For Dukies concerned about how their school stacks up, today's release of the U.S. News and World Report "Best Colleges 2011" brings relatively good news.
Duke is tied for ninth in the updated list of national universities offering doctoral degrees, a move up from last year when it was was ranked 10th. Duke shares its new spot with the University of Chicago and Dartmouth College.
Before last year—which was the University's lowest rank in a decade—Duke had been ranked eighth for three years. Harvard, Princeton and Yale Universities were the three top colleges this year, respectively. Last year, Princeton and Harvard were tied for the top spot.
U.S. News reports that it ranks national universities using data about 16 areas "related to academic excellence," which are then weighted. The magazine largely focuses on University-released data, including undergraduate academic reputation, graduation and freshman retention, student selectivity and faculty resources. U.S. News reported that it changed how it weighs certain criteria this year. "Graduation rate performance," which the magazine defines as "the difference between a school's actual graduation rate and the one predicted by U.S. News based on the students' test scores and institutional resources," increased to 7.5 percent, up from 5 percent in previous years.
This change in calculations may be accountable for some of the major changes among the top 10 this year. Robert Morse, director of data research for U.S. News & World Report, told The Huffington Post that this change helped Columbia University move from eighth to fourth, and also caused California Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology move from a fourth-place tie to a seventh-place tie.
Although its ranking changed, Duke's calculated score did not. Duke received 90 points out of a possible 100 both last year and this year.
Duke was also listed as the ninth school on the magazine's "Best Values" list. The magazine reports that it calculates this list using three variables: ratio of quality to price, percentage of undergraduates receiving need-based scholarships or grants and average discount.
The magazine also recognized Duke in four of eight "academic programs to look for." The magazine recognized the University's study abroad, service learning, writing in the disciplines and undergraduate research/creative projects programs. Duke received the same four distinctions last year.
Duke also tied Dartmouth in another listing. In a new ranking, high school guidance counselors ranked Duke 11th, giving the University a 4.7 out of 5. This ranking was compiled by surveying counselors at the magazine's list of "America's Best High Schools" about "which national universities they think offer the best undergraduate education to their students."
The Pratt School of Engineering also fared well in the updated rankings. Among colleges offering doctoral engineering degrees, Duke's undergraduate engineering program moved from a tie at No. 26 to a tie at No. 22 in the updated rankings, according to a Duke news release.
Duke's undergraduate biomedical engineering program was ranked second behind Johns Hopkins University.
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