Andrew McGinnis, a New Mexico State University electrical engineering student, works in a clean room on a nanosatellite. NMSU’s College of Engineering is ranked 12th on the 50 Best Value Engineering Schools 2019 list. (Courtesy photo)

The College of Engineering at New Mexico State University has just been ranked 12th among the 50 Best Value Engineering Schools for 2019 from a total pool of more than 500 eligible engineering schools.

NMSU’s ranking is above that of close by competing engineering schools: the University of New Mexico, 18th; and the University of Texas at El Paso, 27th. NMSU also ranks third highest among 15 peer institutions with engineering colleges of similar size and composition.

Best Value Schools publishes college degree rankings based on the net cost and value of a degree program. A program’s cost, or net price, comprises tuition and fees, textbooks and supplies. This is calculated using data provided by the National Center for Educational Statistics’ College Navigator and the NCES Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. NMSU’s College of Engineering net price is $10,299 per year.

The value of a degree program includes near-term and long-term factors. Near-term value includes any support or services that are available through the university. Post-graduation prospects such as employment opportunities and starting salaries determine long-term value.

Best Value Schools uses five categorized factors to determine rankings. Investment return (25 percent) is based on data supplied by PayScale for average mid-career salary of professions who have earned specific degrees. Student and alumni evaluation (25 percent) from approximately 60 percent of evaluations reported by current and graduated students on websites like Rate My Professor and Students Review and 40 percent of reviewed data from PayScale. Cost value (25 percent) is the net price and the availability of financial aid, as reported by the National Center for Education Statistics’ IPEDS survey. Matriculation (10 percent) from the average SAT and GRE scores of admitted students reported to NCES. Academic success (15 percent) is based on the number of students retained in the program after the freshman year and the amount of time needed for graduation provided by NCES data.

“Not only are we highly ranked in value of those engineering colleges that are presently in the top 50 value schools of engineering, we are in a select group that strives for excellence in research, teaching and service to society,” said Antonio Garcia, associate dean of academics and George W. Lucky Professor of Chemical Engineering. “Engineering colleges need to be highly ranked overall because the pace of technology development and competitiveness of the global economy demands that engineering colleges draw from talent over the full spectrum of social and economic diversity.”

For a complete list of the rankings, along with the methodology used, visit https://www.bestvalueschools.com/rankings/engineering-schools/.