By Eric Stock

NORMAL – Illinois State University maintains its standing among the top 100 public universities in the U.S despite a slight drop in the rankings.

ISU is rated 83rd in the U.S. News and World report rankings of public colleges. ISU President Larry Dietz commended students, faculty and staff.

“We are absolutely thrilled any time that we make national rankings it’s always a good thing,” Dietz said.

ISU fell five spots from last year. Dietz said the university strives to maintain smaller classes sizes even during difficult financial times, nearly one-third of its classes have fewer than 20 students.

“I think that’s been one of the hallmarks of Illinois State is that we plan our work and work our plan,” Dietz said.

Illinois Wesleyan was rated the 71st best liberal arts college, which is a slight improvement over last year.

U.S. News & World Report rankings are based on factors such as undergraduate peer assessment scores that are from high school counselors as well as college and university presidents, provosts, and deans of admissions. Other factors include student retention, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, alumni giving and graduation rates.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].