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The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ranks fifth among the nation’s best public universities for the 12th consecutive year, according to U.S. News & World Report.

The rankings appear in the 2013 “America’s Best Colleges” guidebook and at www.usnews.com starting on Wednesday (Sept. 12).

Among national public universities, UC-Berkeley ranked first, followed by UCLA and Virginia (tied for second), Michigan (fourth) and UNC (fifth); the same order as in last year’s list.

Among both national public and private universities, UNC ranked 30th overall compared with 29th last year and 30th in 2010. Other publics were between tied for 21st (Berkeley; the same as last year) and 29th (Michigan, down one slot). Overall composite scores of all five top publics moved up or down one point with the exception of Berkeley, which remained at 79. UCLA and Virginia were at 77, followed by Michigan at 74 and UNC at 73.

U.S. News rankings, dominated by private campuses, are based on a formula using opinion survey responses about undergraduate academic reputation and quality from peer campus presidents, provosts or admissions directors. That counts for 22.5 percent of national universities’ ranking. Objective data cover up to 16 indicators of academic excellence including graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, graduation rate performance (difference between actual and predicted graduation rates), and alumni giving .

Other U.S. News rankings results for UNC included the following:

• 1st among national public universities for the 8th consecutive year and 17th overall in “Great Schools, Great Prices,” based on academic quality and net cost of attendance for a student  receiving the average level of need-based financial aid in 2011-2012. Forty-one percent of UNC students received need-based aid in 2011. Carolina meets 100 percent of the documented need of students qualifying for need-based aid who apply on time.
• A 97 percent average first-year retention rate for the third consecutive year.
• A 90 percent average six-year graduation rate – 5 percentage points better than U.S. News predicted for the second consecutive year. (UNC’s current four-year rate is nearly 81 percent.)
• Thirteen percent of course sections enrolled 50 or more students, holding at the same number as last year. That remains the lowest rate among the other top publics for the fifth year in a row. Thirty-three percent of UNC’s course sections enrolled fewer than 20 students, down from 37 percent. Berkeley led the top publics at 64 percent.
• Dropped 11 spots in faculty resources, ranking 70th overall and fifth among the top publics. UNC was 59th last year, 47th two years ago, 35th three years ago and 50th four years ago. UNC has ranked 70th or lower four times in the past 14 years. This category measures undergraduate class size;  two academic years (2010-11 and 2011-12) of average total faculty compensation (salary and benefits) based on indexes weighted for regional differences; student-faculty ratio; and percentage of faculty who are full time and earned their field’s highest degree.
• Tied for 7th among the best undergraduate business programs. Kenan-Flagler Business School tied with Texas at Austin and Carnegie Mellon University; marketing tied for 5th among specialty areas.
• Tied for 13th with Wake Forest University for a “strong commitment to teaching.”
• Listed among outstanding undergraduate programs with “A Focus on Student Success.” Carolina was cited for exemplary first-year experience (seminars and other programs bringing small groups of students together regularly with faculty and staff), undergraduate research/creative projects, study abroad and service learning.

UNC contact:  Mike McFarland, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , 919-962-8593

U.S. News contact:  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (for media inquiries)