UC Davis was named No. 8 public university in the country in U.S. News and World Report’s 2013 Best Colleges rankings, Sept. 12, moving up a spot on the list since last year.
The university placed No. 38 for a second year in overall rankings of public and private universities.
The move up from No. 9 in the 2012 rankings to No. 8 this year can be attributed to the peer reputation data, as U.S. News and World Report solicits surveys from administrators in higher education and factors the results into 22.5 percent of the total, according to Barry Shiller, interim executive director of Strategic Communications at UC Davis.
“That’s a really positive barometer in terms of what the public thinks about UC Davis,” he said.
“Though it holds less weight in the overall total, at 20 percent, graduation and retention rates also had a part in the school’s No. 8 placement,” Shiller said. “The graduation and retention of first- to second-year students incrementally improved … and the retention rate is a measure of student satisfaction and that’s very important.”
UC San Diego is tied at No. 8 with UC Davis.
In an interview by UC Davis News and Information, UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi said the high ranking is due to university stakeholders.
“UC Davis’ reputation continues to grow as one of the nation’s elite public universities, where innovative research is addressing the world’s most critical issues and students are equipped for productive, meaningful lives. This honor attests to our outstanding faculty, students and staff and our many loyal friends and supporters,” she said.
Other points that are factored in for the rankings are student selectivity for the fall 2011 entering class, at 15 percent, faculty resources for the 2011-12 academic school year, at 20 percent, financial resources at 10 percent, alumni donations at 5 percent and graduation rate performance at 7.5 percent.
Enrique J. Lavernia, dean of the College of Engineering and distinguished professor of engineering, told UC Davis News and Information in a press release that the university will continue moving forward.
“We are well positioned to move forward in many critical areas including sustainability, healthcare, manufacturing and information technology,” he said.
This summer, UC Davis was also named “Coolest School” by Sierra Magazine for its sustainability and conservation efforts and No. 18 in The Daily Meal’s list of 52 Best Colleges for Food in America.
UC Davis follows the Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, Ga.) at No. 7, College of William and Mary (Williamsburg, Va.) at No. 6, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill at No. 5, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor at No. 4, University of Virginia (Charlottesville, Va.) and University of California, Los Angeles tied at No. 2 and University of California, Berkeley at No. 1.
MUNA SADEK can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.
