SMU reached its highest ranking among the nation’s universities when the 2017 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges was released online Sept. 13, according to an SMU press release.

SMU ranks No. 56, a five-point jump from last year’s ranking of 61, among the 220 others classified as national universities. Rice University at No. 15 is the only Texas university ranking higher than SMU, and SMU is currently tied with the University of Texas in Austin as second-best university in Texas.

The increase in ranking was one of the five largest among the top 100 universities. Since 2008, SMU’s 11-point increase is one of the four largest among schools in the top 60.

U.S. News considers several measures of academic quality to determine rankings, including faculty resources, graduation rate performance, financial resources and alumni giving.

“It is gratifying for SMU to be recognized for its positive movement among the best national universities,” said SMU President R. Gerald Turner.

Inside the university, the SMU Cox School of Business Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree program ranks No. 21 in the nation according to Bloomberg Businessweek’s 2016 Ranking of Best Undergraduate Business Schools.

In other ranking categories, SMU ranks No. 39 among private national universities, No. 24 among all national universities in alumni giving, and No. 32 as one of the best national universities for veterans.

President Turner said he appreciates the external recognition of the university’s progress, but knows that rankings don’t give students the whole picture of the strengths of a university.

“We encourage parents and students to visit the institutions they are considering for a firsthand look at the academic offerings, the campus environment and the surrounding community to best gauge a university,” said Turner.