Virginia’s college students may have registered to vote in unprecedented numbers this year, but many won’t have their campus newspapers suggesting who to vote for. Newspapers have a long tradition of endorsing candidates but some college editors said picking candidates is not part of the role they play.

After more than a year of planning, University of Virginia officials have outlined what they hope will become lasting ways to distinguish the school locally, nationally and internationally over the next decade.

Class sizes will increase while course offerings decrease at Virginia Commonwealth University. The University of Virginia will defer maintenance on its historic grounds. And Christopher Newport University will close its study-abroad center in the Czech Republic next semester. Those are just a few of the ways Virginia’s colleges and universities will accommodate budget reductions announced Thursday by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine.

A two-year engineering program will begin next fall at John Tyler Community College with help from a $400,000 grant from Altria.

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Each year, U.S. News & World Report publishes its rankings of colleges and universities from around the country. Here’s how Virginia fared:

Each school has unique attributes to offer prospective students. Virginia is home to more than 40 residential colleges and universities, including some of the most historic institutions in the country.

Area campuses generate news all the time, with new programs, construction, awards and initiatives. Here is a roundup of news items submitted by the schools profiled in this section:

Granted, this is college, not first grade. But somehow, all the rules and bits of advice seem to be the same: Pay attention to the teacher. Share the toys and don’t fight. Don’t lose your lunch money. Admit when you need help.

Central Virginia Community College next year will introduce systems engineering as the fourth track in its collaborative program with the University of Virginia, the school’s Stan Shoun said Tuesday.

When a student leaves home to attend college it brings a sense of change to the whole family.

Colleges and universities are constantly creating new programs, or expanding facilities or just offering glimpses of campus life.

Selecting a college is one of those forks in the road where a right or left turn could change the course of one’s life.