Georgia State University is ranked the second most innovative university and third for its commitment to undergraduate teaching in the 2020 Best Colleges edition of U.S. News & World Report magazine.

It’s the second year in a row Georgia State is ranked the second most innovative institution. It’s also the second year in a row the university has been ranked in the top three among national universities for its “unusually strong commitment to undergraduate teaching.” Georgia State ranked first among public universities in the category.

Arizona State University is first in this year’s innovation ranking, and Princeton University topped the undergraduate teaching ranking.

The innovation and undergraduate teaching rankings are based on a survey of presidents, provosts and admissions deans at colleges and universities across the country.

Georgia State ranked highly in two new categories created by U.S. News & World Report: Social Mobility and Academic Programs to Look For.

The new category on social mobility measures how well a school advances equity among low-income families and families with stronger financial backgrounds. Georgia State ranked eighth in the nation in the new measurement.

In the Academic Programs to Look For category, Georgia State ranked fifth for its first-year experience. The new indicator measures how well a university builds into its curriculum first-year seminars or other academic programs that regularly brings small groups of students together with faculty or staff.

“I believe that restructuring our universities to better serve all students and drive student success is absolutely essential to the future of higher education and the modern university,” said Mark Becker, president of Georgia State. “Our rankings at the top of U.S. News’ innovation and undergraduate teaching surveys are recognition of our leadership in identifying and implementing the types of changes that work and show promise of a better future.”

The university’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business moved from 44th last year to 50th this year in the magazine’s ranking of undergraduate business programs. Its Insurance and Risk Management program went from third to fourth. The business school and program rankings are based on a survey of deans and senior faculty at institutions across the country.