TCU is among the top 100 national universities, according to the annual higher education rankings released this week by U.S. News & World Report.

After climbing 37 spots from 2009 to 2014, the university dipped slightly to No. 82 in the 2016 survey, maintaining its top 100 for six years. TCU was No. 76 a year ago.

The news magazine does not release the exact formula for the rankings, but its methodology includes factors, such as alumni giving, SAT scores, graduation rates and freshman retention.

The rankings are controversial, with some people in higher education arguing that the list does not measure academic quality and that schools try to manipulate data used to compile the survey. Nonetheless, the list is closely watched.

TCU is joined in the top 100 by Rice (18^th), University of Texas at Austin (52^nd), SMU (61^st), Texas A&M (70^th) and Baylor (72^nd).

In related news, TCU Institutional Research released its enrollment data after the 12^th day of class for Fall 2015. Total enrollment grew 2.9 percent to 10,323, giving the university its largest student population.

Undergraduate headcount increased 2.9 percent to 8,894, thanks to a record freshman class of 2,072. The university welcomed 440 transfer students as well. Graduate enrollment also increased 3.1 percent to 1,429.

Retention also increased slightly. TCU brought back 90.47 percent of it Fall 2014 first-time, full-time students from 89.6 percent a year ago.