FORT COLLINS – Colorado State University racked up another honor as U.S. News and World Report ranked the school in the top tier of the nation’s best universities in the 2011 “America’s Best Colleges” edition released Aug. 17.

CSU was ranked No. 60 among public universities – up from No. 64 last year – and No. 124 overall, up from No. 128 last year.

Last week, Forbes rated CSU No. 306 on the list of the nation’s 610 best colleges.

“At CSU, we’re focused on providing an excellent, affordable education and cutting-edge research that advances society,´ said Tony Frank, CSU president. “To the extent that any rankings system recognizes that we’re successful in meeting these goals, we appreciate it. And in light of the enormous funding challenges that Colorado higher education has been dealing with the past three years, I think this can be viewed as a great tribute to the quality and dedication of our faculty, who continue to excel in terms of achievement, productivity and commitment to our students.”

Other Colorado universities ranked in U.S. News and World Report’s top tier include the Colorado School of Mines, University of Colorado-Boulder and the University of Denver. The University of Northern Colorado was ranked among the nation’s best in the publication’s tier two category.