By Mark Donovan

mdonovan@heraldsun.com; 419-6655

DURHAM -- Harvard and Princeton share the top spot in the latest edition of the annual U.S. News & World Report university rankings.

The latest edition of the contentious but closely followed "America's Best Colleges" appears online and in print today.

Last year, Princeton had surrendered the top spot to Harvard after eight straight years at least tied for No. 1. This year the Ivy League rivals are followed by No. 3 Yale and a four-way tie for No. 4: Cal Tech, MIT, Stanford and the University of Pennsylvania. Next were Columbia and the University of Chicago, tied for eighth, and Duke University at No. 10.

"We're pleased to see Duke's faculty and students recognized once again for their excellence, and for the university to be noted for its deep commitment to undergraduate teaching," said Provost Peter Lange, the university's top academic official.

"Duke continues to be seen as a leader in providing students with opportunities to pursue original research and intensive projects, and for the value of our educational experience."

UNC Chapel Hill was tied with Wake Forest at 28th -- UNC was No. 5 nationally among public schools.

Other schools of local interest in the national university rankings include N.C. State at 88.

After the top 133, the rankings were broken into groups including UNC Greensboro -- in the group between 134 and 190 -- and East Carolina, North Carolina A T and UNC Charlotte in the 200-260 group.

N.C. Central University was included in a separate category, historically black colleges and universities, where it was ranked 10th out of 80 schools.

From the Atlantic Coast Conference, in addition to the schools mentioned above, Virginia was 24th, Boston College 34th, Georgia Tech 35th, Miami 50th, Maryland 53rd, Clemson 61st, Virginia Tech 71st and Florida State 102nd.

The ranking formula takes account of factors such as SAT scores, peer reputation, selectivity and alumni giving.

As usual, there are few major moves up or down among colleges this year, but the rankings remain a hot topic of debate among educators. While few openly embrace the idea of numerically ranking colleges, some call the rankings a helpful consumer tool. But many others consider the practice harmful for both students and colleges.

Critics argue rankings pressure colleges to focus on boosting their scores in various categories, instead of improving their teaching. That debate was reignited earlier this year when a former Clemson University administrator described the school's coordinated efforts to move up the list.

There are also charges of gaming the system. Clemson's president acknowledged he ranked his own school higher than any other university when he responded to the magazine's peer review questionnaire -- a survey that accounts for 25 percent of a school's score. Some critics assume such cheerleading is widespread; the magazine keeps the surveys themselves confidential but says it has safeguards against "strategic voting."

It didn't help much: Clemson ranks No. 61 among national universities -- the same as last year.

-- Associated Press education writer Justin Pope contributed to this report.