Several Hampton Roads and Virginia universities rank among the top schools in the nation, according to the U.S. News and World Report’s 2017 College Rankings released Tuesday.
The University of Virginia tied with UCLA for second for public universities, a position the two both last held two years ago. In last year’s report, U.Va. was third among public universities. The College of William and Mary was ranked sixth in the same category for the fifth straight year, while Virginia Tech is No. 27 after being 26th in last year’s report.
U.Va. is No. 24 in the national universities category, up from the 26th spot last year. W&M is 32nd in national universities after trying Brandeis University in the No. 34 spot last year. Virginia Tech is 74th, a drop from 70th last year.
The publication considers national universities to be institutions that “offer a wide range of undergraduate majors as well as master’s and doctoral degrees; some emphasize research,” according to its website.
The 2017 rankings compare more than 1,800 United States-based institutions based on up to 15 measures of academic excellence. Student outcomes such as graduation and retention rates are weighted the most. Other factors include faculty resources, financial outcomes, expert opinion and student excellence.
The rankings also categorize universities that offer broad bachelor’s and master’s programs — few or no doctoral programs — into regional universities, split into North, South, Midwest and West.
Christopher Newport University is tied with Kentucky’s Asbury University as 14th best in the South region. Hampton University tied Arkansas’ John Brown University at no. 18. The rankings by CNU and HU were unchanged from last year’s report.
HU also ranked as the third-best historically black college or university, behind Spelman College and Howard University. HU also held the No. 3 spot last year.
U.S. News also ranks schools based on several sub categories, like business and engineering programs.
W&M is ranked as the 12th best undergraduate teaching university, a category that ranks schools that emphasize undergraduate education over the postgraduate research that is a priority at many universities, according to U.S. News. It was fourth last year.
U.Va. took home the No. 25 spot for “Most Innovative Schools,” a measure determined by peer assessment of improvements in terms of curriculum, faculty, students, campus life, technology or facilities. It tied with University of Maryland-College Park and Lehigh University.
Among business programs, U.Va.’s ranked sixth, and W&M and Virginia Tech tied Syracuse University, University of Arkansas and University of California-San Diego at 43rd.
Some schools ranked high for veterans based on their certification for the GI Bill and charging of in-state tuition for all veterans. U.Va. tied UCLA for 14th best among national universities. CNU was 10th in the South region, and HU came in at No. 13.
Visit http://usnews.com to view all the rankings.
Hammond can be reached by phone at 757-247-4951.