Numbers aren't too important to Penn State administrators when looking at university rankings.

University Park campus ranked lower on the 2002 list of college rankings released by U.S. News & World Report this week, being placed at No. 14 among public national universities and 46th overall — down from 13th and 44th, respectively.

The rankings may be down but administrators aren't losing any sleep over it.

"Everybody looks at it, I'm sure. We won't ignore it completely, but it's not something I stay up at night worrying about," said John Cahir, vice provost and dean for undergraduate education.

Penn State President Graham Spanier does not pay much attention to the rankings. "Most university presidents have a jaded view of the U.S. News rankings, and you can include me in that group," Spanier said in an e-mail.

Despite a relatively good showing, Spanier said he reads the rankings with skepticism, because of the significant weight the magazine's editors place on a university's wealth.

"That, in my opinion, is not as great an indicator of quality as the editors of U.S. News think it is," he said. "Penn State operates with lower expenditures per faculty member and student, and it is ironic that this hurts our rankings."

Cahir finds that evaluating a college would be more accurate and meaningful by looking at a longer period of time rather than yearly.

"Penn State's stature, status and achievements have been growing for a generation at least and its growth has accelerated in 10 years," he said.

Penn State focuses on the actual value of a student's education rather than specific ranking numbers.

"A lot of us would like to see a valid measure of value added by higher education," Cahir said. He also added that he recognizes the limitations of the survey.

Some indicators the university looks at are whether students learn how to manage the world, achieve their goals and if they become happy and fulfilled citizens, he added.

Cahir looks at U.S. News' list as a largely representational survey that is based on conversations with various people.

Richard Folkers, director of media relations for U.S. News & World Report, regards the rankings as a resource for students.

"We believe the ranking is a valuable tool but we also believe as firmly that it is very far from the only tool," Folkers said.

The list of college rankings was first released in 1983 and is based on 16 indicators, including factors like percentages of classes under 20 students, percentages of classes over 50 students, student to faculty ratio, and alumni giving rate.

The publication's goal is to assist students and families in the biggest consumer and educational decision they ever have to make, Folkers said.

"We publish it as a help to students trying to make a big decision. Before, there was no place to turn for this kind of information."

Penn State tries to help students that are looking at colleges by inviting them to visit the campus.

"We love to have parents and students come take a look. We tell our story just as accurately and honestly as we can," Cahir said.

He also added that people should choose a college by what they think is right for them and the university tries not to sell rankings.

Some students who struggled with choosing a college not very long ago agree that rankings didn't have much weight in their decisions.

"I didn't go by national rankings. I looked at the basic atmosphere, talked to people and had to see the place first," said Emily Johnston (freshman-division of undergraduate studies).

Jenny Sellers (freshman-communications) also trusted people's accounts when deciding on a school.

"I went more on the size, location and stories from other people," she said.

She searched through college books and noticed the rankings but they "didn't really play into (her) decision."

"I don't think rankings really matter. What matters is that you enjoy where you are and that you're happy," Sellers said.

For the university, these U.S. News rankings don't count too much because of the overall quality of higher education today.

"When you look at higher education as an enterprise, we're doing a fantastic job in my opinion," Cahir said. "These rankings miss the point of the larger enterprise. American higher education as a whole contributes so much to our society and is the envy of the world."

Collegian staff writer Jeremy R. Cooke contributed to this article.