US News and World Reports released their 2015 rankings for national colleges. The rankings are admittedly flawed, but just for sh!ts and grins, here are the AAC schools.

54. Tulane
58. SMU
58. UCONN
88. Tulsa
121. Temple
129. Cincinnati
161. USF
173. UCF
189. Houston
Tier 2. Memphis
Tier 2. ECU

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreview...iversities

Wow USF jumped 18 spots from last year!!! We are on the right track, GO BULLS. Oh and to the UCF alum, what happened, we were dead even last year? Serious question, no flaming.....

(09-09-2014 07:29 AM)burkat Wrote:  US News and World Reports released their 2015 rankings for national colleges. The rankings are admittedly flawed, but just for sh!ts and grins, here are the AAC schools.

54. Tulane
58. SMU
58. UCONN
88. Tulsa
121. Temple
129. Cincinnati
161. USF
173. UCF
189. Houston
Tier 2. Memphis
Tier 2. ECU

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreview...iversities

Cincinnati contines their ascention towards behind a top 100 school in this ranking. If I am not mistaken UC has climbed up 27 points in the last three years our so.

dropped houston almost 25 last year ..jumped us up 10 this year

This shows the trends since 2010. UC has climbed 6 spots this year and 27 since 2010.

In other USNWR Rankings, US News Top National Up and Coming Top National Universities, UCF this year jumps up to #3! Tulane tied for 10th this year. (Believe UCF has been listed in the Top 15, usually in the Top 10, every year US News has put out this list).

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreview...?src=stats

The rankings are obviously bad but I always laugh at seeing Northeastern (a good university at #42 over America's top U's) or Clemson/TCU above high powered AAU schools, or heck even the two SUNYs Binghamton and Stony Brook ahead of Buffalo, which is the flagship.

Something's wrong but who really cares.

The 6-year graduation rate comprises about 25% of the USNWR ranking. Not surprisingly, the rankings are highly correlated with the 6-year grad rate.

This is the area in which Houston can and will make the most improvement. We've taken strides. The 6-year grad rate is such a lagging indicator that it simply takes time for improvement to show.

(09-09-2014 07:47 AM)burkat Wrote:  This shows the trends since 2010. UC has climbed 6 spots this year and 27 since 2010.

tie for largest gain since 2010

(09-09-2014 07:50 AM)upstater1 Wrote:  The rankings are obviously bad but I always laugh at seeing Northeastern (a good university at #42 over America's top U's) or Clemson/TCU above high powered AAU schools, or heck even the two SUNYs Binghamton and Stony Brook ahead of Buffalo, which is the flagship.

Something's wrong but who really cares.

I don't think that there's any school that has zoomed up the rankings in the US News rankings the way that Northeastern has over the past decade, especially considering how glacial changes occur in those rankings in general (where the vast majority of schools are in the exact same tier that they were 20 years ago). When I was applying to colleges in the mid-1990s, Northeastern was essentially on the same tier as Arizona State in those rankings. The Chicago-based perception was that it was a place for kids who *really* wanted to spend 4 years at any school in Boston and had money to blow. The thought that it would be tied with BU in the rankings (which is where Northeastern is this year) and ahead of schools like Wisconsin would have been unthinkable.

That doesn't mean that the US News is necessarily wrong - I do know that Northeastern's co-op program has become a massive recruiting tool in the wake of the sluggish job market for college grads, so the admissions stats have risen accordingly. If your school is looking to move up in the rankings (and believe me - *everyone* is looking to move up in the rankings), Northeastern is who you need to study.

(09-09-2014 07:45 AM)pesik Wrote:  dropped houston almost 25 last year ..jumped us up 10 this year

Oh yea, well ECU can beat that. ECU went up about 15 spots last year and is completely out of the rankings this year after being Tier 1 for the last 5 years. I don't get these rankings.

After doing a little research I think that I might this ranking a little more.

14. Why did my school's rank go up – or down – this year?

Each school's circumstances are unique, but we can tell you in general terms why rank changes took place in the 2015 edition of Best Colleges.

The main reason a school moved up or down in the rankings is because some or all of the data it reported that was factored into the rankings moved higher or lower when compared with the previous year's data. A college's overall rank may change from one year to the next when its data varies either upward or downward on one or more measures of academic quality used by U.S. News in the rankings. Or, if the data didn't change, then a school's position when measured relative to one or more of its peers in its ranking category may have changed.

