Aquinas College continues its healthy presence among other institutions of higher learning on the annual college rankings done by U.S. News & World Report. For this year’s 2009 rankings Aquinas College landed 13 out of 15 Best Values Colleges in Top Tier Midwest schools. Also, Aquinas was ranked 55 out of # schools for Best Colleges offering Masters Degrees.

USN&WR yearly ranks colleges and universities that participate in its “ranking system” and has been doing so since 1983. The ranking methodology first categorizes each college or university into its appropriate group – National Universities, Liberal Arts Colleges, Masters Universities, Baccalaureate Universities. Next, USN&WR ranks each college or university according to “15 weighted factors relating to academic excellence”. Though the methodology changes year to year, for improvements, a longitudinal look at the history of Aquinas’ rankings can give a look at the strength of the institutional advancement.

Aquinas College press records show that Aquinas made its debut in these notable national rankings in 2002, as third in Best Value among Tier One Colleges that offer Masters Programs. The next two years Aquinas qualified as a Tier Two College and places 12 and 14, for 2003 and 2004 respectively. In 2005 rankings, USN&WR consolidated Tier One and Tier Two Colleges into a new category, Top Tier Colleges. From 2005 on Aquinas ranked seventh, second in 2006, no ranking in 2007, twelfth in 2008 and thirteenth in 2009.

From 2005 rankings to present, Aquinas has also ranked in the “Best Universities – Masters” in the Midwest. Beginning in 2005 at 48, Aquinas continued to rank as 46 in 2006, 47 in 2007, 56 in 2008 and 55 in 2009.
These rankings supplement college visits and personal research for countless high school seniors across the country.