THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, September 6, 1996             TAG: 9609060499
SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT 
                                            LENGTH:   46 lines

U.VA. RATED NO. 21, W&M RATED NO. 33 IN MAGAZINE

The gap between the University of Virginia and the College of William and Mary in U.S. News & World Report's annual college ratings has narrowed.

U.Va. dropped from 19th best university in the country to No. 21; William and Mary rose one notch, from No. 34 to No. 33. The magazine released its ratings Thursday.

U.Va. spokeswoman Louise Dudley noted that the school remained the top-rated public university in the nation, ahead of such institutions as the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin.

She said the main reason for U.Va.'s overall decline was a precipitous drop in its rating for faculty resources. In terms of faculty resources, which take into account such measures as average salary and student-teacher ratio, U.Va. fell from No. 33 in the country to No. 62, she said.

Dudley attributed that primarily to the lingering effects of state budget cuts in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Yale University was ranked the top university in the nation, ending Harvard's six-year streak on top of the ratings.

This year, Princeton came in second and Harvard third.

The gap between the University of Virginia and the College of William and Mary in U.S. News & World Report's annual college ratings has narrowed.

U.Va. dropped from 19th best university in the country to No. 21; William and Mary rose one notch, from No. 34 to No. 33.

The magazine released its ratings Thursday.

U.Va. spokeswoman Louise Dudley noted that the school remained the top-rated public university in the nation, ahead of such institutions as the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin.

She said the main reason for U.Va.'s overall decline was a precipitous drop in its rating for faculty resources. In terms of faculty resources, which take into account such measures as average salary and student-teacher ratio, U.Va. fell from No. 33 in the country to No. 62, she said.

Dudley attributed that primarily to the lingering effects of state budget cuts in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Yale University was ranked the top university in the nation, ending Harvard's six-year streak on top of the ratings.

This year, Princeton came in second and Harvard third.

KEYWORDS: COLLEGE UNIVERSTY RATING by CNB