Michigan State University is one of the top 30 universities in the nation according to an annual ranking that measures what colleges and universities "are doing for the country.”
In Washington Monthly’s 2014 National Universities Rankings, released Aug. 25, MSU ranked 29th, putting the East Lansing university in the top 11 percent of the 277 higher education institutions analyzed by the publication.
Washington Monthly rates schools based on whether they’re improving social mobility, producing research and promoting public service.
“We rate schools based on what they are doing for the country,” said Paul Glastris, editor in chief of Washington Monthly.
This fall, the Obama administration will release its plan to rate America’s colleges and universities based on measures of access, affordability and outcome, similar metrics to those used by Washington Monthly for years, Glastris said.
MSU moved up one position from No. 30 in last year’s ranking.
Of the 14 universities in the Big Ten, four others also cracked the top 30 this year: Michigan (13th), Wisconsin (17th), Ohio State (18th) and Illinois (26th).
The No. 1-ranked school, for the fifth straight year, was the University of California-San Diego.