DU ranked No. 83 among national universities and named as No. 13 most up-and-coming university in the annual “Best College” rankings by U.S. News & World Report released on Wednesday.
DU dropped one place in the rankings overall, down from No. 82 where the university placed last year. Positions are assigned out of 129 universities that were ranked within the report at a “tier one” level.
U.S. News & World Report’s annual “Best College” rankings are a respected source of evaluation which millions read each year. Rankings are assigned through evaluation of several factors of quality, including class sizes, peer assessment, selectivity, financial aid and alumni giving. These scores are averaged to determine a ranking based on a points system for each university.
According to Provost Greg Kvistad, DU’s drop in rank is not reflective of a change in university quality, but instead a slight fluctuation to be expected from the ranking system.
“It doesn’t tell us much about what we need to address that we can decipher,” he said. “It is not a real clear difference.”
Kvistad said that DU should be proud of the university’s standing as one of the top 100 nationwide.
“Given the amount of colleges in the U.S., No. 83 is a solid, strong achievement,” he said. “It says a lot about our quality of students… and speaks volumes towards our commitment to the individual.”
DU was also named as No. 13 most up-and-coming university by the publication, a ranking which was given to only 16 universities nation-wide. According to Kvisad, this ranking is more significant than the overall numbers because it is decided through a peer-review process by other universities.
“It indicates that we are engaging in interesting things and people out there in other colleges and universities are taking notice,” said Kvistad.
He pointed in particular to the university’s record for creating new faculty positions. In the last four years, the university has hired 57 new faculty positions according to Kvistad.
“I think that does play into the peer rankings because we are out there hiring people when that is not something everyone can do right now,” he said.
The Colorado School of Mines ranked highest in Colorado at No. 77 overall, one point ahead of DU, with CU Boulder ranking at No. 97 and Colorado State University at No. 134 overall.
Other schools which tied for 83rd with DU in the rankings are Drexel University, Indiana-Bloomington University, Marquette University Clark University and University of Tulsa.
According to Kvistad, the university will continue to gain recognition through the presidential debate to be held on-campus Oct. 3, which will bring the attention of national and international media to DU.
“We are really looking for the debates to make an impact next year in the rankings, this is a very strong opportunity for us,” he said.
