Georgetown has retained its position as the 23rd best university in the nation this year, according to the U.S. News and World Report 2009 university rankings released today. While the university’s selectivity ranking increased, it slipped in several other categories, including graduation and retention, faculty resources, financial resources and alumni giving. Combined, these various categories are the basis for the overall ranking.

For the second year in a row, Georgetown University and the University of Virginia have been tied for the position while Harvard University, Princeton University and Yale University topped the list.

While the survey compiles overall rankings, it also breaks down the position into more specific categories. In several of these classifications, Georgetown earns a ranking higher than 23rd. These fields include graduation and retention rank, in which Georgetown places tenth. However, Georgetown has slipped since the Report’s 2008 rankings, in which it earned ninth place.

Georgetown also ranks higher than 23rd in the category of selectivity, earning 13th, up from last year’s 19th.

The university received scores lower than the overall score in other categories such as faculty resources, where it was ranked 40th, down from 38th last year. The criterion for the faculty resources category is based on the level of contact between students and professors, class size, faculty salary, the proportions of professors with the highest degree in their fields, the student-faculty ratio and the proportion of full-time faculty members.

Georgetown also ranks 37th in financial resources and at 27th in alumni giving — both below the overall mark. These scores have also slipped — Georgetown was ranked 35th for financial resources last year and 23rd for alumni giving.

Still, Georgetown received top rankings in the Princeton Review’s Best 368 Colleges 2009, released in July. The university earned tenth in two categories, Most Politically Active Students and Best College Town.

The Princeton Review’s survey is based on the responses of 120,000 students at 368 top colleges. Students are asked to rate their schools based on a variety of elements, including diversity, social scenes and athletic interests.

The Princeton Review also introduced a new category this year called the Green Rating, based on the environmental practices and course offerings at each school. Georgetown scored a 95 on a scale of 66 to 99.

University President John J. DeGioia said in a university press release that he is proud and pleased to be recognized among the top higher education institutions. However, he also pointed out that there are limitations to these rankings.

“It’s also important to realize that these are just one measure of Georgetown’s success,” he said.