Emory Report

August 24, 1998

Volume 51, No. 1

U.S. News & World Report ranks Emory 16th-best national university Emory ranked 16th in the national university category of this year's U.S. News & World Report annual college quality rankings. University officials expected the school's ranking would be lower than last year's ninth-place ranking because of changes in the magazine's methodology. On March 10, President Bill Chace wrote to U.S. News editor James Fallows to point out a consequence of the changes. "We will have some explaining to do to people who pay attention to your survey," Chace wrote. "We will have to say, as we now often say, that the many changes over time in the survey results are not a consequence of changes in the institutions themselves, but continual alterations in the formula you employ." Noting the new ranking, Provost Rebecca Chopp remarked, "Although I continue to believe that institutions as complex as universities cannot be reduced to a few lines of numbers, it is always gratifying to be on U.S. News' best universities list. Overall, I can certainly say that Emory is a stronger university this year than last. Next week we are enrolling the most academically gifted freshman class in our history, and faculty quality continues to grow. This is a great time to be at Emory." Emory's rankings in the survey's components were: 25th in academic reputation (23rd in '97), 20th in student selectivity (19th in '97), 12th in faculty resources (eighth in '97), 16th in overall financial resources (16th in '97), 14th in graduation and retention (ninth in '97) and 18th in alumni giving (22nd in '97). Last year Emory was in a four-way tie for a ninth place ranking; in 1996 it was 19th. Emory has been on the Top 25 list since 1992 and is the only Georgia university ever to appear on the list. Emory also was ranked 28th among national universities for "best value-discount price," which relates the cost of attending an institution to its quality. The quality rankings will appear in the Aug. 31 issue of the magazine. U.S. News Online has also published the Best Colleges rankings on the web at <http://www.usnews>. --Jan Gleason Return to Aug. 24, 1998, contents page