UW, WSU rankings: the cost of slipping support for higher education

Those closely watched college rankings are out and the most important take-away is that the University of Washington and Washington State University remain among the best academic deals in the country.

The two research institutions slipped slightly in the U.S. News & World Report's 2013 edition of Best Colleges, which compares schools on how well they offer a full range of undergraduate majors, graduate programs and groundbreaking research.

The UW slipped in the magazine's rankings to 46th from 42nd last year and 41st the year before. WSU fell to 125th, from 115th place in 2012 and 111th in 2011. The trend is going in the wrong direction.