The University again ranked second among public universities for 2010 in U.S. News & World Report's annual survey of the nation's colleges.\nThe University has been ranked as either the first or second public university since 1992 and has been among the top 25 universities overall since 1988. In the 2010 rankings, the University dropped from 23rd to 24th in the overall rankings, tying with the University of California at Los Angeles.\nThe rankings give a snapshot of where schools stand in relation to each other, based on available data, said Robert Morse, director of data research at U.S. News & World Report.\n"[They] don't measure all the complexities of a place like [the] University of Virginia or Georgetown or Harvard but they're accurate in the sense of using the data that we have in the rankings," Morse said.\nThe change in ranking was small, Leonard Sandridge, executive vice president and chief operating officer, stated in an e-mail, adding that "the change was so minor that it is hard to attribute it to any one thing."\nMorse agreed that the change in ranking was not very significant. "The rankings are fairly stable," he said. "They're usually small changes, but the changes themselves aren't that important."\nThe rankings are based on a number of weighted factors, Morse said. Academic reputation is the most important factor, followed by graduation retention and faculty resources. Admission data, financial resources and alumni giving data also are important, though given less weight.\nThe University was ranked 11th in graduation and retention, 35th in faculty resources, 29th in selectivity and 35th in alumni giving, Morse said. In academic reputation, calculated through peer assessment, the University had one of the highest scores, with 4.3 out of 5.\nIn financial resources, however, the University came in 64th, Morse said.\n"Historically, we have achieved higher rankings than our financial resources would suggest to be possible," Sandridge noted. "The budget cuts of recent years have not helped that situation."\nUniversity President John T. Casteen, III added that the commonwealth has consistently prioritized other items instead of education for the past twenty years.\n"Again this year, these [subscores] emphasize how very far behind Virginia is in its support for its public colleges and universities - support that is now very probably the lowest in the country," he stated in a press release.\nHe also noted that the University's ranking has helped to attract students, adding that it "underscores the quality of work done by faculty and staff members here."\nSandridge similarly credited the University's high ranking to the hard work of the faculty and staff.\n"Our intent is to do the best we can to provide an educational experience that is second to none and let the rankings take care of themselves," he stated.
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