Virginia Tech gets a boost in college ranking after shake-up
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Virginia Tech is one of the 20 best public universities in the nation and the second best in Virginia, according to U.S. News & World Report's latest best colleges report.
What's happening: U.S. News' report, one of the most influential and controversial annual college rankings, is out and there has been some big movement in school positions across the country, particularly public universities.
Why it matters: U.S. News rolled out a major overhaul of its formula for this year's rankings in response to criticism that its decades-long methodology reinforced elitism, CBS News reports.
- Its new algorithm puts greater emphasis on social mobility and student outcomes and catapulted more than a dozen public universities up the list.
Zoom in: Virginia Tech jumped 10 places in two years to its No. 20 ranking among public universities this year and 15 spots in a year to the 47th best university overall, public or private, the Times-Dispatch reports.
- Meanwhile, William & Mary dropped 10 spots from last year to 23rd among public colleges and No. 3 in the state.
Just two years ago, William & Mary ranked in the top 10 public universities in the country.
The rest of Virginia public universities, listed in order of state ranking:
- UVA: No. 5 among public universities, No. 24 in the nation overall (up one spot).
- George Mason, No. 51 public, 105 overall (up 32 spots);
- JMU No. 64 public, 124 overall (up 26 spots);
- VCU, No. 76 public, 142 overall (up 23 spots);
- ODU, No. 151 public, 280 overall (up 19 spots);
- Radford, No. 162 public (up seven spots), 304 overall.
Of note: Other Virginia colleges were ranked as regional universities or liberal arts colleges.