Every year the U.S. News & World Report releases a list ranking universities across the country. This year, Arizona State University is outside of the top 100 national universities, while the University of Arizona made the cut.

Both universities moved up the list compared to 2020 rankings, where they tied for 117th place. For the 2021 report, UA ranked 97th and ASU 103rd for top national universities.

For top public universities assessed by U.S. News & World Report, UA ranked 48 and ASU ranked 53.

Northern Arizona University is further down the list ranking 284th nationally and 131st for public universities. 

“This 36th edition of Best Colleges evaluates more than 1,400 colleges and universities on 17 indicators of academic quality,” U.S. News & World Report said in a press release.

Although ASU slipped behind UA in the 2021 report, ASU was named the most innovative university for the 6th consecutive year.

This title is voted upon by top academics including college presidents, provosts and deans, and a college must receive a minimum of seven nominations to appear on the list, the report said.

The U.S. News & World Report also assesses universities for categories including best value, top undergraduate programs and top academic programs. 

The best value category assesses academic quality and cost after accounting for total expenses and financial aid, the report said. In this category UA placed 121st and ASU placed 131st. 

University undergraduate programs ranked in the 2021 report include business, engineering, and computer science. In these categories, ASU was among the top 25 for business, the top 50 for engineering and the top 55 for computer science. UA was among the top 35 for business, the top 60 for engineering and the top 65 for computer science. 

The report also assesses top academic programs by categories including senior capstones, first-year experience and more. For these categories, UA was not in the rankings, while ASU placed 19th for senior capstones, and tied for first place with Yale for first-year experience. 

ASU also placed second on the A-plus schools for B students list, while UA didn’t make the list. This category assesses a school’s freshman retention rate and their performance in the 2021 edition of Best College rankings.

If a school meets the above, they must also provide admissions data to show they admitted a meaningful proportion of students who didn’t receive straight A’s, the report said.

Some changes to the 2021 ranking formula were made which helped schools like UA move up the list, the report said. A new graduate indebtedness ranking factor and decreased weight on selectivity and alumni giving metrics, helped certain public institutions move up the list. 

However, there are schools like Princeton which have held the number one spot for national university for over a decade, the report concluded. 

Reach breaking news reporter Brooke Newman at [email protected] or on Twitter @brookerae17.

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