After slipping for two straight years, Kansas University climbed two spots in rankings released Thursday by U.S. News and World Report.

KU tied for 42nd among public universities in the magazine’s 2005 “Best Colleges” edition, up from 44th last year.

“I think it’s good news,” said Chancellor Robert Hemenway. “You always want to do better. What we have to concentrate on is the University of Kansas getting better every day. You’d like to see that reflected.”

In rankings that include both public and private universities, KU tied for 90th, the same as last year.

The list is regarded by many in higher education to be a key measure of university quality; although, critics say it places too much emphasis on funding and that the magazine makes slight changes in the system each year to alter the standings.

Hemenway has said the U.S. News and World Report rankings are one of several methods for measuring progress toward his goal of becoming a top-25 public research university.

The rankings are based on a variety of criteria, including acceptance and graduation rates, the proportion of classes with fewer than 20 students, retention rates, financial resources and alumni donor rates.

For the fifth straight year, Harvard and Princeton shared the top spot in the rankings.

KU’s ranking has never been as high as 1998, when U.S. News ranked it 30th. That was the first year the magazine separated public and private universities. The 44th spot last year was the lowest ranking KU has had.

Hemenway noted KU ranked 29th among public universities on the reputation survey completed by chancellors, presidents and chief academic officers.

U.S. News America’s Best Colleges 2005

“We know we’re not in a rich state with a lot of luxurious spending that’s been done on higher education,” Hemenway said. “But I find it very gratifying that around the country when people think of the University of Kansas, they rank us very highly.”

The magazine also ranked two sets of schools — business and engineering — in its fall college guide.

KU’s School of Business was tied for 30th among public universities, up from 33rd last year. When private colleges are included, KU is tied for 48th, up from 53rd a year ago.

“The rankings are important because they signal we’re in the set of schools we want to be compared with,” Dean Bill Fuerst said. “But rankings are an inexact science. We’re going to be aware of it, we’re going to do the right sorts of things to add educational value for students, and the rankings will take care of themselves.”

The School of Engineering dropped from 40th to 45th among public universities, and from 67th to 74th among all schools.

“That’s not really a significant change,” Dean Stuart Bell said. “There’s good and bad. We think we’re improving. We would have liked to have seen some significant (positive) change.”

He said additions such as Eaton Hall, which opened last year, and a year-old National Science Foundation center will help improve KU’s reputation, he said.

“It’s going to take a year or two years before that is disseminated out to the rankings,” he said.

Some critics of the U.S. News and World Report system say universities aim their resources at areas that will improve their rankings.

Kim Wilcox, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said he didn’t think that was happening at KU. But he said “strategic investments” at KU, including hiring and improving student services, had helped the university’s standing.

“Of course, if you talk to anybody across the country, they’re all making the same investments,” he said. “You’re chasing a moving target.”