The Measure of a University

Rankings and Enrollment for 2015-16

(Photo by Christa McConnell)

The measure of Andrews University is evaluated in a number of ways each fall, from rankings of the University and its programs compared to other colleges and universities nationwide, to its annual fall census—a number that’s measured each September about a week and a half after fall registration closes. 

Increasingly, the University also turns to an annual count called IPEDS: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. This report takes an annual snapshot of how many students Andrews University—and each postsecondary institution in the United States—educates in the span of a school year.

U.S. News Best Colleges

For many students and their families, though, rankings themselves are what often receive the most attention.

U.S. News Best Colleges, one of the oldest and most established list of rankings, is the one to which most students and families return each year to get a sense of how various schools measure up among the approximately 3,000 four-year universities and colleges that currently operate in the United States.

In the 2016 U.S. News Best College’s rankings, Andrews University was again the only Adventist university ranked as a national university, coming in as #175 out of 276. 

Andrews University was again recognized as the second most ethnically diverse university in the nation, tied with St. John’s University in Queens, New York, University of Houston and University of Nevada, Las Vegas. It was also ranked as having the seventh highest percentage of international students, tied with University of California, San Diego.

The University was included in a number of other U.S. News rankings, including A+ Colleges for B Students, Best Grad Schools rankings for Physical Therapy and Social Work, as well as listings in Best Education Schools, Best Nursing Schools and Best Psychology Programs.

Online offerings were also recognized, with listings for Best Online Education Programs and Best Online Graduate Education Programs. In addition, Andrews’ online MBA program was ranked as #114 in the nation.

Forbes.com

Forbes publishes an annual Top Colleges list, which ranks Andrews University as #597 out of 650 top universities and colleges overall. It also includes Andrews in its listings for top research universities, private colleges and grateful graduates.

USA Today/College Factual

A new ranking this year comes as a joint effort between USA Today and College Factual. This Best Nationwide Colleges (BNC) ranking looked at 1,393 colleges overall, and placed Andrews University as #513 on that list.

This ranking similarly gives some significant rankings for the University’s ethnic diversity: #27 for “excellent ethnic diversity,” #22 for “overall diversity” and additional recognition for above average faculty diversity.

College Factual also attempts to evaluate an issue that’s always been important for students and families, and increasingly an issue in media coverage of higher education: whether a particular institution offers value for the investment. Out of the schools it ranked this year, College Factual named 1,223 of them as “Best Value for the Money,” and placed Andrews University as #148 on that list—or in the top 20 percent of the schools receiving this ranking.

With a low student teacher ratio (9:1), College Factual also named Andrews as “among the best in terms of instructional attention.”

Additional Rankings

In addition to these overall rankings, Andrews is pleased to be recognized on other specialized lists. This includes this year’s recognition of the University’s STEM program as tied for the second best STEM degree program among a listing of the best 30 small colleges with these programs in the U.S.

The new onlinembareport.com named Andrews University as 23rd out of the best 50 private online MBA programs in the U.S. in 2014, ranking above Columbia College in Missouri and University of Phoenix. 

Additionally, the Council on Social Work Education has ranked the University’s Social Work program as #11 out of 150 Best Value Christian Colleges.