University Benchmarks

Ranking the Top 100 Academic Universities

UniversityBenchmarks.com ranks the universities that attract and produce the best academic students.

There are many 'University Rankings' on the internet. Most rankings rely heavily on subjective metrics like 'reputation' and 'selectivity'. UniversityBenchmarks is purely an academic ranking model. The rankings are based on the reported academic and financial metrics of the colleges. There are no subjective factors like 'reputation' that are used. The calculations are performed using normal statistical models. All universities are considered equal and there is no weighting of the ranking categories.

The university 2014-2015 dataset is comprised of over 2400 US Universities & Colleges and comes from multiple sources using the most favorable reported metrics for a university.

The universities are ranked against each other in each filtered set. It is an iterative process whereby lower ranking universities are removed and the set is re-ranked until the final set of 100 is reached.

Selecting 'Rank Top 10 Only' will show the Top 10 for each filter category ranked against each other.

The academic rankings of the universities within the major conferences (ACC, Big12, Big10, Pac12, SEC) are available.

The 2017 rankings will be available in August.

Notes:
  • It is possible for universities to be ranked higher/lower than one another depending on the filter set.
  • Conference averages are based on the top 8 schools in the conference.
  • Public Schools are highlighted
  • Clicking on the university's seal icon will take you to the university's website.

Ranking Fields

Rank - Overall rank based on the average of the ranking fields (Scores, Difficulty, Smartest, Brainpower, Faculty and Research).

Scores - SAT & ACT scores. The university's test scores are corrected for dropout rate when score level is Good, Excellent or Elite. This will slightly boost scores for highly competitive schools.

Difficulty - Academic rigor is estimated based on how difficult it is to get an "A" at the university. An estimated GPA at the university is calculated for the average US Student. University grade inflation, average GPA, and STEM density are factors.

Smartest - University that can field the highest scoring students based on the average US University size. Higher Smartest Rank = "Smartest for the Average University"

Brainpower - The average "smartest" rank using 5 reference populations (CalTech, MIT, Stanford, GaTech and Berkeley). Higher Brainpower Rank = "Higher Density of Smart Students". The university ranked higher can mathematically field 'X' number of smarter students than universities ranked below them.

Faculty - Ranking based on number of % of faculty with awards and academy membership.

Research - Ranking is achieved by iteratively ranking the average of 3 research metrics (r-pop, r-stem, r-other ). The lowest ranked college is then removed and the new set is re-ranked. The result is the schools with potentially the strongest research environments per student bubble up to the top regardless of size or research budget.

  • r-pop - Average research spending for student population
  • r-stem - STEM research spending
  • r-other - Other/Medical/Health research spending

Salary ROI - "Salary Return on Investment" is not used in the overall ranking but is provided for additional information. Using the undergraduate average starting and mid-career salaries, the rank is based on a 20yr salary accumulation (with raises) minus the cost of a 4 year education at the university. Salaries are normalized across the country using the average COLA for the university's geo-economic region (7 regions total). The COLA effect is diminished by the level of the university. Elite, Excellent and Good universities have a greater distribution of graduates across the country and a diminishing COLA effect. The resultant value would be the graduate's spending potential over the 20yr period.

Overall ROI - "Overall Return on Investment" is not used in the overall ranking but is provided for additional information. The average of Overall Rank and Salary ROI. This would be the "Best academic bang for the buck". Colleges that produce the best education, at the best price, with the best return will be ranked higher.

Color Key - ranks are colorized as follows 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 50 100

The 2016 University Academic Rankings

Arizona State University-West

2016 University Academic Rankings
Arizona State University at the West Campus is one of four university campuses that compose Arizona State University (ASU). The West campus was established by the Arizona Legislature in 1984, and is located in northwest Phoenix, bordering the city of Glendale.

ASU's campuses are unified as a single institution, and so the West campus shares students, faculty, administration, and accreditation with the other campuses. As of fall 2009, 10,380 students were enrolled in at least one course on the West campus, while the FTE enrollment for the campus is 6,173.

In 2008, the West campus was designated as a Phoenix Point of Pride, and in 2011, construction concluded on a large solar array that powers nearly the entire campus with solar power.

