The university continues to rank near the top in the U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings of the nation’s best undergraduate colleges and universities. The 2010 rankings were released online at www.usnews.com.
U-M was ranked at No. 27 on the list of the best national universities, down one spot from last year.
On the list of the best public universities, U-M was ranked No. 4, down from a tie at No. 3 last year. Ranking ahead of the U-M this year on the list of the top 50 national public universities were the University of California-Berkeley, the University of California-Los Angeles and the University of Virginia.
U-M also ranked near the top on the list of the best business programs and the best engineering programs. The Stephen M. Ross School of Business was listed as the No. 4 program in the national, a slight change from the No. 3 ranking last year. Engineering maintained its No. 7 national ranking.
On the magazine’s list of Programs to Look For, U-M was recognized as one of the best schools for learning communities, undergraduate research and creative projects, service learning and study abroad opportunities.
UM-Dearborn also was rated among the best universities in the Midwest. It was tied at No. 27 with the University of Illinois-Springfield, up one spot from No. 28 last year.
While university officials are pleased that U-M consistently is ranked as one of the nation’s finest universities by U.S. News & World Report, they also note that this type of strict ranking of universities is not the most accurate measure of the quality of an institution of higher education.
According to U-M officials, who provide most of the data used in the magazine’s analysis, U.S. News & World Report uses expenditures per student as a significant factor in measuring quality. By using expenditures as an indicator for quality, the magazine penalizes institutions, like U-M, that find ways to operate more efficiently, the leaders say.
