Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
FAU lands spot on U.S. News college rankings
School places 281 out of 381 national universities
Florida Atlantic University has finally gotten some respect on the coveted U.S. News & World Report’s college rankings.
FAU placed 281 out of 381 national universities in the 2020 U.S. News rankings, released Monday. It’s the first time the Boca Raton-based university has scored high enough to have its ranking published on the list. The school also made the list of the nation’s top public universities for the first time, ranking at 140.
“Being recognized by U.S. News in this way is a wonderful endorsement of the good work we have pursued,” said FAU President John Kelly. “This should be just the beginning of our ascension into the top ranks of public universities in the United States as we continue to build on our successes and focus on strategic areas of improvement.”
U.S. News is the most recognized of all the college rankings and is used as a marketing tool to recruit students and faculty.
FAU, which once had a near open admission policy, has become more selective in recent years and has recruited more top-performing students. This year, it admitted 35 National Merit Finalists, the most ever, spokesman Joshua Glanzer said. The university’s graduation rate has improved from 40 percent a decade ago to 51 percent last year.
Spending on research has also increased from $30 million in 2015 to about $71 million this year, Glanzer said.
Florida State University had a big year in the rankings, vaulting from 70th place last year to 57th this year. Among
public universities, it jumped from 26th place to 18th.
It’s the greatest singleyear improvement in university history, FSU officials said.
“It’s an incredible accomplishment for Florida State University,” said President John Thrasher. “The credit goes to so many people — our faculty, our staff, and certainly, our great students. I couldn’t be prouder.”
Another factor was a decision by the Legislature to designate Florida State as “preeminent university” in 2013. The distinction, given to universities with high research and academic achievement, pumped millions of new money to help it become more nationally competitive.
The University of Florida, which also benefited from the same legislation, remained the state’s top performing university, climbing one spot to 34th among all universities. It also climbed one spot to 7th place among public universities.
Several schools saw big drops this year. Nova Southeastern University fell from 191 to 246, while Florida International University dropped from 187 to 218.
But that’s misleading, officials say, because the total number of ranked schools greatly increased, from 301 to 381. U.S. News moved many schools from a smaller regional category into the national list due to changes in the way the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching classifies high-research universities.
Nova Southeastern University remained in the top two-thirds of universities, even though its ranking plummeted.
“We’re pleased. It doesn’t sound good because our number isn’t as good,” said Kyle Fischer, vice president for public relations at NSU.
Keiser University and the University of North Florida both moved to the national list. UNF was ranked 42nd last year among regional Southern University. This year, it’s tied with FAU at 281 in the national list.
Keiser was 52nd on the regional list but placed at 272 on the national list.
“I’m very proud of the number. We were ahead of FAU and UNF and those are very good schools,” said Art Keiser, president and founder of the private university.
Several other Florida schools also placed on the list.
■ The University of Miami fell from 53rd to 57th.
■ The University of South Florida climbed from 124th to 104th.
■ The University of Central Florida placed at 166, compared to 165 last year.
■ Florida Institute of Technology fell from 177th to 202th.
■ Florida A&M University placed at 254th. Its rank was not published last year.
Princeton University remained the overall top-ranked school.