USAFA is Best in the West Accoring to US News & World Report

The numbers are in, and we're "Best in the West" again with a top score of 100 from U.S. News and World Report!

We also ranked #1 in the West among four-year schools in freshman retention (87 percent), made the national Top 100 for graduation rates (79 percent), and tied for 11th place in the Western Region for racial ...diversity (diversity index rating of 0.39 out of 1).

We probably would have gotten "Best Quality to Price," but we would have broken the report when they tried to divide the value of a degree from the Academy by the cost of tuition ($0). Read more...

Forbes Ranks Air Force #11 School in Nation
by Jaryd Wilson, Colorado Connection

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, COLO. — Forbes Magazine has ranked the Air Force Academy number 11 in the nation on its 2010 America's Best Colleges List.

The rankings are compiled by Forbes and the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, which evaluated more than 600 undergraduate programs.

According to Forbes, the rankings are based on several weighted factors which include: graduate surveys, average salaries of graduates, student evaluations of classes, number of alumni listed as corporate officers on Forbes listing, number of alumni listed in 'Who's Who in America,' amount of student debt at graduation, freshman-to-sophomore retention rates, and the percentage of students who graduate in four years.

These rankings put service academies in the same tier as Ivy League colleges. The Air Force Academy placed at number 16 in 2008, number 7 in 2009 and number 11 this year. For the 2010 rankings, the United States Military Academy (West Point) ranked number 4 on the list, while the U.S. Naval Academy came in at number 29, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy ranked number 105 and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy earned the number 165 ranking.

Last week’s Forbes ranking follows the national education rankings by The Princeton Review. In the Princeton Review’s The Best 373 Colleges text, released Aug. 2, the Air Force Academy ranks number 1 in the nation in professor availability. The Princeton Review ranked the Air Force Academy number one in professor availability in its 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 Best Colleges editions.

At the U.S. Air Force Academy, the student-faculty ratio is 9:1, average class size is 20, 100 percent of the faculty is full-time and zero classes are taught by teaching assistants.

Eagles Receiver Chad Hall Capitalizing on Military Experience in Training Cam
By The Associated Press

He learned to be precise. He learned to prepare more diligently than everybody else. And he learned to work with a team toward a common goal.

All the things Chad Hall is engaged in this summer at Philadelphia Eagles training camp he already experienced over the last two years — and quite far from the football field. Read more...

US Air Force Academy Social Networking
Reprinted from USAFA Web Site

As part of the Air Force's initiative to help guide Airmen into being communicators, New Media and the Air Force is available for download. The pamphlet, created by the Air Force Public Affairs Agency, Emerging Technology Division, should be used as an instructional guide. It is not to be construed as official guidance, endorsement of products or sites listed, nor is it policy. It was developed for Air Force Public Affairs professionals who offer guidance and counsel on anything communication related — it's called PAG, Public Affairs Guidance. Please feel free to download and consult the book to learn more about social media and how it is being used as a new communication tool.

• US Air Force Academy (Official) at Facebook
• US Air Force Academy Athletics at Facebook
• US Air Force Academy on Twitter
• US Air Force Academy Athletics on Twitter
• US Air Force Academy on Flickr

Academy Ranked Among Nation's Best Colleges
Reprinted from US Air Force Press Release

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — The Air Force Academy’s professors are among the most accessible in the nation, according to The Best 373 Colleges text, released today by Princeton Review.

Faculty availability is an expectation at a military service academy, and the U.S. Air Force Academy ranks first in the nation, again, in professor availability. At the U.S. Air Force Academy, the student-faculty ratio is 9:1, average class size is 20, 100 percent of the faculty is full-time and zero classes are taught by teaching assistants. Several academic departments here also staff Extra Instruction laboratories throughout the academic day, with at least one professor available each class period to help cadets tackle questions arising from their latest lessons.

“This is the Air Force Academy's fifth ‘#1 most accessible faculty ranking’ in the past six years and validates our outstanding faculty's dedication and commitment to developing officers of character for our Air Force and our nation,” said Brig. Gen. Dana Born, Dean of the Faculty. “This national ranking is great validation our cadets once again voted the Air Force Academy as #1 for most accessible professors. That's an indisputable fact and speaks volumes about our cadets’ report on our faculty's commitment to their learning and development, year after year!”

The Princeton Review ranked the Air Force Academy number one in professor availability in its 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 Best Colleges editions, and number four in the same category for its 2010 best colleges edition.

“It is a wonderful reflection of our dedicated faculty that, once again, they have been recognized by the Princeton Review as being the #1: Most Accessible Faculty,” added General Born. “This recognition speaks volumes to our wonderful instructors and validates their dedication and commitment to developing officers of character for our Air Force Academy and our nation. Most of us remember that particular high school or college teacher who made a difference in our lives by demonstrating how much they cared. The Air Force Academy is full of such instructors. I am proud to be part of a cadre of this caliber and character, each of whom is a major ingredient in achieving our goal of developing lifelong learners and leaders of character for our Air Force and our nation.”

The Academy also came out in several other top-20 rankings in the nation, including:

• #4 Don’t Inhale
• #4 Stone-Cold Sober Schools
• #4 Most Conservative Students
• #4 Everyone Plays Intramural Sports
• #6 Future Rotarians and Daughters of the American Revolution
• #20 Scotch and Soda, Hold The Scotch

The Princeton Review features the Air Force Academy and other local colleges in The Best 373 Colleges, the new 2011 edition of its annual "best colleges" guide. The guide utilizes online student surveys in 62 categories to assess the academic, administrative, social, extracurricular and quality of life aspects of life at American colleges.

The Air Force Academy’s fall semester begins Aug. 5.

Benefits of SEPAFAPA Membership

• SEPAFAPA name tags: don’t attend Parent's Weekend without them!
• Discounts on fundraiser merchandise
• Appointee Picnic
• Goodie boxes mailed to your cadet for finals 2x per year
• Annual birthday card mailed to your cadet
• Access to Members Only section of club website
• Contact with direct AFA information
• Adopt a Basic program
• Parent to Parent program
• Support from other parents as a Cadet (active duty military) parent
• Graduation gift for your 2nd Lt
• Monthly meetings with GREAT FOOD!

SEPAFAPA Membership Application

• Membership Application (PDF)

Membership Application