Florida State University’s march to the nation’s Top 15 public universities took a few steps back in the latest U.S. News & World Report’s “2023-2024 Best Colleges" rankings.
After changes to the media company's methodology, FSU fell four spots to No. 23, tied with the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and the College of William & Mary.
FSU had been ranked in the Top 20 for four consecutive years — where it was No. 19 last year, tied with the University of Maryland, the University of Washington and Rutgers.
The slip comes despite FSU improving in each of the categories measured in the 2022 rankings. In addition, FSU had its highest-ever ranking in the overall list of public and private national universities at No. 53 — tied with Case Western Reserve University, Northeastern University, University of Minnesota Twin Cities and William & Mary — which is up two spots from last year.
FSU ranking in 2022:
In an interview, FSU President Richard McCullough told the Tallahassee Democrat FSU's fall was “odd” but also emblematic of a kind of “rankings chaos” in the higher education industry.
“I think it’s a wake-up call in terms of the outside world’s dependence on these rankings as a measure of quality,” McCullough said.
The Wall Street Journal and Niche also have their own rankings with vastly different results. Niche, which was founded in 2002, ranked Florida State No. 11 on its list of top national public universities, up two places from No. 13 last year. The rankings site also declared that the university is the No. 1 school for the Best Greek Life and No. 2 on the national list of Top Party Schools among 1,512 other schools.
Other FSU news:FSU trustees give President McCullough a salary increase to $1M and a strong evaluation
Rankings reshuffled amid new methodology
The U.S. News & World Report's decision to retool its methodology by changing 22 metrics plays into FSU's lower ranking this year, removing the factors of class size, alumni giving rates, the percentage of faculty with a terminal degree and students’ high school standing — all components that FSU scored well in when they were a part of the metrics, according to a university news release.
Based on the university's own calculations, FSU would be No. 16 in this year’s U.S. News rankings among national public universities if the metrics did not change, according to McCullough.
“We’re just trying to be better at everything, and hopefully the rankings will take care of themselves,” McCullough said.
How did your school do?
Meanwhile, the University of California, Berkeley was tied with the University of California, Los Angeles in leading the U.S. News & World Report's rankings of the nation's public universities, with the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor completing the top three list.
The University of Florida — which was ranked No. 5 last year, dropped one spot down to No. 6 in this year’s list, tied with the University of California, Davis and the University of California, San Diego.
Florida A&M University remains the top public HBCU in the nation and ranked no. 91 among public universities — tied with California State University San Bernardino, Kansas State University, The University of Alabama and University of Hawaii at Manoa.
That moves FAMU up a whopping 12 spots from last year to meet the long-time goals of stepping into the nation’s Top 100 public universities.
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President says FSU won't be 'driven by the rankings'
Although the slip in the rankings interrupts FSU’s steady steps toward being in the Top 15 and thwarts marketing efforts of being in the Top 20, improvements were seen in several areas.
In the graduation and retention rates category, FSU ranked No. 24 among public universities as it currently holds a record 96% first-year retention rate, which measures how many first-year students stay enrolled from one fall semester to the next, and a 75% four-year graduation rate — which is an all-time high from 74% last year.
“Students and their families know that Florida State University is devoted to seeing our students leave with their degrees in hand,” Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Jim Clark said in a prepared statement.
The U.S. News and World Report’s metric changes go toward efforts of placing more emphasis on a school’s success in graduating students from different backgrounds, according to a CNN article.
“I think the rankings play an important role in giving people a rough guide or idea of equality, but rough is to be underlined,” McCullough said.
One of the report’s new factors this year is considering the graduation rate of first-generation students who receive federal financial aid.
FSU ranked No. 17 among public universities in the metric as it continues to uphold its nationally recognized (CARE) which supports first-generation college students with low-income backgrounds.
With inclusion in the prestigious Association of American Universities still being a goal of the university, McCullough does not see FSU's placement in this year’s rankings affecting their efforts toward a possible membership in the future since AAU’s metrics are research focused.
“We’re not going to be driven by the rankings,” McCullough said. “We’re going to be driven by what we think makes a great university.”
How Florida universities fared in the rankings
Here are the placements of the Florida State University System in the U.S. News & World Report 2023-2024Best Colleges rankings of public universities:
- 6. University of Florida
- 23. Florida State University
- 45. University of South Florida
- 64. Florida International University
- 64. University of Central Florida
- 91. Florida A&M University
- 112. Florida Atlantic University
- 129. University of North Florida
- 162. Florida Gulf Coast University
- (Not ranked) Florida Polytechnic University
Contact Tarah Jean at tjean@tallahassee.com or follow her on twitter @tarahjean_.
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