Iowa State is ranked 56th in “Top Public Colleges,” according to U.S. News, after being ranked 53rd last year.

Iowa State also went from being tied for first in biological/agricultural to being ranked third.

“Adequate financial support is vital as we work to fulfill our responsibility to provide an outstanding educational experience for our students and to help meet the needs of Iowans,” President Wendy Wintersteen said in a statement provided to the Iowa State Daily. “Rankings reflect the decreased investment in public higher education in Iowa. What this ranking does not reflect is the commitment of our faculty and staff to deliver an exceptional student experience and world class scientific research.”

The investment Wintersteen refers to in the statement is in relation to budget cuts in state appropriations over the last three years. State appropriations, coupled with tuition, form the large majority of funding at Iowa State. 

Iowa State was also ranked 119th in national universities, while the University of Iowa was ranked 89th. In 2018, Iowa State was ranked 115th.

Iowa State was also ranked 80th of 105 schools in the category “best schools for veterans,” and 81st out of 145 schools rated in the schools for the “best value.” 

“The calculation used here takes into account a school’s academic quality, as indicated by its 2019 U.S. News Best Colleges ranking, and the 2017-2018 net cost of attendance for a student who received the average level of need-based financial aid,” according to the report in relation to the “best value” category. “The higher the quality of the program and the lower the cost, the better the deal. Only schools ranked in or near the top half of their categories are included because U.S. News considers the most significant values to be among colleges that are above average academically.”

The first U.S. News report for college rankings was published in 1983 and they have released their analysis annually since 1985. The rankings are determined through data in 16 areas indicative of student success.