Abilene Christian University is now ranked in the top 50 in the categories of Undergraduate Teaching and Research by U.S. News and World Report. This is the first year ACU was ranked nationally instead of regionally. This change to a new national status came from growth in graduate and doctoral programs. Overall the publication ranked ACU 250 out of 440 schools on the Best National Universities list.
ACU President Phill Schubert says that receiving awards is not administrators’ purpose, but it is rewarding to be recognized, "I love the fact that we're committed to things that matter at ACU and I think that's been a hallmark of the universities culture and brand for decades. I love it when that's recognized and I would tell students that this does nothing but increase the value of your degree from ACU.”
ACU is also the only Texas school to rank in the top ten of three student-focused categories: fifth in Service Learning, eighth in First-Year Experience, and ninth in Learning Communities.
● SERVICE LEARNING: (1) Berea College; (2) Tulane; (3) Elon; (4) Duke; (5) Abilene Christian; (6) Notre Dame; (7) Boston College (8) Portland State; (9) Michigan State University, Stanford University
● FIRST-YEAR EXPERIENCE: (1) Agnes Scott College; (2) Elon; (3) South Carolina; (4) Amherst College; (5) Berea College; (6) Georgia State; (7) Bates College; (8) Abilene Christian; (9) Princeton; (10) Baylor
● LEARNING COMMUNITIES: (1) Elon; (2) Yale; (3) Agnes Scott College; (4) Michigan State (5) University of Michigan--Ann Arbor; (6) Princeton, Vanderbilt, (8) University of Maryland, College Park; (9) Abilene Christian, Bucknell University, Dartmouth College, Georgia State University, Miami University--Oxford, Spelman College and Syracuse University
In a press release ACU provost Robert Rhodes explained the context of the rankings, “These aren't just 440 general universities but the top tier of doctoral research universities in the nation. Out of approximately 4,000 colleges and universities across the country, the National University category comprises the top 440. These are the very best research universities in the nation – in essence, the top 10% – and we entered with a strong national ranking.”
ACU was also the only Texas university to be ranked in the Senior Capstone category (22nd). And ACU ranked in six of eight categories the publication highlighted, more than any other Texas college or university.