In other words, a school's rank can vary because its performance on a measure such as graduation and retention rates changes or because the performance of other schools in the same peer group on a measure such as graduation and retention rates changes.

Also, in some cases, schools reported more complete data – or less complete data – on the U.S. News statistical survey used to compile the 2015 edition of the rankings than they did on the survey used for the 2014 edition. A change in how schools report their data from one year to the next is the other key factor in why some schools have moved up or down in the rankings.

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-col...ankings#17

Where's Savacool?

(09-09-2014 07:57 AM)CougarRed Wrote:  The 6-year graduation rate comprises about 25% of the USNWR ranking. Not surprisingly, the rankings are highly correlated with the 6-year grad rate.

This is the area in which Houston can and will make the most improvement. We've taken strides. The 6-year grad rate is such a lagging indicator that it simply takes time for improvement to show.

And such weight on 6 year grad rates seems misguided.

Mostly they indicate wealth of the student body, which has little to do with the strength of the university.

This is why public schools will always lag behind public schools in this regard.

It also encourages universities to drop standards.

(09-09-2014 07:57 AM)CougarRed Wrote:  The 6-year graduation rate comprises about 25% of the USNWR ranking. Not surprisingly, the rankings are highly correlated with the 6-year grad rate.



This is the area in which Houston can and will make the most improvement. We've taken strides. The 6-year grad rate is such a lagging indicator that it simply takes time for improvement to show.

Tulane has too FWIW. I think that'll start to show next year.

(09-09-2014 09:57 AM)rollgreenwave Wrote:  

(09-09-2014 07:57 AM)CougarRed Wrote:  The 6-year graduation rate comprises about 25% of the USNWR ranking. Not surprisingly, the rankings are highly correlated with the 6-year grad rate.

This is the area in which Houston can and will make the most improvement. We've taken strides. The 6-year grad rate is such a lagging indicator that it simply takes time for improvement to show.

Tulane has too FWIW. I think that'll start to show next year.

While we are awaiting the 2014 class metrics, here's a chart (click on it to open) showing the 2011-13 freshman classes at UH. 35% of our freshman now come from the Top 10% of their HS class. Five years ago, that number was 20%. The "Top 10% HS Class" is strongly correlated with 4-year graduation rates. We'll see these rates start to rise very soon.

Our average SATs are up 70 points in the last 5 years.

In 2012, the average 6-year college graduation rate was 59% in the US. That's 57% for public schools, and 66% for private non-profit schools. At UH, the goal is to meet or exceed the national average as quickly as possible. Probably the earliest that will happen is Spring of 2018 with Spring of 2020 a more realistic time frame. We are currently at 48% which is 8% better than 5 years ago.

(09-09-2014 07:47 AM)KnightLight Wrote:  In other USNWR Rankings, US News Top National Up and Coming Top National Universities, UCF this year jumps up to #3! Tulane tied for 10th this year. (Believe UCF has been listed in the Top 15, usually in the Top 10, every year US News has put out this list).

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreview...?src=stats

Always "up and coming" in these rankings, but never actually moving up

Sigh. Our worst ranking in history

(09-09-2014 07:40 AM)HPbull24 Wrote:  Wow USF jumped 18 spots from last year!!! We are on the right track, GO BULLS. Oh and to the UCF alum, what happened, we were dead even last year? Serious question, no flaming.....

(09-09-2014 07:29 AM)burkat Wrote:  US News and World Reports released their 2015 rankings for national colleges. The rankings are admittedly flawed, but just for sh!ts and grins, here are the AAC schools.

54. Tulane
58. SMU
58. UCONN
88. Tulsa
121. Temple
129. Cincinnati
161. USF
173. UCF
189. Houston
Tier 2. Memphis
Tier 2. ECU

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreview...iversities

Judy's push for AAU status has improved many of the metrics used by this rankings. Good job by USF

(09-09-2014 10:43 AM)JDTulane Wrote:  Sigh. Our worst ranking in history

Eh, 50 is the new 40. Schools are becoming more and more competitive, so 52 is still pretty good.

Reading ECU posts on this board, I would have thought they would have been ranked in the top 10 in everything....exactly what is tier 2????