Emory has maintained its No. 20 ranking by U.S. News& World Report for the fourth consecutive year in the publication's 2014 edition of "Best Colleges" released today.
This is also the 21st consecutive year that U.S. News has ranked Emory within the top 20 national universities.
This year, U.S. News changed its rating methodology to more heavily consider measures that indicate how well a school educates its students, rather than factors that reflect a school's student body, according to the U.S. News website.
More weight was given to having a higher-than-expected graduation rate, which measures the difference between a school's predicted graduation rate and its actual graduation rate, according to the U.S. News website.
In addition, U.S. News slightly increased the weight given to SAT and ACT scores of incoming freshmen while also reducing the weight given to high school class ranking. On its website, U.S. News said high-school class rankings are "less representative of each college's freshman class than it was five or 10 years ago."
The news organization, which has become the gold standard in college rankings since they began in 1983, said on its website that many schools' ranks will change in the 2014 list due to the methodology changes.
Emory's ranking has become a popular topic of discussion since last August, when the University admitted to falsifying SAT and ACT scores and incoming freshmen class ranks for more than a decade and when Forbes announced on its website this summer that it removed Emory from its rankings for the next two years.
Last year, Emory submitted its corrected data in time for the 2013 rankings and launched a corrective action plan to make sure data is submitted accurately. U.S. News also announced at the time that Emory's rankings for 2011 and 2012 would stay at No. 20.
"Emory's eminent faculty, engaged scholars and diverse and rich academic environment have established Emory as a leading center of discovery, teaching and learning," Claire Sterk, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, said in Sept. 10 University press release. "External recognition is gratifying, but our focus continues to be on providing the best possible academic experience for our students."
College Dean Robin Forman agreed with Sterk, writing in an email to the Wheel, "I do not really put much stock in such rankings, and it means much more to me when our students and faculty speak with great enthusiasm about their Emory experiences," he wrote. "That said, It is always nice to receive such positive recognition, as it brings more visibility and attention to the spectacular work taking place in offices, laboratories, studios and classrooms across our campus."
Emory was listed 19th for universities offering the "best value." The Goizueta Business School – which is ranked separately from the University's main undergraduate program based on a peer survey of deans and senior faculty – was 13th in the undergraduate business rankings, up five spots from last year.
– By Nicholas Sommariva
