Of the eight Florida universities recognized nationally, five dropped in the U.S. News & World Report’s annual national rankings. Two universities climbed and one stayed steady.
Florida’s two top 25 public universities, University of Florida and Florida State University, each dropped — UF by one spot, from No. 7 last year to No. 8; and FSU by three spots, from No. 21 last year to No. 24.
Staying in the top 50 were Florida International University, which maintained its place at No. 46, and University of South Florida, which dropped three spots from No. 43 to No. 46. FIU is the best university in Florida, according to state Board of Governors metrics.
“For 10 consecutive years, the University of Florida has been recognized among the nation’s top public universities,” UF Board of Trustees Chair Mori Hosseini said in a news release.
“There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind now that this is where UF belongs, and even greater things are coming. That kind of consistency is the result of the hard work of our faculty, staff and students, the support of our Legislature and our governor and a shared commitment to making UF better every year.”
Two universities increased their ranks. Florida A&M University leaped 13 places, from No. 92 to No. 79. Florida Atlantic University moved into the double-digits, improving by one spot to No. 99.
The University of Central Florida dropped a spot, from 57th to 58th, and the University of North Florida dropped from No. 122 to No. 128.
The rankings consider metrics such as graduation rates, retention rates, earnings by major, a peer assessment, and Pell Grant recipients’ graduation rates.
FSU pointed out in its news release that the rankings no longer factor in the federal loans students take on.
Florida has among the lowest in-state tuition in the nation, meaning students have to borrow less, or no money at all, to attend state universities.
“Our responsibility is not to chase rankings but to create one of the nation’s best educational experiences,” FSU president Richard McCullough said. “That means continuing to invest in outstanding faculty, innovative academic programs and the resources that help students succeed from enrollment through graduation. If we remain focused on those goals, the results will follow.”
The top public school was the University of California, Berkeley, followed by the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of Michigan; the University of Virginia; and the University of North Carolina.
Among various rankings throughout the year, U.S. News & World Report’s are perhaps the most widely cited. In walking around some of the campuses, university display their ranking on light-post banners, for example.
FAMU lost a spot among all historically Black colleges and universities, falling from No. 5 to No. 6. It was passed by North Carolina A&T State University.
That means FAMU lost its seven-year streak as the No. 1 public HBCU in the nation.
New College of Florida dropped six places in the national liberal arts colleges category, from No. 10 to No. 16, among 39 schools in that category.
In a new category, UF and FSU rank in the Top 10 for “Best Value Schools for In-State Students,” with the Gainesville university ranked No. 3 and the Tallahassee university No. 7.
FIU maintained its No. 1 rank in the nation as the top performer for social mobility.
The chair of the Florida Board of Governors, Alan Levine, posted on social media his feeling that the peer-review metric damages Florida universities.
“This year, more than 400,000 people applied to a Florida university. The scoreboard says it all — Florida’s universities are among the highest value, best degrees you can pursue. So says the market,” Levine wrote. “Take away the subjective peer assessments, which make up 20% of the @usnews rankings, and Florida’s universities, already highly ranked, would skyrocket even higher.”
Rankings are frequently mentioned by university leaders, including by UF Board of Trustees Chair Mori Hosseini, in arguing against increasing the ratio of in-state students who attend state institutions.
During a Board of Governors meeting this month, Hosseini said UF is pursuing a Top 5 rank, and to do so will decrease enrollment to maintain the state’s required ratio of in-state students to out-of-state students and maintain higher GPA, SAT and ACT score expectations.
Florida Gulf Coast University was ranked No. 170 last year, but was not ranked this year.
Florida public schools
Best public institutions, rankings among 227 public universities, with change from previous year:
- University of Florida - #8 ↓1
- Florida State - #24 ↓3
- FIU| #46 No change
- UCF - #58 ↓ 1
- Florida A&M - #79 ↑13
- Florida Atlantic - #99 ↑1
- f North Florida - #128 ↓6
