In its Aug. 29 edition (available Monday), the magazine ranks the undergraduate programs of more than 1,400 U.S. schools in various categories, ranging from overall excellence to specialized programs and racial diversity. Graduate programs will be ranked in a later edition.
Brigham Young University ranked 71st in overall excellence (up from 74th last year) and 13th for the least amount of debt for earning an undergraduate degree, with an average of $12,478. The LDS Church-owned school was ranked 22nd for best overall value, which measures cost-effectiveness.
"We're really happy with the rankings. We believe they reflect what's happening here," said BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins.
The University of Utah, the state's flagship institution, ranked 123rd in overall excellence (down from 111th last year) and was seventh for the debt incurred by students, with an average of $11,496 for an undergraduate degree.
"If students worked less and finished up quicker, we'd go up in the rankings, but we know that doesn't fit our students' lifestyles," said Paul Brinkman, the U.'s vice president for budget and planning. "We're here to focus on engaging our students. If there's something we need to be doing, we'll do it, but we're doing what we think we should be doing."
Brinkman doesn't place too much value on the rankings, which are based on evaluations of nearly 500 criteria, because it often takes years for a change to be noticed, he said.
Rachel Seher, who moved from Montana to attend the U., didn't study the rankings before choosing a school. She chose the U. because she wanted to go out of state while remaining relatively close to home, and without paying a huge amount. She was also impressed with the political science and social science teaching composite programs in which she's earning a double major.
"I've gotten everything I expected and more out of my classes here," she said.
The U.'s engineering program was ranked 66th, and its service-learning program was only one of 19 mentioned in the rankings.
BYU's business program moved from 38th to 35th this year. In rankings that will be published in its Sept. 5 issue, Forbes Magazine placed BYU's business program as 17th in the nation, according to BYU's Jenkins.
Utah Valley State College was judged an economical school, ranking fourth on price for public colleges in the West with comprehensive programs and topping the list for the least amount of debt incurred for a bachelor's degree at that type of college.
William Sederberg, president of UVSC, said he is pleased with the results for his Orem school.
"UVSC remains a good value for the cost," he said.
Westminster College, the state's only private, comprehensive liberal arts college, ranked 20th in the West as a master's school (which offers several undergraduate and master's programs but very few if any doctoral programs), while Weber State University, located in Ogden, ranked 49th in that category.
Utah State University made the third tier overall list - schools that rated between 125 and 180 on U.S. News' scale. USU also ranked 12th for least amount of debt incurred for an undergraduate degree, with an average debt of $12,430.
BYU-Hawaii made the list for best price in the West for an undergraduate degree, was second for the least debt in the West for a school offering a variety of degrees, and fourth for the best comprehensive college at which to obtain a bachelor's.
For a complete listing of U.S. News and World Report's rankings, visit http://www.usnews.com.
---
Salt Lake Tribune reporter Shinika Sykes contributed to this article.
How Utah colleges stack up
Brigham Young University
71: Overall excellence
22nd Overall best value
35th Best business program
13: Least amount of debt ($12,478, post-graduation)
University of Utah
123: Overall excellence
Seventh For least amount of debt ($11,496, post-graduation)
66th Best engineering program
Utah State University
Third tier for overall excellence
12th: Least amount of debt ($12,430, post-graduation)
Utah Valley State College
First: Least amount of debt at comprehensive college in the West, $6,273
Fourth most economical public comprehensive college in the West
Third tier for best comprehensive college for bachelor's degree
Weber State University
49th best master's program school in the West
Westminster College
20th Best master's program school in the West
Brigham Young University - Hawaii
Most economical in the West
Second for least debt in West for comprehensive college
Fourth best comprehensive college
