UWSP ranks high according to national publication

The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point has been named to the first tier of rankings among Midwest regional universities by a national publication.

U.S. News and World Report’s ratings released today named UWSP fourth in Tier One of Midwestern universities.

Chancellor Tom George expressed his delight with the rating, saying, "UWSP is an outstanding comprehensive university which is available to students at a very reasonable cost. Of course, it should be ranked among the top undergraduate campuses in the nation."

Other UW System campuses in the ratings include UW-Eau Claire at number three, UW-Whitewater tied for number four with UWSP, and UW-LaCrosse at number six among the regional universities and UW-Madison at number 36 among national universities.

When asked why they rank colleges every year, U.S. News editors answered, "A college education is one of the most important—and often one of the most costly—investments that prospective students will ever make. For this reason, we believe that students and their families should have as much information as possible about the comparative merits of America’s colleges and universities. The data we gather and the rankings of schools that arise from this data serve as an objective guide by which students and their parents can compare schools."

The method used by U.S. News to rank campuses uses three basic steps. First, the colleges are categorized by their mission and region. Second, the magazine gathers data from each institution including 16 separate indicators of academic excellence. Each factor is assigned a weight in the formula. Third, the schools are ranked against their peer group, based on the composite weighted scores.

-30-