services company The Princeton Review.
UT Martin is one of 133 institutions The Princeton Review recommends in its “Best in the Southeast” section of its website feature “2011 Best Colleges: Region by Region,” which was posted Monday on PrincetonReview.com.
The university has been named to the “Best in the Southeast” listing for eight consecutive years, since the recognition was initiated.
“I am proud that The Princeton Review has again recognized UT Martin for providing a high-quality learning environment,” said Dr. Tom Rakes, university chancellor. “Student input helped make this recognition possible through comments and feedback based on their experiences at the university. Receiving this designation for eight consecutive years is a compliment to faculty and staff who work hard to provide solid academic programming and outstanding student support.”
“We’re pleased to recommend UT Martin to users of our site as one of the best schools to earn their undergrad degree,” said Robert Franek, Princeton Review’s senior vice president/publishing. “We chose it and the other terrific institutions we name as ‘regional best’ colleges mainly for their excellent academic programs,” he said.
“We also take into account what students at the schools reported to us about their campus experiences at them on our 80-question student survey for this project,” Franek added. “Only schools that permit us to independently survey their students are eligible to be considered for our regional ‘best’ lists.”
The 133 colleges The Princeton Review chose for its “Best in the Southeast” designations are located in 12 states: Alabama, Ark-ansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Miss-issippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. The Princeton Review also designated 218 colleges in the Northeast, 152 in the Midwest and 120 in the West as best in their locales. Collectively, the 623 colleges named “regional best(s)” constitute about 25 percent of the nation’s 2,500 four-year colleges.
The Princeton Review does not rank the 623 colleges in its “2011 Best Colleges: Region by Reg-ion” list hierarchically or by region or in categories.
The Princeton Review, headquartered in Framing-ham, Mass., with editorial offices in New York City and test preparation locations across the country and abroad, is not affiliated with Princeton University and is not a magazine.