For the third year in a row, Abilene Christian University is the highest-ranking university in Texas in U.S. News & World Report benchmarks focused on programs that lead to student success.
According to U.S. News & World Report methodology, the Academic Programs to Look For benchmarks highlight “colleges and universities that offer well-regarded study abroad, service learning and other special programs that, research shows, are linked to student success and positive learning outcomes while fostering a successful undergraduate student experience.”
ACU achieved top 10 status in three of the eight categories. No other Texas university was named in the top 10 of any category.
- FIRST-YEAR EXPERIENCE: (1) Agnes Scott College; (2) Elon; (3) South Carolina; (4) Berea College, Amherst College; (6) Georgia State; (7) Abilene Christian; (8) Yale; (9) Carleton College; (10) Bard College, Colorado College, Arizona State University
- LEARNING COMMUNITIES: (1) Elon; (2) Agnes Scott College; (3) Yale; (4) Michigan State (5) Georgia State; (6) Princeton; (7) Vanderbilt, University of Michigan; (9) Abilene Christian, Spelman College
- SERVICE LEARNING: (1) Berea College; (2) Elon; (3) Notre Dame; (4) Tulane; (5) Boston College (6) Duke; (7) Portland State, Stanford; (9) Abilene Christian; (10) Georgetown
Abilene Christian also ranked in a fourth student success category: #43 nationally in Undergraduate Research. ACU is the only Texas institution to be ranked in four of the eight categories.
In the U.S. News Best Colleges section, ACU ranked 16th overall among Regional Universities (West). Also in the Regional Universities (West) rankings, Abilene Christian was named:
- #2 in Most Innovative
- #4 in Best Undergraduate Teaching
- #7 in Best Colleges for Veterans
“ACU continues to shine on the national stage through our vibrant student success programs that attract not only the best and brightest students in Texas, but also from across the world,” said Phil Schubert, ACU president. “We are honored that U.S. News & World Report rankings show our peers continue to recognize the exceptional work being done by our faculty and staff who make ACU a top-choice university for so many students.”
Begin your own student success story at ACU.
— Wendy Kilmer
Sept. 13, 2021