Ball State has been honored by the New York-based educational services company as one of the "Best Midwestern Colleges." The online publication profiles 163 public and private schools that uphold the value of the "Best" distinction, says Robert Franek, publisher.

Ball State debuted as a "Best Midwestern College" last year. Seeing Ball State repeat in earning such prominent national accolades bodes well for the university as it works to redefine higher education, says Ball State President Jo Ann M. Gora.

"This honor affirms that we are on the right track in distinguishing ourselves as an institution of higher learning, a place where we make immersive learning experiences the hallmark of our students' education," she said. "We are committed to giving high-caliber  students the opportunity to collaborate with expert, energized faculty who are outstanding in their fields and to provide them with leading-edge technology and state-of-the-art facilities."

Earlier this year, Ball State was cited by Princeton Review as one of the best 150 values among the most academically outstanding colleges in the nation. Princeton Review praised Ball State's nationally recognized programs in architecture, entrepreneurship, journalism, speech pathology and telecommunications as well as excellent and popular programs in business administration, criminal justice and education.

The university's low cost of tuition, recent increases in financial aid and success in building a sense of community contributed to earning the "Best Value" ranking from the Princeton Review editors.

For the complete list of "Best Midwestern Colleges," visit www.PrincetonReview.com.

(Note to editors: For more information, contact Glenn Augustine, senior director of university communications, at ggaugustine@bsu.edu  or (765) 285-1560.)