Last week, Troy University was named the state’s leading institution of higher education in the state of Alabama by Forbes Magazine.

In addition, Troy was also rated 16th on Forbes “America’s Best College Buys” list.

While the two rankings are a huge accomplishment for Troy, the university is now turning its attention to ways it can capitalize off the high marks.

“This provides us with an opportunity to tell the world that above all else, students can expect a positive experience at Troy,” said Troy spokesman Tom Davis.

“The mere presence of this ranking will certainly be beneficial to us, and we’re already planning to do some things with it such as publication items and maybe some broadcast public service announcements.”

And, while many associated with Troy have long considered it one of the best universities around, Davis said having a prestigious publication such as Forbes give Troy its stamp of approval was significant.

“The very best marketing and the very best advertising is when a third party has great things to say about you because it has more legitimacy,” Davis said.

“Then, when you consider that this is coming from an influential publication like Forbes that reaches a lot of people in the business world, you can see how significant this really is.”

Since the rankings have been released many have focused on Troy being ranked top in the state, above both Auburn and Alabama. However, according to Davis, the “Best Buy” ranking may wind up being more significant.

“That ‘Best Buy’ ranking has even more significance because I think it really speaks to the priorities of students and parents,” Davis said.

“Where something like education is concerned, value is always on the mind of students, and we’re very proud to have the best state ranking on that list. However, this ranking also really speaks to the value we provide outside the state of Alabama.”

Now, with both rankings in tow, Davis said Troy will take its impressive resume out and be proactive in attracting new potential students.

“We’re going to have materials that tout this that we’ll be able to take to preview days and things of that nature,” Davis said.

“When recruiters go to college fairs and those sorts of things, we would be sure to get those into the hands of as many potentials students as we can.”