@MYOS1634 First of all, thanks! You are curious about Houston and NJIT, and here is the explanation: There are about 30 programs that are included in each edition. The remaining 20 rated programs (plus 10 with summary reviews) are included because I invite them or they ask to be included. In either of these cases, the programs submit detailed questionnaires, followed by spreadsheets with all kinds of course and section data. Sometimes programs do not follow through on one or the other of these requirements. Then we invite or accept other programs. In the end, we are looking for those with the most comprehensive data. Houston and NJIT certainly complied in all respects.
One of the most enjoyable things about this work is the discovery of what some might consider to be hidden gems. Honors colleges, especially, are created to concentrate excellence within universities that may not have high US News Rankings. Honors programs are generally older and are often a part of higher profile publics (Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Washington, UT Austin, UVA, UC Irvine). While we identify top programs as a group in each edition, we do not claim that the data set in each edition includes all “top” programs and colleges in the nation. As the 2016 book shows, there are always such programs out there deserving of recognition.