The University of Iowa fell in the overall rank for American universities, according to the annual U.S. News and World Report college rankings, which were released Wednesday morning. Iowa was just one of over 1,500 four-year bachelor’s degree-granting institutions ranked.
Rankings for many specific programs at the UI, including writing, business, and nursing changed this year.
The UI fell from fifth to ninth among all public and private universities for writing in the disciplines. However, Iowa still hosts the best public writing program in the country. U.S. News ranks writing programs based on peer assessment, research activity, quality assessment, and faculty resources.
According to last year’s report, the UI College of Nursing is the top public nursing program for the second year in a row and fourth overall, falling only behind Emory University, Duke, and the University of Pennsylvania.
In 2023, UI ranked 47 among public schools and 93 among public and private schools; this year, the rankings are 46 and 98, respectively.
The report uses 17 factors to rank schools, with peer assessment and graduation rates carrying the heaviest weights at 20 percent and 16 percent, respectively. First-year retention rates carry five percent of the weight, a metric the UI has been focused on.
UI’s 2022-27 strategic plan set a goal to raise the first-year retention rate — the amount of students re-enrolling from one year to the next — from 88 percent to 90 percent. UI President Barbara Wilson told the Board of Regents last Wednesday that the school has already exceeded this goal, with a current retention rate of 90.4 percent.
“It’s a remarkable accomplishment that requires a huge number of staff and faculty to be just laser-focused on helping first-year students succeed and making sure that they stick with us for the second year,” Wilson told the board.
U.S. News sends out surveys to the deans and senior faculty members at schools that offer a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and asks them to rank the quality of other nursing programs on a scale of one to five.
The UI has also made its first appearance in the undergraduate insurance category, premiering at number eight in the rankings.
Since the program’s inception in 2023, more than 200 undergraduates have registered as insurance and risk management majors. In August, Tippie College of Business hired Martin Grace as a university transformational hire, occurring simultaneously with the university’s ranking.
Grace’s appointment is a big step for the university, Tippie College of Business Dean Amy Kristof-Brown said in a news release.
“Hiring a distinguished scholar of Martin’s magnitude is another investment we’re making to prepare students to work in this very important industry,” Kristof-Brown said.