Washington University has been ranked fourteenth nationally in U.S. News and World Report’s America’s Best Colleges 2002, which was released Thursday afternoon.
WU was tied with Cornell University, moving up one place from last year, when it was tied for fifteenth with Brown University.
Princeton University remained in the number one spot.
While Chancellor Mark Wrighton said that he was “pleased to be included among a group of excellent universities,” he questioned the ability of the rankings to adequately represent the quality of the university and express the differences between top tier schools.
“I personally don’t view our situation as being one on a vertical list, but part of a group of great universities…I don’t think one should make a lot of the small differences in those numerical rankings,” said Wrighton.
WU has moved up slowly in the rankings in past years, from a twentieth-place ranking in 1996.
Last year, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, the organization that conducts the U.S. News study, changed its classification system. New categories focus more on a school’s “mission” and the highest degree awarded. Although this modification affected 200 schools, WU remained in the “national universities” category, which was changed to “national universities-doctoral.” This category encompasses institutions that offer a variety of majors, promote faculty research and have Ph.D. programs in place.
The academic excellence indicators used by U.S. News, however, remained the same. The rankings weigh academic reputation—25 percent of a school’s score—as the most important indicator. University presidents, provosts and deans of admissions complete surveys in which they rate peer institutions. These opinions of administrators at other institutions thus determine a school’s reputation score.
Other factors considered in the rankings include retention at 20 percent of a school’s score; faculty resources (class size, faculty salary, proportion of professors with the highest degree, student-faculty ratio and proportion of faculty who are full time) at 20 percent; student selectivity at 15 percent; financial resources at 10 percent; graduation rate performance at five percent; and alumni giving rate at five percent.
“WU has grown in visibility through the efforts of many great students, alumni, faculty, and staff, and we have enjoyed great support that has contributed to the development of exceptional programs of education, research, and creative expression,” said Wrighton. “The recognition of the excellence of WU is a tribute to the growing impact of a long tradition of attracting talented people and encouraging them in their work and study.”
U.S. World & News Report college rankings
1. Princeton University (NJ)
2. Harvard University (MA)
Yale University (CT)
4. California Institute of Technology
5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Stanford University (CA)
University of Pennsylvania
8. Duke University (NC)
9. Columbia University (NY)
Dartmouth College (NH)
University of Chicago
12. Northwestern University (IL)
Rice University (TX)
14. Cornell University (NY)
Washington University in St. Louis
16. Brown University (RI)
Johns Hopkins University (MD)
18. Emory University (GA)
19. University of Notre Dame (IN)
20. University of California-Berkeley
21. University of Virginia
Vanderbilt University (TN)
23. Carnegie Mellon University (PA)
Georgetown University (DC)
25. University of Michigan- Ann Arbor