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

Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (Average)

2016 University Academic Rankings

The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. Although officially instituted during the 1998-1999 season, the HCAC actually traces its history to the formation of the Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference (ICAC) in 1987.

Original members of the HCAC included Anderson, Bluffton, Franklin, Hanover, Manchester, Mount St. Joseph, Wabash, and Wilmington. Of the ten current members, six were founding members of the former ICAC.

Former members include DePauw (1987-1998),Taylor (1988-1991), Wabash (1987-1999), and Wilmington (1998-2000). Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (1988-1998) re-joined as of July 1, 2006.

History

The Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference (ICAC) was formed in June 1987, with 1990-1991 being the first full season of competition (all eight teams competing in eight varsity sports).

Charter members in 1987 included Anderson University, DePauw University, Franklin College, Hanover College, Manchester College, and Wabash College. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and Taylor University later joined in 1988.

The addition of three Ohio schools (Bluffton College, the College of Mount St. Joseph, and Wilmington College) and the departure of two Indiana schools (DePauw and Rose-Hulman) during the 1998-1999 season prompted a change in name to Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. Wabash and Wilmington later departed in the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 seasons respectively. Transylvania University joined in 2001. Rose-Hulman would re-join the HCAC, effectively for the 2006-07 season.

The most recent expansion was when Earlham College of Richmond, Indiana was accepted as the 10th member of the conference in October 2009 to begin competition in the fall of 2010.

Member schools

All of the conference's members throughout its history have been private schools. All have a religious affiliation except current member Rose-Hulman and former member Wabash.

Former members | Membership timeline | Sports

Member teams compete in women's basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field and volleyball and men's baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis and track and field.

The conference does not sponsor lacrosse, but some Heartland schools partnered with some Presidents' Athletic Conference schools to form the single-sport Ohio River Lacrosse Conference, which sponsors both men's and women's play.

External links

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Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Details

Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Details
detail value
state-
conferenceHeartland Collegiate Athletic ...
public-Conf-
scores1648/1099/25
levelAboveAverage
rank[-
overall ROI rank[-1
sizesmall
undergrads1475
grads262
price46003
drop33
stem27
research0
scores validTrue
Common Questions...

What are the academic rankings for Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (Average)?

1. number - for Academics.

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

What universities are similar to Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (Average)?



National Academic Rankings

(summary of all ranking placements)

Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference National Academic Rankings

Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference National Academic Rankings
category rank scores difficulty smartest brainpower faculty research salary ROI overall ROI
Conferences9763519898588292100


Peer Universities / Similar Universities

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

Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Peer Universities, Similar Universities to Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference

Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Peer Universities, Similar Universities to Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI


Academic Peer Universities / Similar Academics

(mathematically similar academics)

Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference

Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
96.97
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Assoc (Average)-Michigan Intercollegiate Athle...-Conf-AboveAverage--1
96.83
Southern Athletic Association (Low)-Southern Athletic Association-Conf-AboveAverage--1
93.05
Southland Conference (Average)-Southland Conference-Conf-Average--1
92.68
National (Average)--Conf-Average--1
91.00
Empire Eight (Low)-Empire Eight-Conf-Average--1
90.49
Horizon League (Low)-Horizon League-Conf-Average--1
86.47
New Jersey Athletic Conference (Low)-New Jersey Athletic Conference-Conf-Average-479