The 2021 college rankings singled out LSSU in three categories that it had also made in 2020: best regional colleges in the Midwest; top public schools, regional colleges, in the Midwest; and best undergraduate engineering programs nationwide.
For 2021, LSSU tied for 46th best regional college in the Midwest, from 76 ranked; in 2020, it rated 45th from 70 ranked. There are 366 regional colleges—185 private, 170 pubic, and 11 for-profit—in the country, focusing on undergraduate education and granting less than 50 percent of degrees in liberal arts disciplines, per U.S. News & World Report. LSSU also repeated as third in top public schools, regional colleges, Midwest. LSSU rose four slots in undergraduate engineering nationwide: tying for 157 out of 220 for 2021, up from a tie for 161 out of 210 for 2020.
LSSU also tied for 46th in top performers on social mobility in regional colleges in the Midwest out of 76 ranked.
And LSSU was included unranked among 481 institutions listed in a category new to the influential annual ratings: undergraduate computer science programs nationwide.
“These findings further validate part of our mission to equip graduates with the knowledge, practical skills, and inner strength to craft a life of meaningful employment and personal fulfillment while enhancing the quality of life in the Great Lakes region and the larger world,” said LSSU President Dr. Rodney S. Hanley. “We appreciate substantiation of what has been and will always be among our many hallmarks: providing excellence and innovation in teaching and learning, plus offering a wide range of opportunities for growth academically, professionally, culturally, and socially.”
U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges rankings for 2021 assessed 1,452 U.S. bachelor’s degree-granting institutions on 17 measures of academic quality, including graduation and retention rates, social mobility, expert opinion/peer review, faculty resources, financial aid, and alumni giving, indicate press materials.