Local colleges rank high

UC Irvine is among the 50 best universities in the country, and Vanguard University is one of the top five baccalaureate colleges in the West, according to rankings in the U.S. News & World Report hitting newsstands Monday.

The annual "America's Best Colleges" issue ranks private and public universities in a number of different categories, taking into account university administration peer reviews, faculty resources, retention rates, graduation rates and student selectivity, among other criteria.

"We are pleased to again be ranked among the top 50 universities in the nation," said UCI spokeswoman Cathy Lawhon.

UCI was ranked 44th nationally among all universities for the second year in a row, and 13th nationally among public universities. The college was also considered among the top 50 undergraduate engineering programs in the country.

Vanguard University of Southern California was named the fourth best baccalaureate college in the West behind Oklahoma Baptist University (third), Master's College and Seminary (second) and the U.S. Air Force Academy (first).

"We are thrilled to be ranked as a top five college," said University President Murray Dempster. "Our tradition of academic excellence and quality education continues to recognized." Last year, Vanguard was ranked seventh in the West.

Vanguard was also ranked sixth in the "Great Schools, Great Prices" category for baccalaureate universities. A baccalaureate college focuses on undergraduate education with degrees in liberal arts programs and professional fields such as nursing, business and education.

Acknowledging the university's 17% undergrad Latino population, the U.S. News & World Report placed Vanguard in the top 5 racially diverse baccalaureate colleges in the West.

For more rankings, go online to www.usnews.com.