(Information provided by Illinois State University Media Relations)
It sent quite a ripple of pride through the campus a couple weeks ago when the annual U.S. News & World Report rankings of higher education institutions were published. Why? Because Illinois State University has moved up in the world! This year’s rankings found ISU taking the step from Tier 4 to Tier 3 among national universities with doctoral programs.
Two short years ago, Educating Illinois, Illinois State University’s action plan for distinctiveness and excellence, called for the University to advance to the next level in the U.S. News & World Report rankings. Illinois State has accomplished that goal several years before its deadline!
Rankings are based on academic quality and excellence. Factors considered include assessment by administrators at peer institutions, retention of students, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, alumni giving and graduate rate performance (the difference between the proportion of students expected to graduate and the proportion who actually do).
“College rankings are just one measure – but an important measure of a University’s success – and the U.S. News & World Report rankings are among the most widely recognized,” said President Victor Boschini.
“This… sends a clear signal that Illinois State is achieving greater national recognition.”
Illinois State also ranks 4th in the country for students graduating with the least debt. According to the rankings, Illinois State students who received loans averaged just over $9,600 in debt.
For more information on the rankings and to see where other universities fall, visit the Web site at www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/ranknatudoc_brief.php.
