UConn Stays in Top 25 in U.S. News College Rankings

STORRS, CT — The University of Connecticut dropped four spots, but remained in the Top 25 of the nation's public institutions in the latest U.S. News & World Report ranking.

UConn was ranked No. 22 among national public universities in the new listing, down from last year’s spot at No. 18.

The ranking, released Monday, shows that UConn continues to deliver strong performances in student retention and graduation rates, student selectivity, academic reputation, and faculty resources.

It stayed steady or improved in almost all measures of institutional quality.

UConn is among the top 10 institutions this year in freshman retention rates among the top 30 public universities, with 93 percent of students returning after their first year. It was No. 4 in class size indicators due to having a small number of classes (16 percent) with more than 50 students.

However, with the measure of financial resources counting for 10 percent of each school’s score, cuts in UConn’s state grant aid over the past several years was a factor in UConn’s overall ranking, according to the report.

Although UConn remains among the top 25 national public universities for the eighth consecutive year, UConn President Susan Herbst has said consistently that the cuts in state aid would have an impact in the ranking.

“This is unfortunate, but it is not a surprise,” Herbst said of this year’s change. “I have said for several years, in both public and private discussions, that UConn’s financial struggles tied to reduced state support for its operating budget would eventually be reflected in U.S. News. It is frustrating to lose ground in this ranking because of that, even as UConn continues to do very well when it comes to key measures of student success, our faculty, and our academic strength.

“It is vital that the state, the university community, and prospective students know that the reasons behind this drop are primarily about our finances, not the quality of the education that UConn offers."

UConn officials said, since 2010, state funding for UConn and UConn Health decreased by $163.8 million.

Also, the state’s unfunded pension liability has dramatically increased the cost of employee fringe benefits, which are determined by the state, not UConn. The cost of fringe benefits has increased by 73 percent over the past eight years.

“We should be proud that UConn remains a top 25 rated public university. Connecticut residents can get a world-class education at a relatively affordable cost," state Rep. Gregg Haddad (D-Mansfield) said. “Unfortunately, those of us who believe strongly in our public colleges had to fight off deep reductions in the general fund resources the legislature provides to help UConn students. While we were able to defeat those deep cuts, the compromise budget included bigger reductions than Democrats had proposed. Now we see the consequences of those cuts.”

See the full U.S. News report here.

Photo Credit: Chris Dehnel

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