University of Texas at San Antonio moves up in latest college rankings

The University of Texas at San Antonio climbed 92 spots in the new U.S. News & World Report 2023-24 Best Colleges Rankings released Monday.

Why it matters: Many high school students and parents use the rankings as a guide in choosing colleges and universities to apply to.

Details: UTSA is now tied for No. 280 in the overall rankings and tied for No. 151 in the top public schools list.

• The University of Texas at Austin ranked No. 32 nationally and is No. 9 among best national public universities.
• Texas A&M is tied for No. 47 nationally and No. 20 in top public schools.

Plus, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley jumped 72 spots to tie for No. 227, and Texas State University jumped 51 spots to tie for No. 280.

The latest: This year's rankings saw had the most significant change in methodology in history, per U.S. News & World Report. The new list places more emphasis on social mobility and graduation outcomes.

• Consideration of class size, faculty with terminal degrees, alumni giving, high school class standing, and the proportion of graduates with federal loans no longer factor into an institution's ranking.

The other side: The rankings have been called unreliable. A number of higher education institutions — including Columbia University and Harvard Medical School — stopped providing data for them.

• U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, who has a history of criticizing the rankings, said they've created "an unhealthy obsession with selectivity."