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

Cleveland State University

2016 University Academic Rankings

Cleveland State University (also known as Cleveland State or CSU) is a public university located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1964 when the state of Ohio assumed control of Fenn College and absorbed the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1969. Today it is part of the University System of Ohio, has more than 120,000 alumni, and offers over 200 academic programs. Its mission is to "encourage excellence, diversity, and engaged learning by providing a contemporary and accessible education in the arts, sciences, humanities and professions, and by conducting research, scholarship, and creative activity across these branches of knowledge."

History

1923: Y-Tech offers courses towards a bachelor's degree for the first time. This is now reckoned as Fenn College's founding date; it was originally claimed as 1881.

1929: Renamed Fenn College after Sereno Peck Fenn. Fenn College took over several buildings in the area including Fenn Tower, Stilwell Hall, and Foster Hall.

President Michael Schwartz ended open admissions and implemented a vision to move from a U.S. News & World Report fourth tier university to a second tier university.

Presidents | Fenn College | Cleveland State University | Board of Trustees

The Cleveland State University Board consists of nine trustees, a Secretary to the Board, two faculty representatives, and two student representatives. The board members, along with the University President, are charged with fulfilling the goals set forth in the University Mission Statement as well as acting as the governing body in all policy matters of the University requiring attention. In January 2006 the Board of Trustees amended their bylaws so that they could restructure board committees as well as include Community members on the Board. Community members serve as non-voting advisers and are appointed by the Board Chairman for a term approved by the Board.

Colleges and academics

CSU offers many disciplines and research facilities, with 70 academic majors, 27 master's degree programs, two post-master's degrees, six doctoral degrees, and two law degrees. It also has research cooperation agreements with the nearby NASA Glenn Research Center.

In 1965, when The Cleveland State University was formed the colleges were the Fenn College of Engineering (now the Washkewicz College of Engineering), the colleges of business administration, arts and sciences and education. The University is currently organized around ten academic colleges:

The Division of University Studies focuses on academic support services, and the Division of Continuing Education extends academic services beyond the campus.

Notable programs include the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, whose city management and urban policy program is ranked 2nd in the country by U.S. News and World Report, as well as the recently formed School of Communication, ranked 8th in research productivity and as the top terminal MA-granting program in the United States overall. The Monte Ahuja College of Business is also highly regarded and is ranked in the top ten nationwide in performance of its Certified Public Accountant graduate students. Additionally, CSU is the first university in Ohio to offer a master's degree in software engineering.

Cleveland-Marshall College of Law

The Cleveland-Marshall College of Law traces its origins to the founding of Cleveland Law School in 1897. One of the most famous alumni of the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law was Tim Russert, host of television program Meet the Press, who graduated in 1976.

Research

With $55 million in annual research and development expenditures, CSU ranks among the top 20 percent of universities in the United ... [more on wikipedia]

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

Cleveland State University Details

Cleveland State University Details
detail value
stateOhio
conferenceHorizon League
publicPublic
scores1540/1027/23
levelAverage
rank[440
overall ROI rank[299
sizemedium
undergrads11826
grads5110
price28746
drop67
stem33
research50
scores validTrue
Common Questions...

What are the academic rankings for Cleveland State University?

1. number 440 for Academics.

2. number 299 for ROI (Return on Investment).

What universities are similar to Cleveland State University?

1. University of Memphis

2. University of Hawaii at Manoa

3. Northern Illinois University

4. University of Louisville

5. University of Toledo

6. Rutgers University-Newark

7. The University of Texas at San Antonio



National Academic Rankings

(summary of all ranking placements)

Cleveland State University National Academic Rankings

Cleveland State University National Academic Rankings
category rank scores difficulty smartest brainpower faculty research salary ROI overall ROI
Horizon League165442231
Mid West Region828988566218274566
State of Ohio2334331214351316
Top Ten Horizon League165442231


Peer Universities / Similar Universities

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

Cleveland State University Peer Universities, Similar Universities to Cleveland State University

