Sept. 13, 2021

This paid piece is sponsored by Augustana University. 

 Augustana University has been named a top regional university for the third year in a row by U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 Best College Rankings.

Augustana is ranked No. 10 in Best Regional Universities in the Midwest and listed in other Best Regional Universities Midwest categories, including No. 6 in Best Undergraduate Teaching, No. 11 in Best Value and No. 12 in Most Innovative.

“Our rankings continue to highlight Augustana’s commitment to providing an affordable, innovative and life-changing education — delivered by faculty deeply invested in each student’s understanding and success,” said Adam Heinitz, assistant vice president for enrollment management. “While Augustana has consistently ranked near the top of these rankings, the investments being made to expand, reinvent and enhance our students’ educational and student-life experience have never been greater.”

U.S. News & World Report surveyed schools in the spring and summer of this year. In total, the recognized leader in college rankings collected data on more than 1,850 institutions, and 1,466 were ranked according to their performance across more than a dozen indicators of academic quality, including graduate outcomes, faculty resources, expert opinion, financial resources, student excellence and alumni giving.

U.S. News identifies a regional university as one that offers a broad scope of undergraduate degrees and some master’s degree programs. The publication defines a regional college as “one that focuses on undergraduate education but grants fewer than 50 percent of their degrees in liberal arts disciplines.” Both categories rank institutions in four geographical groups: North, South, Midwest and West.

To place each school in its ranking, U.S. News strictly maps its categories to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education’s Basic Classification system, which is the accepted standard in U.S. higher education. The U.S. Department of Education and many higher education associations use the Carnegie system to organize or label their data, among other uses. 

“Augustana’s rankings reflect the premier education AU provides,” said Billie Streufert, assistant vice provost for student success and engagement. “From project-based learning in the classroom to campus leadership to internships in the community, students immerse themselves in applied learning throughout their time here. The mentoring students receive today prepares them to be the leaders of tomorrow. We celebrate these rankings for this reason.” 

The Princeton Review also recently ranked AU as one its Best Regional Colleges, as well as Niche, which ranked Augustana as the Best College in South Dakota — giving the university a grade A in academics, student life and value.