U.S. News & World Report again includes UW-Eau Claire among best universities in the Midwest

U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire eighth among the top public regional universities in the Midwest in its 2022 Best Colleges report released today.

This is the 27th consecutive year U.S. News has named UW-Eau Claire a top Midwestern public university.

“For nearly three decades U.S. News has consistently recognized that UW-Eau Claire is among the best public universities in the Midwest,” Chancellor James Schmidt said. “The year-after-year recognition is a tribute to our exceptional students, faculty, staff and alumni, all of whom help to make UW-Eau Claire such an incredible institution.”

UW-Eau Claire is ranked 41st among the 165 public and private Midwestern universities on the U.S. News list. The rankings are based on criteria that includes peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, graduation rate performance and alumni giving.

This year, U.S. News also includes UW-Eau Claire on its list of “Best Undergraduate Teaching,” a list that recognizes the value of quality teaching at the undergraduate level.

“We have extraordinary faculty and staff who put student learning first in all that they do inside and outside of their classrooms,” Schmidt says. “Whether they are facilitating class discussions, collaborating with students on research or leading Blugolds on immersion experiences around the world, their focus is on helping students grow their knowledge and thinking.”

The university supports faculty and staff in their teaching, ensuring they have the resources they need to find new ways to help students learn, Schmidt says. For example, the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning offers faculty and staff a variety of programs that encourage their personal and professional growth in ways that will make them better teachers. CETL offers programs on topics that range from instructional technology to diversity and inclusion to proven teaching strategies.

UW-Eau Claire also was recognized by U.S. News in additional rankings:

• Included on lists for best “Undergraduate Business Programs,” “Undergraduate Nursing Programs” and “Undergraduate engineering — no doctorate.”
• 16th among private and public Midwestern universities in the “Best Colleges for Veterans” category based on the university’s efforts to make a college education more affordable for veterans and active-service members.
• Included in the “Top Performers on Social Mobility” Midwest Universities category, which measures how well schools graduated students who received federal Pell grants (those typically coming from households whose family annual incomes are less than $50,000, though most Pell Grant money goes to students with a total family income below $20,000).
• 50th in the “Best Value Schools” ranking. This category factors academic quality and cost after accounting for total expenses and financial aid.
• Included in the publication’s “A-plus Schools for B students.”