The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire is the second-highest ranking public regional university from Wisconsin and Minnesota in Money magazine’s 2020 “Best Colleges for Your Money” rankings.
UW-Eau Claire is ranked 175th on the list that includes 739 public and private universities and colleges that Money says successfully combine educational quality, affordability and alumni success.
According to Money’s website, UW-Eau Claire has the “characteristics of a top-notch regional public college: relatively low debt loads, above average graduation rates, and a not-too-big, not-too-small enrollment of about 10,000 undergraduates.”
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University and Princeton University held the top three positions on the list.
To make the list, a university or college must have 500 students, sufficient data to analyze, not be in financial distress and have a graduation rate at least at the median for its institutional category.
The rankings are based on an examination of three categories: quality of education, affordability and outcomes. The outcome is based on several indicators, including:
- Quality of education: graduation rates, instructor quality, financial troubles.
- Affordability: Net price of a degree, debt, ability to repay debt.
- Outcomes: Graduates’ earnings, number of graduates not employed, socioeconomic mobility.
