U.S. News & World Report: Gonzaga No. 4 Best University in West, No. 1 for Undergraduate Teaching

Sunday, September 9, 2018

SPOKANE, Wash. — U.S. News & World Report, in its annual college rankings, ranks Gonzaga University the fourth best regional university in the West for the fourth straight year and ranks it the sixth best value — up from seventh last year. 

Gonzaga ranks No. 2 in the West for its graduation rate of 87 percent and is No. 3 for its first-year student retention rate of 93 percent. The higher the proportion of first-year students who return and eventually graduate, the better a school is apt to be at offering the classes and services that students need to succeed, the publication notes.

In its web-exclusive ratings, Gonzaga ranks No. 1 among the West’s regional universities for its strong commitment to undergraduate teaching, No. 3 for best colleges for veterans, and No. 7 (tie) for most innovative schools. Gonzaga’s School of Engineering and Applied Science is ranked as the 18th best (tie) engineering program nationwide (at engineering schools whose highest degree is a bachelor’s or master’s) up from 19th last year.

Gonzaga’s No. 6 best value ranking among regional universities in the West is based on its academic quality ranking and the 2017-18 net cost of attendance for a student who received the average level of need-based financial aid; 53 percent of Gonzaga undergraduates received need-based grants in the 2017-18 school year.

This marks the 20th consecutive year that Gonzaga has been ranked among the top four regional universities in the West, and the 24th consecutive year (31st in the past 34 years) it has been ranked among the best regional universities.

Gonzaga’s overall ranking is based on methodology involving multiple indicators, including outcomes (35 percent; social mobility; retention and graduation rates), faculty resources (20 percent), expert opinion (20 percent), financial resources (10 percent), student excellence (10 percent), and alumni giving (5 percent). The graduation rate indicates the average proportion of a graduating class earning a degree in six years or less; the publication considered first-year classes that started from fall 2008 through fall 2011. First-year retention indicates the average proportion of first-year students who entered the school in the fall 2013 through fall 2016 and returned the following fall. 

The regional universities classification includes 656 institutions in four broad regions: North, South, Midwest and West. Like national universities, regional universities offer a broad scope of undergraduate degrees and some master’s degree programs but few, if any, doctoral programs. Gonzaga offers doctoral degrees in leadership studies, educational leadership and nursing practice as well as a juris doctorate from the School of Law.

Gonzaga’s mission-focused care for individual students is evidenced by its 12-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2017). Only 2 percent of Gonzaga’s classes include more than 50 students and 33 percent of Gonzaga’s classes include fewer than 20 students (fall 2017). 

The rankings are available online www.usnews.com/colleges and will be in the print edition of the “Best Colleges 2019” guidebook.

To learn more about Gonzaga University, visit www.gonzaga.edu.