Schools will be notified the week of Nov. 3 about U.S. News’ modified framework for grouping colleges into ranking categories, a change motivated by the American Council on Education’s release of the 2025 Carnegie Classification system. This revision ensures that U.S. News rankings reflect the organization’s updated and more granular designations.
The new U.S. News framework is mapped closely from the 2025 Carnegie Classification, using two core components:
Institutional Classifications: These new multidimensional categories, defined by ACE, group institutions based on characteristics like award level focus, academic program mix and enrollment size.
Research Activity Designations: These classify institutions based on their level of research spending and doctoral production.
Read more at U.S. News.
