How Miami, UC, Xavier stack up in new U.S. News & World Report rankings

Miami University and the University of Cincinnati continue to rise in U.S. News & World Report rankings.

The magazine released its 2018 rankings Tuesday, putting Miami at 78 and UC at 133 among all national universities.

Miami also ranked fifth for undergraduate teaching, meaning the faculty has an unusually strong commitment to undergraduate teaching. UC was listed among the top 20 schools with “outstanding examples of academic programs” for internships.

Xavier University came out on top among peer institutions, ranking fifth among regional universities in the Midwest. The Williams College of Business was ranked 128th in the country, up five spots from last year.

Miami's Farmer School of Business is among the top 50 business programs in the nation, coming at 45th best, up three spots from 2017. UC's Lindner College of Business broke into the top 100 this year, jumping more than 20 spots to 91.

Northern Kentucky University is also trending upward. It ranks 73rd among regional universities in the South, up about 10 spots from last year. NKU had the lowest graduation rate in 2016 among listed Greater Cincinnati schools at 38 percent though.

U.S. News conducts an annual assessment of more than 1,600 of the country’s four-year colleges and universities for its report, providing a highly touted guide for college-bound students and their parents.

The rankings focus on academic excellence and emphasize student outcomes, with graduation rate and freshmen retention carrying 30 percent of the weight.

UC set an enrollment record this fall when it welcomed the largest incoming class in school history this fall. Miami's freshmen class was also the largest and most diverse it has ever seen.

Xavier and UC were on the list for A+ schools for B students, a category described as where “nonsuperstars have a decent shot at being accepted and thriving.” To make the list, schools had to admit a “meaningful proportion of applicants whose test scores and class standing put them in non-A territory.” Miami, Xavier and UC were on the list last year.

Thomas More College's rankings dropped again to 80 among regional universities in the South. Mount St. Joseph University also dropped about 10 spots for the second year in a row to 87 among regional universities in the Midwest.

No local schools ranked among the best nationally for value, innovation or ethnic or economic diversity.

Miami fell out of the top 30 best public national universities. UC, Miami and Mount St. Joseph also fell out of the rankings for the best colleges for veterans among their peer institutions. Xavier, however, remained the fourth best college for veterans among regional universities in the Midwest.

The schools are ranked on 15 academic measures, including average first-year students retention rate, graduation rates, class size, ACT/SAT scores, freshmen in the top of their high school class, acceptance rates and average alumni giving.

Brian Kelly, editor and chief content officer of U.S. News, said in a news release that graduation and retention rates are important indicators of how well a school supports its students both academically and financially.

More: Are college freshmen really getting smarter each year?

The national universities category consists of 311 public, private and for-profit institutions that offer a wide range of undergraduate majors as well as master’s and doctoral degrees.

The regional universities category consists of schools that provide a full range of undergraduate majors and master’s programs, but offer few, if any, doctoral programs. The 659 universities in this category are not ranked nationally but rather against their peer group in one of four regions – North, South, Midwest and West. These schools tend to draw students most heavily from surrounding states, according to U.S. News.

The rankings for the accredited undergraduate business programs are based on surveys of business school deans and senior faculty.