After two years in the runner-up spot among the nation's top public universities, the University regained its No. 1 ranking in U.S. News & World Report's 2004 edition of "America's Best Colleges."
U.S. News officials announced last Thursday that the University tied the University of California-Berkeley for the top spot among public schools, marking the fourth time in seven years that U.S. News ranked the University No. 1. The University also tied with Berkeley at No. 21 among both public and private institutions in the Top National Universities category, a two-spot advance from last year.
Throughout the ranking system's 17-year history, the University has never dropped out of the top 25 among national universities, nor has it dropped below No. 2 among public schools, University Spokesperson Carol Wood said.
"The success of our rankings is due in large measure to strong philanthropic alumni support and the hard work of every member of the University community, including our students," Wood said.
University President John T. Casteen, III addressed other strengths, such as finances and faculty, that may have influenced the University's rankings.
"Growing private financial resources, faculty resources and excellence, and students are very significant," Casteen said. "General reputation is a substantial factor in the rankings."
While state contributions have continued to decline, the rankings could potentially alleviate state budgetary shortfalls by further attracting private donations, he said.
"These new rankings should have considerable value as we continue working to raise the moneys necessary to maintain excellence within the University," Casteen said.
While the rankings may affect the University financially, University officials said they don't expect the new rankings to greatly impact admissions or enrollment numbers, since the University always has been similarly ranked.
"To go from No. 2 to No. 1 probably won't translate into more applications, but the fact that we're ranked that highly does have an affect on who applies here," Dean of Admissions John A. Blackburn said.
The University's high rankings continually draw competitive students interested in applying to the nation's top schools, he said.
"We've always ranked highly among the public schools, and I know from guidance counselors that people walk in and say 'I only want to apply to a top 25 school,'" Blackburn said. "I know being there makes a difference, but not whether No. 1 makes a difference over No. 2."
Blackburn acknowledged the rankings' impact on international students.
"When students come from around the world, they want to go somewhere that has a big name," he said. "U.S. News is the best known [ranking system], and they also show you what goes into their formula."
U.S. News ranks universities based on a variety of criteria, using information gathered from individual institutions and data collected by a branch of the United States Department of Education called Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, according to George Stovall, University director of institutional studies.
Some of the ranking categories include peer assessment, graduation and retention information, faculty resources, selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving, Stovall said.
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