Richmond falls in latest U.S. News & World Report ranking

The University of Richmond has fallen in the 2016 U.S. News & World Report's ranking of national liberal arts colleges, which was released Wednesday morning.

Richmond, ranked 30th in the 2015 rankings and 25th the year before, is tied at 32 with Bucknell University and The College of the Holy Cross. Richmond's overall score remained the same at 79 out of 100.

"The U.S. News ranking system rests on two pillars," according to an explanation of its methodology on its website. "The formula uses quantitative measures that education experts have proposed as reliable indicators of academic quality, and it's based on our researched view of what matters in education."

The credibility of the rankings, however, has been questioned. The New York Times’ Joe Nocera wrote in 2012 that the rankings are simply just a list put together by magazine editors, and The Atlantic's John Tierney encouraged readers in 2013 to ignore the rankings.

Despite Richmond's recent slip, Ronald Crutcher, who became the university's president in July, said in August he thought Richmond's academic experience matches up with the very best private universities in the country.

"I do think the quality of the educational experience at Richmond far exceeds our national reputation," Crutcher said, "and what I want to do is try to close that gap so that people begin to understand what a fabulous place this is.

"What I want to happen for us is that I want students who are the very best students at their high schools across the country to think of Richmond… in that first group of schools when they’re trying to decide to apply to schools, as opposed to thinking of us as maybe a safety school in case they don’t get into Princeton or Harvard,” Crutcher said.

As part of the U.S. News' comprehensive guide, Richmond was ranked the 23rd “best value” among national liberal arts colleges. Richmond is among only 1 percent of colleges and universities that offer both need-blind admission and pledge to meet 100 percent of the demonstrated financial need of admitted students, according to a press release.

"The University of Richmond’s recognition year after year as one of the best liberal arts schools in the nation reflects the exceptional strength of our faculty and students,” said Stephanie Dupaul, vice president for Enrollment Management, according to a press release. “Through our commitment to meeting the full demonstrated need of our students, we provide deep and rich educational experiences to students from all backgrounds."

Forbes ranks Richmond 99th overall for all American colleges and universities and Washington Monthly has Richmond as its 80th liberal arts college.

The Office of Admission was not immediately available for comment.

Contact editor-in-chief Jack Nicholson at jack.nicholson@richmond.edu