Aeronautics and astronautics programs at the US Air Force Academy, Colo., were ranked best in the nation Tuesday in the US News & World Report Best Colleges 2017. As a whole, the Academy was ranked as the third best national liberal arts college and seventh best undergraduate engineering program, according to a press release. US News and World Report generates the rankings using a formula that considers, among other factors, assessment from peer institutions, graduation rate, faculty resources, retention, and alumni giving. Other Academy programs that were ranked include electrical/electronic/communications (fourth), mechanical engineering (seventh), and business (48th).
A three-month continuing resolution that ended in December inflicted less pain on the Department of the Air Force than it had expected, as procurement and construction continue in the new year. The federal government operated under a stopgap spending measure that stretched from the beginning of the fiscal year on…