The University maintained its title as the top U.S. public university as determined by the QS World Rankings.. The same list ranked the University as 23rd among all higher education institutions, moving down one spot from last year.
Since 2004, the QS World Rankings have evaluated universities around the world on the basis of academic reputation, employer reputation, student to faculty ratio, citations per faculty and the proportion of international faculty and students.
The University was among 14 other U.S. institutions — most of them private schools — to crack the top 30.
The QS rankings come just one week after the University ranked 29th in this year’s U.S. News and World Reportsurvey of the nation’s top colleges, falling one spot since the 2014rankings. By their estimation, the University was the fourth-best public institution, trailing the University of California, Berkeley; the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Virginia. Their rankings are based on similar criteria, focusing on undergraduate academic reputation, faculty resources, selectivity, alumni giving and financial resources.
In an interview with The Michigan Daily Sept. 8 about the U.S. News rankings, University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald said ranking systems like these are not the only factor that prospective students should use to consider their future college choice.
“What’s good for one student is not necessarily the best place for the next student,” Fitzgerald said. “There’s just no number one school for everybody, no matter what the rankings say.”