Carolina ranks fifth among national public universities

For the 15th straight year, the nation’s first public university has been ranked as one of the best.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – a top public research university with a strong focus on access and affordability and high graduation rates – ranks fifth among the nation’s best public universities, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2016 “America’s Best Colleges” guidebook, published Sept. 9 at www.usnews.com. This marks the 15th year Carolina has been ranked No. 5.

“Being ranked as a top five national public university by U.S. News and World Report for 15 consecutive years is a milestone that underscores the ongoing commitment to excellence shared by our students, faculty and staff,’’ said UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Carol L. Folt. “Carolina’s high academic national rankings across the board exemplify its leadership in research, scholarship, public service and access and affordability, all of which are at the heart of what a great public university brings to our nation.”

The order for the top five public universities ranked by U.S. News remained virtually unchanged: University of California-Berkeley was ranked first, followed by University of California-Los Angeles (second), University of Virginia (third), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (fourth) and UNC-Chapel Hill (fifth).

U.S. News rankings are based on several key measures of quality, weighted as follows: graduation and retention rates (22.5 percent), assessment of excellence by peers and counselors (22.5 percent), faculty resources (20 percent), student selectivity (12.5 percent), financial resources (10 percent), graduation rate performance (difference between actual and predicted graduation rates, 7.5 percent) and alumni giving (5 percent).

Carolina, which garnered a record 31,955 applications for 2015 admission, offers an even wider array of world-class resources. It has been ranked first among the 100 best U.S. public colleges and universities that offer student high-quality academics at an affordable price 14 straight times by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance; it features 325 study abroad programs in 70 countries; and it ranks among the nations most successful public universities in attracting research funding from federal agencies.

Additionally, Carolina provides outstanding access and affordability through signature programs like Carolina Covenant, UNC-Chapel Hill’s over a decade-long promise to low-income youth who earn admission that they can graduate debt-free with help from grants, scholarships and work-study jobs.

The University’s Carolina Firsts program has also created a pathway of opportunity for the almost 20 percent of UNC-Chapel Hill undergraduates who are the first in their family to attend college.

Among both national public and private universities, UNC maintained its 2015 guidebook ranking of 30th overall (tied with Boston College, up from 31st last year) according to U.S. News & World Report. Other publics were 20th (Berkeley), 23rd (UCLA), 26th (Virginia) and 29th (Michigan). Among the top five publics, overall composite scores shifted slightly from last year: Virginia (73) dropped three points, Berkeley (77), UCLA (74) and UNC-Chapel Hill (68) each dropped two points and Michigan (71) dropped one point.

Other U.S. News rankings results for UNC-Chapel Hill included the following:

• First among national public universities for the 11th consecutive year and 13th overall, a four spot jump from last year, in “Great Schools, Great Prices.” based on academic quality and net cost of attendance for a student receiving the average level of need-based financial aid in 2014-2015. Forty-one percent of UNC-Chapel Hill undergraduates received need-based aid in 2014. Carolina meets 100 percent of the documented need of undergraduates qualifying for need-based aid who apply on time.

• Eighth among publics and 15th overall for least debt, with 41 percent of students graduating with debt and an average amount of $18,945.

• A 97 percent average first-year retention rate for the seventh consecutive year.

• A 90 percent average six-year graduation rate, 2 percentage points better than U.S. News predicted.

• Fifteen percent of course sections enrolled 50 or more students, a two-point increase from the last two years. This remains the lowest rate among the other top publics for the eighth year in a row. Holding steady from last year, 39 percent of UNC-Chapel Hill’s course sections enrolled fewer than 20 students. Berkeley led the top publics at 59 percent.

• Fifth among the top publics and 86th overall in faculty resources. UNC-Chapel Hill was 68th the last two years, 70th three years ago, 59th four years ago and 47th five years ago. This category measures undergraduate class size; two academic years (2013-2014 and 2014-2015) of average total faculty compensation (salary and benefits) based on indexes weighted for regional differences; student-faculty ratio; and percentage of faculty who are full time and earned their field’s highest degree.

• Tied for second among publics and 22nd overall in high school counselors’ picks the same as last year.

• Seventh overall and tied for fourth among publics in best undergraduate business programs. Among specialty areas, Kenan-Flagler Business School ranked fifth in management.

• Fourth among publics and tied for 24th overall in best colleges for veterans, a reflection of Carolina’s growing support programs for military students including UNC Core, the Green Zone, the Veterans Resource Program and the Warrior Scholar program.