BYU in Hawaii rated as ‘best value’

UH-Manoa is ranked in the third tier by U.S. News & World Report

Brigham Young University Hawaii was the only Hawaii institution to make the top tier of rankings in the annual U.S. News & World Report list of America's Best Colleges, which was released yesterday.

National Rankings Here is how Hawaii colleges and universities fared in U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges and Universities 2007 report: Brigham Young  University-Hawaii: » Best Value Comprehensive Colleges -- Bachelor's (West), No. 1 » Comprehensive Colleges -- Bachelor's (West), No. 4 Chaminade University: » Universities -- Master's (West), third tier Hawaii Pacific University: » Universities -- Master's (West), third tier University of Hawaii at Hilo: » Liberal Arts Colleges, fourth tier University of Hawaii at Manoa: »  National Universities, third tier

BYU-Hawaii is listed as fourth in the category of best comprehensive universities in the Western region offering bachelor's degrees, and No. 1 as a "best value" in its category.

"We're very happy about it," said BYU-Hawaii President Eric Shumway, who noted that this is the eighth year the school has been ranked in the top 10 in its category.

Shumway credited the college's relationship with the Polynesian Cultural Center as one of the main factors in making the school affordable, noting that more than 700 students are employed there, and profits from the center help support BYU-Hawaii.

The University of Hawaii at Manoa, the state's flagship public university, was listed in the third of four tiers -- putting it in the bottom half of the national university category of institutions that offer bachelor's through doctorate degrees with a strong emphasis on research.

U.S. News does not give a numerical ranking to schools in the third and fourth tiers.

UH-Manoa's place in the annual listing has not changed in several years, although its graduate programs in law, business and education are ranked in the top 100 in the nation, according to the magazine.

UH-Manoa put out a news release noting that the listing puts the school in the "top 300 of national universities surveyed."

Interim Chancellor Denise Konan said, "We believe that the significant changes we are currently making to improve the student experience at Manoa will begin to affect our ranking over the next few years."

Konan said the survey shows UH-Manoa needs to improve its graduation and retention rates, although the school is listed as among the universities whose students complete colleges with the lowest debt.

Hawaii Pacific and Chaminade universities were both listed in the third tier in their categories of universities with master's programs in the Western region.

UH-Hilo was ranked in the fourth tier of liberal arts colleges.

The U.S. News rankings are based on 15 factors such as peer assessment surveys, graduation rates, financial resources, alumni giving, SAT scores and class size.

Colleges and universities are divided into four categories depending on their mission and, in some cases, region.

The magazine says the rankings are among several factors students and parents should look at when choosing a college or university.

The college rankings issue of the magazine is scheduled to appear on newsstands on Monday.