Release # 116
Aug. 22, 2006

ACADEMY RANKS TOP IN PROFESSOR AVAILABILITY FOR 2^nd YEAR

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – The Air Force Academy’s professors are the most accessible in the nation for the second year in a row, according to The Best 361 Colleges text, released today by Princeton Review.

Faculty availability is an expectation at the Air Force Academy, where the student-faculty ratio is 8:1, average class size is 20, and no classes are taught by teaching assistants.

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.

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

• #3  Don’t Inhale

• #7  Stone-Cold Sober Schools

• #9  Future Rotarians and Daughters of the American Revolution

• #11 Students Most Nostalgic for Reagan

• #13  Everyone Plays Intramural Sports

• #14  Their Students Never Stop Studying

• #15  Scotch and Soda, Hold The Scotch

The Princeton Review features the Air Force Academy and other local colleges in The Best 361 Colleges, the new 2007 edition of its annual "best colleges" guide.  The guide utilizes online student surveys in 62 categories to assess the academic, administrative, quality of life, social, extracurricular and other aspects of live at American colleges.
NOTE:  The media contact for Princeton Review Books is Jeannie Krier, at 212-539-1350.

1020 MDT
WebGuy
WooHoo!  I get a blue button this year.
  When you see this at Arnold Hall, it'll be me.

1500 MDT
WebGuy
Here is a piece of information that got to me in a loooong, roundabout way. 

The USAFA Parents Club Coordinator, Barbara Gutierrez (who works with the parents club presidents), posted this on FAMNET about Thanksgiving break.

"Thanksgiving leave begins at 3:30pm on Tuesday, 21 Nov.  Do not make flight departure times earlier than 6:30pm for Colorado Springs or 8:30pm for Denver.  This is to allow for high traffic.  Cadets must sign in by 7:00pm on Monday, 27 Nov."

A Parents Club president forwarded it to their parent club members.  One of the members forwarded it to me.  I'm posting it here. 
Of course, I still worry about policy changes so I would call this the 80% answer.  I say this because of past experience and the fact that another office told me 5:00PM was the beginning of Thanksgiving Leave.

Note: A parent asked me if there are any buses to/from the Colorado Springs and Denver Airports.  I let them know the Academy's 10th Services Division Cadet Activities, has a department called the Vandenberg Outdoor Recreation Center that runs this type of thing.  Their website is http://www.usafaservices.com/orc/vorc4.htm.  They currently do not have the schedules posted for Thanksgiving, but they do show prices.  WebGuy recommends you look at that site frequently if you are interested.