Cleveland State University Peer Universities, Similar Universities to Cleveland State University
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
97.95
University of MemphisTennesseeAmerican Athletic ConferencePublicAverage359314
92.25
University of Hawaii at ManoaHawaiiMountain West Conference / Big...PublicAverage204245
91.77
Northern Illinois UniversityIllinoisMid American ConferencePublicAverage435289
91.61
University of LouisvilleKentuckyAtlantic Coast ConferencePublicAverage258224
91.57
University of ToledoOhioMid American ConferencePublicAverage405285
90.84
Rutgers University-NewarkNew JerseyNew Jersey Athletic ConferencePublicAverage371392
89.91
The University of Texas at San AntonioTexasConference USAPublicAverage330180
89.76
Florida Atlantic UniversityFloridaConference USAPublicAverage305303
86.58
University of Alabama at BirminghamAlabamaConference USAPublicAboveAverage153148
86.58
Wichita State UniversityKansasMissouri Valley ConferencePublicAverage382307
86.57
University of Southern MississippiMississippiConference USAPublicAverage493423
86.50
University of North DakotaNorth DakotaBig Sky ConferencePublicAverage363266
86.50
North Dakota State UniversityNorth DakotaMissouri Valley Conference / T...PublicAverage261196
86.45
University of Nebraska at OmahaNebraskaThe Summit LeaguePublicAverage491364
86.44
Southern Illinois University-EdwardsvilleIllinoisOhio Valley ConferencePublicAverage438368
86.17
South Dakota State UniversitySouth DakotaMissouri Valley Conference / T...PublicAverage354263
86.07
University of Massachusetts-LowellMassachusettsAmerica EastPublicAboveAverage247275
85.89
University of Missouri-Kansas CityMissouriWestern Athletic ConferencePublicAboveAverage197155
85.81
Tennessee Technological UniversityTennesseeOhio Valley ConferencePublicAverage374212
85.63
University of Minnesota-DuluthMinnesotaNorthern Sun Intercollegiate C...PublicAverage464346
85.59
CUNY Brooklyn CollegeNew YorkCity University of New York At...PublicAverage296394
85.43
University of Colorado Colorado SpringsColoradoRocky Mountain Athletic ConferencePublicAverage451347
85.37
Louisiana Tech UniversityLouisianaConference USAPublicAverage392213
85.26
University of MaineMaineAtlantic 10 Conference / Ameri...PublicAverage248245
85.23
University of IdahoIdahoSun Belt Conference / Big Sky ...PublicAverage379216
84.90
California State University-ChicoCaliforniaCalifornia Collegiate Athletic...PublicAverage392409
84.84
University of California-Santa CruzCaliforniaDivision III IndependentsPublicAverage157208
84.77
Mississippi State UniversityMississippiSoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage197130
84.68
University of Nevada-RenoNevadaMountain West ConferencePublicAverage289340
84.67
Drexel UniversityPennsylvaniaColonial Athletic AssociationPrivateAboveAverage120134
84.57
Clemson UniversitySouth CarolinaAtlantic Coast ConferencePublicAboveAverage9851
84.00
University of Akron Main CampusOhioMid American ConferencePublicAverage331251
83.95
Howard UniversityWashington DCMid Eastern Athletic ConferencePrivateAverage343429
83.88
Kansas State UniversityKansasBig Twelve ConferencePublicAverage249168
83.76
Oklahoma State UniversityOklahomaBig Twelve ConferencePublicAverage182124
83.62
University of New MexicoNew MexicoMountain West ConferencePublicAverage265153
83.55
University of North Carolina at CharlotteNorth CarolinaDivision I-AA Independents / C...PublicAverage292207
83.49
West Virginia UniversityWest VirginiaBig Twelve ConferencePublicAverage320192
83.48
University of Wisconsin-MilwaukeeWisconsinHorizon LeaguePublicBelowAverage420367
83.30
Washington State UniversityWashingtonPacific 12 ConferencePublicAverage189193
83.30
Oregon State UniversityOregonPacific 12 ConferencePublicAverage152202
82.96
San Jose State UniversityCaliforniaMountain West ConferencePublicAverage386389
82.75
Texas Tech UniversityTexasBig Twelve ConferencePublicAverage176104
82.49
California State University-Long BeachCaliforniaBig West ConferencePublicAverage318387
81.92
Florida International UniversityFloridaConference USAPublicAverage163170
79.89
Rowan UniversityNew JerseyNew Jersey Athletic ConferencePublicAboveAverage306392
79.50
New Mexico State UniversityNew MexicoSun Belt Conference / Western ...PublicBelowAverage486360
79.26
Montana State UniversityMontanaBig Sky ConferencePublicAboveAverage217168
79.04
University of WyomingWyomingMountain West ConferencePublicAboveAverage250152
78.92
University of North FloridaFloridaAtlantic Sun ConferencePublicAboveAverage219214


Academic Peer Universities / Similar Academics

(mathematically similar academics)

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

Cleveland State University Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to Cleveland State University
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
96.68
Bowling Green State UniversityOhioMid American ConferencePublicAverage442351
96.09
Southern Illinois University-EdwardsvilleIllinoisOhio Valley ConferencePublicAverage438368
96.02
Sun Belt Conference (Low)-Sun Belt Conference-Conf-Average-327
93.48
Pacific Lutheran UniversityWashingtonNorthwest ConferencePrivateAverage439431
90.96
Augsburg CollegeMinnesotaMinnesota Intercollegiate Ath ConfPrivateAverage437376
89.33
Xavier UniversityOhioBig East ConferencePrivateAboveAverage436336
89.06
Wittenberg UniversityOhioNorth Coast Athletic ConferencePrivateAboveAverage441295
86.86
Virginia Military InstituteVirginiaBig South ConferencePublicAboveAverage444227
86.80
Saint Anselm CollegeNew HampshireNortheast 10 ConferencePrivateAboveAverage443423