UE comes in second on a list of best values in the Midwest, trailing only Creighton University, and sixth in a "strong commitment to teaching" list for the region.

"Ranking where we did in each category, among 142 eligible institutions, is just one of the many indicators confirming our success in maintaining the highest academic quality at the University of Evansville," UE President Stephen Jennings said.

The magazine measures academic quality by using the assessments of administrators at peer institutions, student graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving.

In a nationwide list of best universities, the top 10 consist of Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford, California Institute of Technology, the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Duke and the University of Chicago.

Notre Dame comes in 29th on that list, while Illinois is 40th, Purdue is 66th, Indiana is 71st and Kentucky is 116th.

Purdue is 22nd and IU 29th on a nationwide list of public universities, and IU's Kelley School of Business is rated the 12th-best business program.

Like Jennings, leaders at IU and Purdue were quick to tout their positions in the magazine's report.

IU Provost and Executive Vice President Karen Hanson said that magazine rankings "tell only a small part of the story, and their importance is often overemphasized.

But U.S. News performs a service by highlighting programs that are linked to student success, such as our student learning communities, study-abroad opportunities and the emphasis on writing."

Purdue University President France A. Cordova said the rankings "reflect our continued commitment to the student experience."

On a regional list of top master's-granting universities in the South, Murray State University is 18th, while Western Kentucky University is 29th.

The "Best Colleges" rankings are available today at http://www.usnews.com/colleges and will be published in the September issue of U.S. News & World Report, available Monday.

Source: http://www.courierpress.com/news/2009/aug/19/ue-ranks-in-top-10-midwest-colleges-magazine-it/