Winona State University again ranks as a top tier institution in the 2008 listing of America's Best Colleges published by U.S.News and World Report.

Winona State was ranked 52nd among the institutions in the top tier of "Best Universities--Master's" for the Midwest region, up from number 62 last year and number 64 in 2005.

Within the category seventy colleges and universities are listed as top tier institutions in the Midwest region. Of those, only seven schools are located in Minnesota, and only two are public institutions.

Winona State is the only university in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system listed as a top tier institution.

U.S.News and World Report ranks 1,400 colleges nationwide, including 572 schools in the master's universities category. Ranking categories are based on institutional mission, such as research university or liberal arts college, and their region.

Data is collected from each school related to academic excellence. The indicators used to capture academic quality fall into seven categories: assessment by administrators at peer institutions, retention of students, faculty resources, student academic preparedness, financial resources, graduation rate performance and alumni giving rate. Each indicator is assigned a weight, expressed as a percentage, based on the judgments of U.S.News and World Report about which measures of quality matter most.

The colleges are then ranked based on their average weighted score.

The annual ranking of schools is available for review online at: www.usnews.com.

Founded in 1858, Winona State University is a comprehensive, regional public university with more than 8,000 students. The oldest member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System, Winona State offers 80 undergraduate, pre-professional, licensure and graduate programs on its three campuses: the original Main Campus and West Campus in Winona, and Winona State University-Rochester Center.