University of Hawai'i University Relations Media & Publications Honolulu, HI 96822	(808) 956-8856 Telephone (808) 956-3441 Facsimile ur@hawaii.edu E-Mail
For Immediate Release:	August 21, 1997
Contact: Donnë Florence, UH PIO, (808)956-7522 Colleen Connors, U.S. News, (202)955-2565

UH Manoa listed among top 25 public universities   The University of Hawai'i at Manoa is tied for the 25th spot on the list of "Top 25 Public National Universities" in the U.S. News &World Report college rankings for 1998. The three institutions tied with UHM are Indiana University­Bloomington, University of California­Santa Cruz and University of Delaware. UH Manoa is in the "second tier" of the magazine's "national universities" list, as it was last year. Of the 147 public and 81 private institutions deemed "national" universities, only the first 50 are placed in rank order by the news weekly. The next 65 schools are listed alphabetically as the second tier. The top 50 national universities list is dominated by private institutions; only 14 public universities are included on that list. UH President Kenneth P. Mortimer, reacting to early reports about the rankings, said, "We're pleased to have U.S. News & World Report recognize that Manoa's quality places it among the top 25 public universities in the nation. We're especially proud," he noted,"to see that UH Manoa's alumni giving percentage has more than doubled over last year's reported figure, to thirteen percent." Alumni giving is one of the criteria the magazine considers in ranking the colleges and universities each year; it is seen as a measure of how satisfied graduates are with the education they received. Alumni giving figures for the top 25 public universities range from a low of 7% (at two University of California campuses) to a high of 33% (at Georgia Tech). The magazine's editors examine many aspects of the 1,400 colleges and universities included in the annual rankings. Not all the criteria figure in the rankings calculations, but separate comparison charts offer revealing snapshots of some data. For example, figures on the average debt load students carry at graduation show UH Manoa graduates have the third-lowest average debt ($4,073) of all 228 national universities. The rankings and related information are previewed on the magazine's World Wide Web site and will also appear in the magazine's annual guide to colleges, which will be sold on newsstands beginning August 25. The online version allows users to search electronically for information of interest to them. The U.S. News & World Report college rankings website is at http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu

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