PROVIDENCE – Brown University ranks 16th this year in U.S. News & World Report’s annual list of America’s best national universities, which was released yesterday. The school was ranked 14th a year ago.

The rankings are based on data such as graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, financial resources, student selectivity and alumni giving. Also playing a part in the calculations is a reputation survey that the magazine sent to top college officials.

Aside from Brown, other local colleges that appeared in the magazine’s various rankings include three on the top master’s universities list for the North: Providence College (third), Bryant University (16th) and Salve Regina University (35th).

Wheaton College in Norton, Mass., ranked 58th on the list for top liberal arts schools nationwide.

The University of Rhode Island was listed as a “tier 3” school in the national universities list – a level below the top 100 schools.

And Roger Williams University appeared in the eighth slot in the category of best baccalaureate colleges in the North.

Harvard University ranked first in national universities list, the first time since 1996 that the Cambridge, Mass., university is alone at the top. Princeton University and Yale University came in second and third, respectively.

Brown, which according the magazine has tuition and fees of $37,718 for 2008-2009, ranked between John Hopkins University in Baltimore (15th) and Rice University in Houston (17th).

Harvard edged out Princeton by one-tenth of a point in the reputation survey and made slight improvements in some of the other statistical measures.

In December, Harvard announced that it would increase the financial packages it offers to students from families that earn $180,000 or less, much more than the $60,000 threshold used by other selective universities to determine the size of assistance packages, U.S. News said.