SMU continues to rise in the rankings of America’s Best Colleges. In the latest U.S. News & World Report, SMU placed 67th in the nation compared to 70th, last year.

Princeton University topped the list for the eighth consecutive year. The New Jersey Ivy League school was followed by Harvard in second, Yale in third and Stanford in fourth. Both the University of Pennsylvania and California Tech tied for ninth in the ratings.

U.S. News also recognized the Cox School of Business in a subset category. Cox ranked 33rd for best undergraduate business program, up from last year’s ranking of 37th.

According to the U.S. News Web site, several variables determine a university’s ranking. These variables include graduation and retention rates, faculty and financial resources, and the percentage of alumni donating to their alma mater. U.S. News notes that it is common for ratings to slightly fluctuate each year.

“We are always pleased that any group sees that SMU is improving its standing in the competitive arena of American universities,” said Provost Paul Ludden.

“But we also recognize that the published rankings are only one subset of the measure of quality of a university.”

SMU President R. Gerald Turner shares similar views.

“This ranking is widely read and is, therefore, important to the perceptions of SMU by many people,” he said.

“However, it is only one indication of the reputation of university programs and is often not reflective of measures of academic quality of particular schools within the university compared to their peers. Nevertheless, since U.S. News is going to publish the ranking, it is better to show an improved ranking.”

The full rankings will be published in the magazine’s Aug. 27 issue.