Three Utah schools landed among the nation's best colleges and universities on the 2008 U.S. News & World Report rankings list, made public today.

This year's edition of America's Best Colleges will be published in the magazine's Aug. 27 issue, which hits newsstands Monday. It ranks 1,400 four-year accredited colleges and universities on a similar playing field, while putting them in categories set forth by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, as well as peer review. The rankings are based on a comprehensive and systematic look at what the institutions offer students and what alumni and industry professionals believe is the best value.

Brigham Young University ranks highest among Utah schools and garnered the most placements for the state on the rankings list.

The Provo university comes in as the 79th best national university, dropping nine spots from its 70th place last year. It also ranked among the top 50 best business programs, coming in at 38th, while its accounting program ranks third, behind those at the University of Texas and the University of Illinois.

Both BYU and Westminster College earned high rankings for offering students some of the best deals in education. BYU placed 26th on the list and Westminster 15th in the Western states category for providing the best value — high-quality programs at a low cost.

Westminster ranks 23rd in the west in the category of best universities offering master's but not doctorate degrees. The private college placed in the top tier of schools for the 13th consecutive year.

Officials at the school are pleased with the ranking but don't agree that it's a proper assessment of what happens at the school.

"We encourage families to also consider many other factors, such as the learning environment, the majors offered, the quality and accessibility of the faculty, the campus community and the outcomes achieved by their graduates, either in job placement or acceptances into graduate schools," said Westminster President Michael Bassis.

The University of Utah ties for 131st place on the best national universities list, also landing a spot at 70th for having one of the best engineering programs. Special mention was given to its service-learning programs, which requires volunteer work in the community for credit in specific classes. It was one of only a handful of public colleges listed as an outstanding example of a program directly linked to student success.

"The Bennion Center's success is the result of university support for our program and the combined efforts of students, faculty and community agencies working in partnership to ensure a quality experience," said U. service learning program director Marshall Welch.