Abilene Christian University is the highest-ranking university in Texas in a new U.S. News and World Report benchmark focused on student success. The university also achieved its highest overall regional ranking ever – 12th – in U.S. News & World Report’s 2020 “America’s Best Colleges,” an improvement of nine places over 2019.
U.S. News highlighted the best institutions in the nation for exceptional commitment to student success, with ACU achieving top 20 status in three of eight high-impact categories:

• SERVICE LEARNING: (1) Berea College; (2) Elon; (3) Tulane; (4) Abilene Christian; (5) Duke, Seattle, Stanford; (8) Boston College; (9) Fairfield, Michigan State, Portland State, Notre Dame, Warren Wilson College; (14) Appalachian State, Creighton; (16) Brown, College of the Ozarks, Vanderbilt; and (19) Carleton College, Georgetown, Loyola-Chicago, Northeastern
• FIRST-YEAR EXPERIENCE: (1) Agnes Scott College; (2) Elon; (3) South Carolina; (4) Berea College; (5) Georgia State; (6) Appalachian State; (7) Amherst College; (8) Baylor; (9) Abilene Christian, Arizona State; (11)
  Alverno College; (12) Brown; (13) Butler; (14) Adrian College, Belmont, College of William and Mary, Texas, Yale; and (19) Bard College, Bowdoin College, Princeton
• LEARNING COMMUNITIES: (1) Elon; (2) Yale; (3) Agnes Scott College, Amherst; (5) Appalachian State, Georgia State; (7) Belmont, Evergreen State College, Princeton; (10) Michigan State; (11) Abilene Christian, Michigan; (13) Rice, Maryland; (15) Clemson; (16) Vanderbilt; (17) Dartmouth College, Davidson College, Duke; and (20) Georgia Institute of Technology, Iowa State, Middlebury College, Purdue, Stanford, Richmond, South Carolina, Washington, Wisconsin

The only other Texas universities recognized in the Top 20 of this new benchmark are Baylor University, Rice University and The University of Texas at Austin. ACU is the only Texas institution to be ranked in five categories and the only Church of Christ-affiliated university other than Pepperdine to be included in the new benchmark.
In addition, ACU was ranked in the Top 50 in the nation in two other categories:

• STUDY ABROAD: Tied for 35th
• UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH/CREATIVE PROJECTS: Tied for 42nd

“It is gratifying to receive these accolades because they reflect our strategic vision, spirit of innovation, and collaborative living and learning environment,” said ACU president Dr. Phil Schubert. “But I am especially proud of faculty and staff who contribute in so many ways each day to help us achieve our mission and prepare our exceptional students to make a real difference in the world.”
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