MIAMI (August 7, 2000) - In ratings released August 7, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching awarded Florida International University the highest, most comprehensive rating possible in its prestigious classification system, making FIU one of only five Florida schools to hold that status.

FIU made the biggest leap of any of Florida’s research universities, rising from a “Doctoral II” rating in Carnegie’s old classification system to “Doctoral/Research University-Extensive” in the new categories unveiled along with the newly released classifications. “Extensive” replaces Carnegie’s previous rating of “Research I.”

Only five universities nationwide, including FIU, made the move from Doctoral II to Extensive.

“We set a goal a decade ago of achieving Carnegie’s Research I distinction, and are pleased that we met the Foundation’s criteria so quickly,” said FIU President Modesto A. Maidique. “The investments we made in our doctoral programs and research facilities and the standards to which we held ourselves have paid off."

“We’ve known for some time that we’re not only Florida’s fastest-growing research university, but one of its very best. But it feels wonderful to get this kind of external validation,” Maidique added.

The University of South Florida moved forward a single step, from “Research II” to Extensive, while the Universities of Miami and Florida and Florida State essentially maintained their ranks, trading a Research I label for Extensive.

Carnegie’s new ratings emphasize the number and type of degrees an institution awards instead of focusing on research funding or admissions selectivity.

To achieve the Extensive classification, a university has to award 50 or more doctoral degrees per year in at least 15 disciplines. To get a “Doctoral/Research University-Intensive” rating, a university had to award at least 10 doctoral degrees annually in three or more areas, or at least 20 doctoral degrees overall. Florida schools named Intensive include the University of Central Florida and Florida Atlantic University.

The Foundation will change the system again in 2005 – Carnegie’s centennial year -- adding criteria that recognize different dimensions of institutions.  Carnegie changed its rating system on an interim basis this year because information used in 1994 is “way out of date,” a Foundation official told The Chronicle of Higher Education.

For more information, visit the Carnegie web site at http://www.carnegiefoundation.org.