Hawaii Pacific University was in the third tier and Chaminade University in the fourth tier among western regional universities. Princeton University was the highest ranked national institution, followed by Harvard and Yale. Last year, Princeton tied with Yale at No. 4. The California Institute of Technology, last year's top school, is now No. 4 ,and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, No. 5. U.S. News ranks only the top 25 percent of schools in different categories and puts the others in tiers or broad groups based on their overall score.
Academic reputation carries the heaviest weight in the magazine's rankings.
UH-Manoa's reputation is 2.7, the same as last year, out of a possible 5. During the period covered by the college measurements, UH-Manoa suffered severe budget cuts and received less than 10 years' accreditation, Dean Smith, UH senior vice president, pointed out. These two negative aspects have hurt our national reputation. We're turning this around. We won't be satisfied until we're back in the top 25.