History

Established as the second ASU campus in 1984, construction of the West Campus began in 1986, with the first permanent buildings completed by 1989. Originally known as "ASU West," this campus operated quasi-independently of the Tempe campus and had its own administration, faculty, and student admissions process. At the time, the west campus was designed to offer only upper-level undergraduate courses (with lower-level courses to be taken at nearby Glendale Community College). In 2001, freshmen students were admitted, allowing them to complete their entire undergraduate education on the West campus. The academic offerings on the West campus were designed to highlight an interdisciplinary focus in the liberal arts and sciences, education, and business. With the arrival of current ASU president Michael Crow in 2002, the academic structure of ASU was reorganized to integrate the west campus into the University as a whole. Today, the West campus shares faculty, students, accreditation, and administration with the other ASU campuses.

Facilities

The West campus is the smallest of ASU's campuses in terms of facility space (square footage of buildings). The campus primarily consists of five academic buildings arranged around a quad, with a secondary quad surrounded by the campus's dormitories, dining hall, and recreation center.

In 2011, the Gary K. Herberger Young Scholars Academy, a school for gifted children, opened on the east side of the campus. The school currently uses the Cambridge Learning Curriculum and a move on when ready program. The levels range from Secondary 1 to A-Level years. Secondary 1 houses students from 10-14 years old. Both IGSCE years house students from 12-15 years old. A-Level years usually host students 16-18 years old. The Herberger Young Scholars Academy shares facilities with the rest of ASU West.

Programs

The programs offered on the West campus focus on interdisciplinary and collaborative programs in the liberal arts and sciences, education, and business, leading to bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. The west campus is the headquarters of ASU's New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences and Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, and offers additional programs from the W. P. Carey School of Business. ASU's Graduate College, Honors College and University College also have an administrative presence on the campus.

In 2015, the West campus began to integrate their academic offerings with those of the Thunderbird School of Global Management, (less than three miles from the ASU West campus) which had recently become part of ASU.; (See also and .)

See also | Residence Halls

Two residential complexes are located on the west campus: Casa De Oro, a LEED Silver complex built in 2012, offers traditional dormitory-style accommodations in which students are arranged based on their academic area of study. Las Casas, built in 2002, offers apartment-style units for upper-division and graduate students. ... [more on wikipedia]

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Arizona State University-West", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0

Arizona State University Details

Arizona State University Details
detail value
stateArizona
conferencePacific 12 Conference
publicPublic
scores1610/1073/24
levelAverage
rank[-1
overall ROI rank[-1
sizesmall
undergrads3295
grads397
price37216
drop45
stem0
research0
scores validTrue
Common Questions...

What are the academic rankings for Arizona State University-West?

1. number -1 for Academics.

2. number -1 for ROI (Return on Investment).

What universities are similar to Arizona State University-West?

1. Arizona State University-Polytechnic


National Academic Rankings

(summary of all ranking placements)

Arizona State University National Academic Rankings

Arizona State University National Academic Rankings
category rank scores difficulty smartest brainpower faculty research salary ROI overall ROI
Power5686461686866663658
Pacific - 12 Conference16141216161213712
South West Region483637596333333641
State of Arizona766784445
Top Ten State of Arizona766784445


Peer Universities / Similar Universities

(mathematically similar student body, size, academics, stem, salary... etc)

Arizona State University Peer Universities, Similar Universities to Arizona State University

Arizona State University Peer Universities, Similar Universities to Arizona State University
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
72.52
Arizona State University-PolytechnicArizonaPacific 12 ConferencePublicAverage-1-1


Academic Peer Universities / Similar Academics

(mathematically similar academics)

Arizona State University Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to Arizona State University

Arizona State University Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to Arizona State University
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
97.47
Arizona State University-PolytechnicArizonaPacific 12 ConferencePublicAverage-1-1
96.69
Arizona State University-Downtown PhoenixArizonaPacific 12 ConferencePublicAverage357234
96.00
University of LouisvilleKentuckyAtlantic Coast ConferencePublicAverage258224
93.79
West Virginia UniversityWest VirginiaBig Twelve ConferencePublicAverage320192