search articles:     from the issue of August 24, 2006         University maintains top-50 rank  UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS For the third straight year, UNL has made U.S. News and World Report's annual America's Best Colleges rankings' top 50 list for public national universities. The magazine released its 2006 rankings Aug. 17. Showing improvement in several key categories, UNL was listed as tied with six other universities at 98th place overall in the magazine's "Best National Universities" list. Among public national universities, UNL is tied with five other universities at 46th. Last year, UNL was 98th overall and 45th among the public universities. For UNL, key indicators of student success are up: retention, graduation rate, and the overall quality of incoming students judged by ACT scores. Among the key data, UNL's graduation rate improved to 63 percent, from 61 percent the year before. Freshman retention rate is 82.2 percent (reported in U.S. News as an average of 81 percent). Chancellor Harvey Perlman said the rankings provide an opportunity to review key indicators of student success and cause awareness about data that can be significant. "But, the rankings fail to identify what truly tells stories of success and productivity on campuses: research productivity, stories of student achievement, faculty initiatives and engagement with the state's citizens," Perlman said. GO TO: ISSUE OF AUGUST 24 NEWS HEADLINES FOR AUGUST 24 UNL to unveil world-class laser Depth report documentary examines natural disasters Mueller Tower safety issues addressed School (of Natural Resources) Makeover Transportation Center lands $6.25M grant University maintains top-50 rank From the Archives NU cites progress in minority, women hires Study traces connection between early reading, learning success UNL entities help state business succeed 732547S36026X