These WI Universities Are Among The Best In The Nation: U.S. News

WISCONSIN — Several colleges and universities in Wisconsin are among higher education institutions included in the 2022-2023 Best Colleges rankings released Monday by U.S. News & World Report.

U.S. News has published the respected guide for prospective students and families for nearly 40 years. Methodology has changed over the years to reflect changes in higher education, Kim Castro, editor and chief content officer at U.S. News, said in a news release.

U.S. News touts its ranking for providing millions of parents with “useful data and information to help with one of life’s biggest decisions,” Castro said.

U.S. News ranked 1,500 colleges and universities across 17 academic measures. To rank colleges, U.S. News first places each school into a category based on its mission and, in some cases, its geographic location.

National universities, which focus on research and offer several doctoral programs, are ranked separately from liberal arts colleges.

Wisconsin schools that made the ranking include:

National Universities
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Ranked No. 38.
Marquette University in Milwaukee, Ranked No. 83.
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Ranked No. 250.

National Liberal Arts Colleges
Lawrence University in Appleton, Ranked No. 63.
Beloit College in Beloit, Ranked No. 81.
St. Norbert College in De Pere. Ranked No. 111.

To compile the rankings, U.S. News focuses on academic quality and places emphasis on outcome measures, including graduation rates, retention rates, graduate indebtedness and social mobility. Graduation rates and other outcomes represent 40 percent of each school’s overall score.

U.S. News said it changed how it weights SAT and ACT scores because demand for the college entrance exams plummeted due to the pandemic, especially among students living in low-income households.

Part-time faculty members were considered in measures on faculty resources, reflecting a trend for more part-time instructors, U.S. News said. Previously, only full-time instructors were considered.

Read more about the methodology.