SU ranked 31st in college poll

WINCHESTER -- Shenandoah University rose up the ranks in U.S. News & World Report's list of America's Best Colleges for 2010.

Shenandoah ranked 31st among master's level institutions in the South, according to a university press release issued Thursday. The institution ranked 39 in the category last year.

The issue, with highlights of the rankings, goes on sale Monday. The 2010 America's Best Colleges guidebook goes on sale Tuesday, the release states.

The school also made the magazine's list of "Top Up-and-Coming Schools," 77 colleges and universities nationwide that "were singled out as schools that have recently made the most promising and innovative changes in academics, faculty, students, campus or facilities," the release states. In the up-and-coming list, Shenandoah ranked 13th among master's universities in the South and is one of only five Virginia institutions on the list.

The universities-master's segment of the rankings lists 572 institutions that provide undergraduate, master's and few, if any, doctoral programs, the release states. Schools in the section are ranked in four areas -- North, South, Midwest and West. Rankings in Shenandoah's category are based on peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving, according to the release.