"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.

The U. also is recognized by the report for having an undergraduate student population with one of the least amounts of debt. Forty-six percent of students graduating from the U. have some college debt, averaging $13,714.

A school with Utah ties — BYU-Hawaii — was listed as one of the most diverse institutions, with 40 percent of its students of Asian-American descent. The school, located in Laie, hosts a 48 percent international student population.

Rankings are decided after factors such as graduation and retention rates, faculty and financial resources, and the percentage of alumni donations, are weighed with peer review, opinions from other university presidents and alumni. However, this year, Carnegie changed some of their categories, which switched up the ranking system a little. Military service academies were included for the first time, and Pell grants were considered in the graduation rate performance measure.

According to U.S. News & World Report Editor Brian Kelly, the changes in methodology did not affect the resulting rankings.

Kelly said the rankings are designed as a "first step for prospective college students and their parents in the complex process of determining with institution best fits their goals ... our goal is to help equip students and their families to make a knowledgeable decision based on clear, comparative research."

Princeton, Harvard and Yale universities were the top three best universities in the country, spots they've often challenged each other on or tied for.

The complete list of rankings, as well as a college guide, can be found online at www.usnews.com/colleges.

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E-mail: wleonard@desnews.com