PolyCentric University News Center

Cal Poly Pomona improved its rankings in the newly released 2006 edition of Americas Best Colleges by U.S. News & World Report.

The university moved up one notch to tie for 4th with Cal State Chico on the list of Top Public Universities-Masters in the Western United States, which features public universities offering a full range of undergraduate and master's programs.

Among both public and private universities, it moved up four spaces to 31st in Best Universities-Masters (by Region), placing in the top tier of Western universities with undergraduate and masters programs.

“Cal Poly Pomona is proud to be recognized among the nation's elite universities,” said university president J. Michael Ortiz. “We feel that our learning-centered philosophy turns out the best possible graduates, preparing them to make an immediate impact in the California workforce.”

The university's College of Engineering earned additional honors, again ranked 14th in the nation on the list of Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs.

The campus' diversity was also acknowledged. With a diversity index of 0.69-only 0.04 from the most diverse university in the nation-Cal Poly Pomona boasts the fourth most diverse student body in the Western region for a master's level university.

The annual rankings are based on a school's academic reputation, freshman retention rate, graduation rate, class size, student-faculty ratio, percentage of full-time faculty, student selectivity and acceptance rate and percentage of alumni giving. The U.S. News ranking formula gives greatest weight to opinions of top academics from schools nationwide, who rated each program they were familiar with on a scale from 1 (marginal) to 5 (distinguished). Cal Poly Pomona received a peer assessment score of 3.6, up from 3.2 last year.