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US News & World Report has revised its college ranking formula this year, placing more emphasis on social mobility and less on exclusivity in admissions, a shift that has blurred its annual lists of top colleges and universities released on Monday .
Two schools continued their long careers at the top of the rankings: Princeton University was the first national university for the eighth consecutive year and Williams College was the first liberal arts school for the 16th consecutive year.
National universities place a high value on research and bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees. Liberal arts colleges are focused on undergraduate education.
To rank the schools, US News collects and analyzes reputational survey data, as well as information on graduation rates, faculty resources, student credentials, alumni donations and other factors. Critics have long argued that the formula was too much about prestige and wealth, and not enough about the value that schools add to society.
Other publications have appeared in the rankings, but US News remains a leader in the field. College presidents, administrators, alumni, faculty, and students are closely following the annual ups and downs of US news lists. Often it is only a question of praising rights. But in the academic world, hierarchies determined by rankings can shape the market for teachers and students.
This year, US News dropped the formula's admission rate – a measure that helps schools that are not ultra-selective – and added data on graduation rates for students in need of higher education. federal grant.
"A university does not succeed if it does not graduate, which is why top college rankings place the highest value on results, including degrees and retention rates," said Robert Morse, chief strategist. at US News. "By including social mobility indicators, US News increasingly recognizes colleges that serve all their students, regardless of their economic status."
On both lists, the top 20 had many names known for years.
Harvard University ranked second on the list of national universities, followed by four schools tied: Columbia and Yale Universities, the University of Chicago and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
On the Liberal Arts list, Amherst College ranked second, while Swarthmore and Wellesley were third, and Bowdoin, Carleton, Middlebury and Pomona were fifth.
But the new methodology has produced an important ferment.
The University of California at Los Angeles ranked 19th, placing it in front of the state's flagship campus, Berkeley (22nd), for the first time. The University of California at Santa Barbara has gained seven places, ranking 30th with the University of New York and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The University of California at Riverside and Howard University, a historically prominent black institution in the nation's capital, were the top two national universities this year. Both serve a large number of underprivileged students. At UC-Riverside, Pell's undergraduate share is over half and Howard is almost half.
UC-Riverside won 39 spots on the US News List at 85th place, tied with Michigan State University and the University of San Diego.
Howard climbed 21 places in 89th place.
"It will take time to reverse decades of deference to traditional institutional quality assumptions," said Kim A. Wilcox, Chancellor of UC-Riverside, in a statement. "I am heartened by the fact that more university ranking systems are beginning to recognize diversity, social mobility and student achievement as features of a large university – as opposed to exclusivity and wealth as than primary measures.
Five years ago, Howard ranked 142nd. The leap into the top 100 is a boost for a university that has drawn the federal government's attention to its cash flow because of concerns about failures in the management of financial aid.
President Howard, Wayne A.I. Frederick called the top ranking "a moment of pride for all of us."
Frederick said it would validate the university's efforts to improve student retention and graduation rates. The four-year graduation rate has recently surpassed 50 percent, he said, a significant increase. The ranking "speaks volumes about what we have done and the journey we have undertaken," he said. "These are constant progress and focused on student achievement."
When some universities climbed, others fell back. Three well-known DC schools were on the list: Georgetown University, two places, at 22nd; George Washington University, seven places, up to the 63rd; and American University, nine places, up to 78th place.
Of the Maryland and Virginia Universities, Johns Hopkins of Baltimore has risen to tenth place in the national rankings. The University of Virginia ranks 25th, unchanged, and William & Mary College is 38th, down six. The University of Maryland at College Park fell two places, with GWU in 63rd place. Virginia Tech is ranked 76th, down seven.
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