Case Western Reserve University continues to be highly ranked among the nation's premier universities and remains the only Ohio institution among the top 50.

In the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings of academic quality, Case rated 37th among the country's top 50 doctoral institutions, the same ranking it received in 2002.

In its methodology of ranking national doctoral universities, U.S. News & World Report considers 249 universities-private and public -that offer a full range of undergraduate majors, plus master's degrees and doctorates, and emphasize faculty research. The magazine gathers data from each college on 16 indicators of academic excellence and uses seven indicators to measure academic quality-peer assessment, retention, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, graduation rate performance and alumni giving rate.

In its rankings, the magazine also assesses the country's best national liberal arts colleges, emphasizing undergraduate education; universities that provide a full range of undergraduate and master's degree programs only; regional comprehensive colleges that offer only bachelor's degrees; and the best undergraduate business and engineering programs.

"I'm very proud that Case ranks among the best institutions in the nation, but we still have much work ahead," said President Edward M. Hundert. "It's not good enough to just be in the top 50. We strive to move up in the rankings year after year. If we are to become the world's most powerful learning environment, we welcome being judged as much by our weakest programs as by our strongest. To showcase our powerful educational experience, Case's faculty, staff and students must focus on the difference between good programs and those that are truly outstanding."

The magazine also gave Case's undergraduate programs high marks. The undergraduate biomedical engineering program within the Case School of Engineering ranked fourth. The Case School of Engineering itself ranked 38th out of 83 engineering schools in the United States.

The Weatherhead School of Management's undergraduate programs were ranked 27th out of 45 business schools that responded to the magazine's annual survey.

Return to the online edition of the 8-28-03 Campus News.