FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Since 1997, the University of Arkansas has hovered in the third tier of the U.S. News & World Report's college rankings guide. But when the 2005 edition of America's Best Colleges hits newsstands Monday, readers will find that the university has leapfrogged from 127 to 120 in the rankings, pushing into the top tier of institutions nationwide.

The seven-position jump places the university among the best private and public universities in the United States. This group, composed of the top half of all ranked schools, is numerically ranked. Tiers 3 and 4 are listed alphabetically.

And, for the first time, the U of A was also ranked among the "Top Public National Universities," accompanied by six other institutions within the SEC. Arkansas tied for 59th in a field of 64 institutions nationally. The Sam M. Walton College of Business moved ahead in the rankings, and the College of Engineering was ranked for the first time.

"What a wonderful set of accomplishments for the University of Arkansas and its students, staff, faculty, alumni and friends," said Chancellor John A. White. "The entire campus community has dedicated itself to improving the quality of this institution and placing the state's research university among the nation's most acclaimed colleges and universities."

Other Southeastern Conference (SEC) institutions included in the top-level rankings are Vanderbilt University, the University of Florida, the University of Georgia, the University of Alabama, Auburn University, the University of Tennessee, the University of South Carolina and the University of Kentucky.

The Sam M. Walton College of Business again ranked with the nation's elite. Among undergraduate business programs at public universities, the college moved forward three places to 25th. Among overall undergraduate business programs, the Walton College was ranked 41st, its first appearance on the overall "Best Programs" listings.

"Everyone associated with the University of Arkansas, including all Arkansans, can be very proud we are ranked alongside those institutions and have been named a top public university overall," White said. "The Walton College's distinction adds further luster to this moment and serves as a fine example of how focused our deans, faculty and staff members, students and alumni are on making the university one of the best in the country. As an alum, I am particularly pleased by the College of Engineering's inclusion."

Walton College Dean Doyle Z. Williams said: "I want to give credit for this remarkable rise in our rankings to the hard work of our faculty and our staff, the accomplishments of our students, and the support of our alumni and friends, our generous donors and the business community. Thank you all for helping the Walton College reach this magnificent goal. It certainly validates the steps that we began-with the $50 million gift from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation in 1998-to position the Walton College among the nation's most reputable and competitive business schools."

The College of Engineering was ranked at 111 among “Best Engineering Programs” at schools whose highest degree is a doctorate. This is engineering’s first appearance in the rankings. When considered only against other public institutions, its ranking is 70th.

"I think this is an indication of our improving quality. This is a perceptional ranking," said Ashok Saxena, dean of the College of Engineering. "When perception catches up with reality I think we will be ranked even higher."

Of the seven categories used to rank institutions, the university as a whole saw improvements in the following:

Overall Rank: from 3 to 1, with an overall rank moving from 127 to 120
Financial Resources: from 100 to 93
Graduation and Retention: from 175 to 172
Faculty Resources: from 82 to 70
Alumni Giving: from 60 to 57
Graduation Rate Performance Rank: from 208 to 193
The factors most responsible for these improvements in rankings are continued strong freshman retention, improved overall graduation rates, increases in the percentage of alumni who make gifts to the institution and improvements in comparisons between the expected rate of graduation and the actual six-year graduation rate.

In the 2003 edition of the guide, the university's graduation rate was at 45 percent; in 2004, the rate improved to 46; in the new guide, it is 48 percent. Freshman retention-the percentage of first-year students who return to continue their education-has been at about 82 percent for the past three years. The steady improvement in graduation rates that has taken place over that period of time is reflected in this year's results. Further improvement in that area is expected as part of the overall university effort to reach institutional goals.

Further explanation of how the rankings are calculated can be found on the U.S. News Web site.

"During the past eight years, the university's accomplishments have served to draw much-deserved national attention to the state," said Susan Rogers, associate vice chancellor for University Relations. "The chancellor's concentrated focus on meeting the institutional goals, with or without such national recognition, no matter what challenges are raised, inspires and encourages us. As appreciative and pleased as we are to receive such attention, even a short-term observer can see that it's the long-term focus on the drive toward excellence at every opportunity that has brought the university to this moment. "