University of Iowa, Iowa State lose ground in U.S. News national rankings

IOWA CITY — Both of Iowa’s public research universities slipped in this year’s U.S. News Best Colleges rankings, with the University of Iowa sliding five spots to No. 98 among public and private institutions nationally and Iowa State University dropping six places to No. 121.

The UI’s slide from No. 93 last year to No. 98 marks its second-straight year-over-year decline nationally and moves it into its lowest position in over a decade — 27 spots below its No. 71 national ranking a decade ago.

In a statement, the university said it “will continue to focus on the metrics that matter like our first-year retention rate,” which has increased sooner than expected to exceed 90 percent in year three of a five-year improvement plan.

“This is a remarkable accomplishment which required a huge number of faculty and staff working hard to support students and ensure they stick with us for a second year.”

ISU’s slide from last year’s No. 115 to No. 121 partially reverses the big 12-point gain it made the prior year, up from No. 127.

The University of Northern Iowa, though not ranked nationally by U.S. News, maintained its No. 11 spot among Midwest universities after improving there last year from No. 17. The Midwest region includes 12 states from the Dakotas in the west to Ohio in the east.

“Unlike the prior edition, the annual U.S. News Best Colleges rankings underwent only slight methodological changes this year,” according to U.S. News, which has come under fire for its rankings of colleges, graduate programs and health care systems.

“Despite some opposition to the rankings, the vast majority of schools U.S. News surveyed continued to report data: 78.1 percent of the nearly 1,500 ranked institutions returned their statistical information in the spring and summer of 2024, compared to about 79.9 percent last year,” according to a news release.

Ranked only among public universities nationally, UI in the new rankings ticked up one spot to No. 46 — after sliding to No. 47 from No. 35 last year. ISU dropped three spots to No. 61 after improving last year to No. 58.

In its Midwest region, UNI maintained its No. 2 spot among just public universities.

Peer comparison

The UI slide to No. 98 nationally ranks it below most of the 17 other Big Ten campuses and most of its 10 peer universities assigned by the Iowa Board of Regents.

In the Big Ten, UI ranks only above the University of Oregon at No. 109 and the University of Nebraska at No. 152. Among peers the regents have assigned for comparison purposes, the UI ranks above only the University of Arizona at No. 109 and, at No. 136, the University of Utah — newly added as a UI peer last year.

When considering just public universities, Big Ten schools account for nearly half the Top 20 and 12 of the Top 30. Among UI regent-assigned peers, seven are in the Top 30.

ISU’s new spot at No. 121 nationally puts it in the middle of its Big 12 and regent-peer packs — topping half the schools on both lists.

Among its regent peers, all the campuses ISU topped were newly assigned in 2023. It would have ranked at the bottom of its old peer list.

Of the 12 schools in UNI’s Missouri Valley Conference, nine are ranked nationally and three — including UNI — are not, although UNI is ranked higher than the other two unranked campuses.

Among its regent peers, UNI sits near the top of the list — below just three campuses.

‘Not contingent on participation’

The 2025 edition of U.S. News’ best college list — in its 40th year — evaluated 1,497 institutions using 17 measures of academic quality in the national-university category and 13 indicators for those on its “National Liberal Arts Colleges” list.

Among the liberal arts institutions, Iowa’s top performer was Grinnell College — ranking No. 19, down eight spots from its No. 11 placement last year — followed by Luther College at No. 108; Central College at No. 126; Cornell College at No. 132; Coe College at No. 136; and Wartburg College at No. 158.

According to the U.S. News methodology, more than half a school’s ranking is made up of outcome measures related to success in enrolling and graduating students from all backgrounds “with manageable debt as well as earnings of postgraduates.”

“The formula uses data universally reported by schools or obtainable from third-party sources,” according to U.S. News. “Schools’ eligibility to be ranked is not contingent on participation in U.S. News’ surveys.”

Among the 660 universities that dropped in rank last year, 278 dropped a second-straight year — like the UI — while 302 improved and 80 stayed the same.

U.S. News reported that SAT and ACT scores from schools where a higher percentage of students submit their scores are given more weight. Among the 217 universities that reported eligible standardized test data, 117 moved up in the rankings, compared with 81 that dropped and 19 that didn’t move.

“This may indicate testing-oriented schools performing slightly better than before,” according to the new U.S. News rankings report, “resulting from the latest adjustment to how SAT/ACT scores were assessed.”

Iowa’s Board of Regents in 2022 went “test optional” by ending its 63-year-old requirement that applicants to its public universities submit scores.

U.S. News said it will “be monitoring the test-optional movement, and whether the transition among the most highly selective universities back to requiring SAT/ACT scores has coattails among the broader universe of selective institutions.”

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

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