MADISON- University of Wisconsin System campuses came way up the charts in the most recent U. S. News and World Report college rankings, according to reports released late Thursday.
Half of the top master’s level public universities in the Midwest were UW campuses. The guide ranks UW-La Crosse third on the list. UW-Eau Claire ranks fourth on the same list, and UW-Stevens Point is ranked sixth. UW-Whitewater is tied at ninth and UW-Green Bay and UW-River Falls tied for 11th on the list, according to the 2003 “America’s Best Colleges” guidebook published by U.S. News and World Report.
The system’s flagship campus, UW-Madison, is ranked 7th on the guidebook’s list of the best public doctoral universities and ranks 31st among all universities, up one slot from last year’s rankings.
UW-Milwaukee also dramatically improved its ranking – jumping from the fourth tier of national doctoral universities to the third tier. The rankings hit the newsstands on Monday, Sept. 16.
“We’re very proud of our campus rankings – they are just one of the many indicators of quality throughout the UW System,” said UW System president Katharine C. Lyall. “It’s nice to be recognized for offering a world-class education, right here in the Midwest, that is truly worth every penny.”
U.S. News and World Report weighed all campuses using several criteria: peer assessment of academic reputation, retention of students, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving. Graduation rates were also weighed for national universities.
These indicators show elements of a campus’s student body, faculty, financial resources and outcomes that suggest how well the school educates students, U.S. News has said.
In addition to the six UW System campuses on the list of the top 12 public master’s universities were Missouri’s Truman State University (1st), followed by the University of Northern Iowa (2nd), Eastern Illinois University (5th), Washburn University (7th), the University of Michigan-Dearborn (8th), and the University of Minnesota-Duluth (tied at 9th).
More detailed rankings are available at U.S. News and World Report’s web site, http://www.usnews.com.