Temple Climbs Six Spots On National List Of Best Universities
By John McDevitt
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- U.S. News and World Report is out with its annual list of best colleges -- and Temple University has reason to be excited about this year's rankings, which are taken very seriously.
"As rankings go up for a university the value of the degree increases," says Temple University President Niel Theobald. "Simply by being among the higher rated universities allows you to attract better facility members who bring in research awards, which helps the economy, and that sort of thing."
Temple ranked 115, which jumped up six spots from last year.
"One or two spots is a big deal," Theobals says. "To jump six -- we are tied with the University of Kansas and the University of Utah."
Theobald says the reason for the higher ranking is because the graduation rate has improved so much. It's 69 percent. He says the models used by U.S. News and World Report show it should be 60 percent.