Several Michigan universities and colleges' rankings dropped in the latest edition of the U.S. News & World Report's annual ranking of the nation's best four-year schools.
There was a lot of movement in the 2027 rankings, U.S. News said, which it attributed to a new earnings metric that evaluates graduate earnings four years postgraduation; category reclassifications; and other methodological refinements.
"With families increasingly scrutinizing the true cost and return on investment of a college degree, our goal is to provide clear, actionable data," LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News, said in a news release announcing the results.
In the overall "Best Colleges" ranking, the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor is the highest-ranked
Michigan university at 25, down from 20 a year ago.
Here's how other Michigan universities and colleges fared:
- 69: Michigan State University, down from 64 a year ago
- 169: Michigan Technological University, down from 158 a year ago
- 186 (tie): University of Detroit Mercy, down from 183 a year ago
- 186 (tie): Wayne State University, down from 179 a year ago
- 227: University of Michigan-Dearborn (not previously ranked)
- 262 (tie): Andrews University, down from 242 a year ago
- 262 (tie): Central Michigan University, up from 283 a year ago
- 276: Western Michigan University, up from 293 a year ago
- 308: Oakland University, up from 318 a year ago
- 317: Ferris State University, up from 329 a year ago
- 353: University of Michigan-Flint, up from 384 a year ago
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) took the No. 1 spot among national universities in the rankings, replacing Princeton University in the top position it had held since the 2012 edition. Princeton University is ranked second and Harvard University third.
U.S. News ranked the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor third in a ranking of the best national public schools. The University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, Los Angeles tied for the first spot.
Kettering University is ranked the fourth-best regional university in the Midwest by U.S. News.
Time magazine named the University of Michigan the highest-ranked public university in America and the ninth-ranked school in the world earlier this year.
Contact Adrienne Roberts: amroberts@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How Michigan schools fared in U.S. News' ranking of best colleges
