UConn takes a hit in U.S. News ranking

Connecticut’s pride and joy, the University of Connecticut, has fallen out of the top 20 in the U.S. News Top Public Schools rankings.

Surging to its peak last year at 19th, UConn has slid to 21st place.

UConn President Susan Herbst was not concerned about the drop.

“When UConn was first listed in the top 20 a year ago, I said that a school’s place in the rankings can rise and fall a little for any number of reasons, but no matter what, we know we are an outstanding institution — and that remains true today,” she wrote in an email to the Hartford Courant.

“While we can’t make any precise predictions about what next year’s rankings will look like, our excellent average SAT score among this year’s incoming freshmen — the highest ever at UConn - puts us in very good position to move up,” she wrote.

While university rankings play a significant role in the selection of UConn for incoming freshman, the University is doing all it can to bolster its reputation. The methodology of U.S. News may be the culprit of the lower ranking for 2013. UConn has been a rapidly rising star in past few years, but at 68%, its 4-year graduation rate still has room for improvement.

“Our four-year plan to hire 300 new faculty, a plan announced well after the data was in, will add a great deal of strength to our research and teaching capacity. That will undoubtedly play a significant role in future rankings, so Huskies should be patient. We will rise quickly when we have the full complement of teacher-researchers we need,” Herbst said.

UConn placed 63rd overall in Best National Universities, down from 58th in the previous year.

The University was also ranked best public university in New England for the 14th consecutive year.