<p>So I thought Villanova was a pretty good school but I cannot find its undergraduate ranking on US News. Do they refuse to participate in the survey or something?</p>
<p>US News had them ranked as the top Masters program in the North and was ranked for their engineering program but nothing else.</p>
<p>the reason that villanova is not listed under the top universities section, is entirely because they choose not to be listed under this area...what i mean by that is that villanova is classified as a "Masters" school where the highest degree is a "masters". If you look on the US News website you will see that they are the "#1 masters school in the north" and have been there for over a decade. The school can have professional programs, however it has never changed its classification (it is their decision to do so). It is understandable why this is a difficult decision. Because they hold this #1 spot in their category, they are reluctant to give it up. </p>
<p>So to answer your question, i think we can all agree that if Villanova changed their classification they would absolutely be on the "US News Top National Universities", however because they choose not to do so, they are still categorized as a school in which the highest level of education is masters, therefore placing them in the category which they are located.</p>
<p>If you want to see where I received this information (as it was indeed hard to find), check out this link <a href="http://unisenate.villanova.edu/minutes/2006/exec_board-06-11-20.htm%5B/url%5D">http://unisenate.villanova.edu/minutes/2006/exec_board-06-11-20.htm</a></p>
<p>That's close, but I'm not sure it's entirely accurate, kbisus. Institutions don't classify themselves; US News and World Report does.</p>
<p>US News rankings are based in part on a decades-old Carnegie Classification system that distinguished between research and doctoral-granting institutions of various kinds, masters-level institutions and baccalaureate institutions.</p>
<p>So, Villanova fits as a university at the master's level, which US News defines as "providing a full range of undergraduate and master's prorams...but few...doctoral programs." In that category, as you note, Villanova has been ranked #1 in the North for well over a decade. I think its undergraduate engineering and business programs are also ranked in the top ten, nationally.</p>
<p>I think Villanova offers two doctoral programs, philosophy and chemical engineering, but there may be one or two more. All told, I doubt Villanova awards more than five doctoral degrees annually to students. The faculty senate discussion you linked isn't about "how do we classify ourselves" it's about making a strategic decision: do we consciously add doctoral programs and research in order to make the step up to "national universities" or do we muddle along, adding a doctoral program here and there, and suddenly find ourselves classified as a "national university"?</p>
<p>Villanova has a huge marketing advantage when it's compared to schools like itself: Ithaca College, Providence, Hunter, Drake and Western Washington University. It's the #1 regional university in the North. That advantage will disappear if it's suddenly compared to Berkeley, Princeton, Michigan and NYU, which might offer a couple of dozen doctoral programs and award 100 or more Ph Ds a year. I think the discussion you link reveals the faculty senate and administrtion trying to think through how they want to approach the future. It sounds quite smart to me; Villanova doesn't want to find itself throwing away its advantage because it wasn't paying attention.</p>
<p>blaneyboy</p>
<ul>
<li>I agree entirely with what you said. I apologize if my post was misleading. When I stated that the decision to classify themselves as a "Masters" school was entirely up to the school, I meant it in the respect that they have the capabilities of expanding their programs and adding more professional studies to the institution. However as you stated before, this could have a detrimental effect on the school. Even though the school 's undergraduate programs may be stronger than some of the other schools you mentioned, the fact that their professional programs are"newer" may hinder it compared to current "National Universities" on the list.</li>
</ul>
<p>Adressing the original post, my point was that villanova not being in the US News "National Universities" list, should not impact an invididuals decision to go there as based on academic quality, prestige, career placement, etc. Villanova undergraduate programs compete well with the other institutions on the list. The list is merely a rating based on one specific classification.</p>
<p>I think that's right, kbisus. Villanova was a wonderful place when I was there and it still is. It emphasizes undergraduate education. I liked that. </p>
<p>I'm not sure I'd recognize the place if it suddenly started emphasizing graduate programs and research. That would change the nature of the school completely, maybe for the better, but I'd have to be convinced of that! I see you transferred in from Maryland. I hope you have a great experience.</p>