UW ranks eighth best in nation

The university has been named the eighth-best public university in the 2002 “America’s Best Colleges” guidebook published by U.S. News & World Report.

Other Big Ten universities in the top rankings this year are Michigan (third), Illinois (ninth), Penn State (14th), Minnesota (19th) and Ohio State (21st). The University of California-Berkeley ranked first and the University of Virginia ranked second. Those rankings are similar to rankings of the past several years.

Among 249 national universities, including private institutions, UW–Madison ranks 32nd. Princeton ranked first, and Harvard and Yale tied for second.

U.S. News uses seven indicators to try to assess quality: academic reputation, retention of students, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, alumni giving, and, for national universities, graduation rate performance — the difference between the proportion of students expected to graduate and the proportion of those who actually do. The indicators include input measures that reflect a school’s student body, faculty and financial resources, and outcome measures that signal how well the institution does its job of educating students, U.S. News contends.

“As in past U.S. News rankings,” says Vice Chancellor John Torphy, “UW-Madison continues to rank among the nation’s top five public universities in terms of academic reputation.”

“While the U.S. News rankings can be a starting point, it is important that prospective students consider a variety of factors, not just rankings, in selecting the program and the campus that best fits their goals,” Torphy adds.

“UW-Madison is a great choice in terms of academic excellence and value,” Torphy continues. “The number of applicants for admission increased substantially this year, and I hope that the applicants chose Madison because of those factors and not simply because of its high ranking.”

The magazine says it has not changed its ranking formula but has recategorized many schools and added several institutions to the rankings.

U.S. News also published national rankings of some individual UW–Madison schools and specialty programs:

— The School of Business ranked 12th in the nation, tied with the University of Southern California’s Marshall School. The business school’s insurance/risk management program ranked fourth.

— The School of Engineering ranked 12th among engineering schools nationally that grant doctorates. The school’s chemical engineering and nuclear engineering programs ranked fourth.

“America’s Best Colleges” is slated to go on sale Monday, Sept. 10. Many rankings and some articles from the book will be in the Sept. 17 issue of U.S.News & World Report, which also goes on sale Sept. 10.