Washington State University edged higher in this year’s U.S. News and World Report annual ranking of national universities, as a direct result of WSU’s efforts to attract better prepared students and improve the undergraduate experience.
WSU is tied for 112 in this fall’s rankings compared to a tie for 120 in 2005. Among the national universities in the rankings, only WSU and two other Northwest universities are in the top two tiers. The others are the University of Washington (tied for 42) and the University of Oregon (tied for 120). The ranking of both public and private institutions is broken into four tiers.
Comparing the August 2005 and August 2006 rankings, WSU has moved up largely because:
* The academic abilities of WSU’s entering freshmen are improving, as seen in average SAT test scores that have increased to a range of 1000-1210 from 950-1170 in the previous ranking. The range is the 25th to 75th percentile of scores.
* The percent of incoming freshmen in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class has increased to 37 percent from 30 percent.
* WSU has become more selective, accepting 74 percent of applicants versus 78 percent.
* WSU’s undergraduate student graduation rate has improved to 63 percent in the last ranking period compared to 60 percent in the previous one.
“We don’t chase these rankings, but we don’t dismiss them either, because we know prospective students and their parents use them,” said Robert C. Bates, provost and executive vice president.
“Instead, we focus on very specific, strategic improvements in our undergraduate education and student experience, as well as on attracting students very well prepared for a challenging WSU education.”
He said these are the incremental changes that make WSU better, and the higher rankings are a positive reflection of those real improvements.
