UW drops a bit in magazine's college rankings

The University of Washington's national ranking slipped a few places in U.S. News & World Report's assessment of academic quality at the nation's colleges, but a researcher for the magazine said the dip was not significant.

In the magazine's Best Colleges 2013 rankings, the UW fell to 46th, from 42nd last year and 41st the year before.

"These are very small changes, not big changes," said Robert Morse, director of data research for U.S. News. "It still keeps them in pretty good company."