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

Northern Illinois University

2016 University Academic Rankings
Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university located in DeKalb, Illinois, United States, with satellite centers in Chicago, Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Rockford, and Oregon. It was originally founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system for producing college educated teachers. Douglas Baker was named the university's twelfth president in May 2013.

The university is composed of seven degree-granting colleges and has a student body of 25,000 with over 225,000 alumni. Many of NIU's programs are nationally accredited for meeting high standards of academic quality, including business, engineering, nursing, visual and performing arts, and all teacher certification programs. NIU is one of only two public universities in Illinois that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the highest levels of all sports, Division I. The University's athletic teams are known as the NIU Huskies and compete in the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

History

Northern Illinois University was founded as part of the expansion of the normal school program established in 1857 in Normal, Illinois. In 1895, the state legislature created a Board of Trustees for the governance of the Northern Illinois State Normal School, which would eventually grow into what is today known as NIU.

In July 1917, the Illinois Senate consolidated the boards of trustees for the five state normal schools (Eastern Illinois State Normal School, Illinois State Normal School, Northern Illinois State Normal School, Southern Illinois State Normal University, and Western Illinois State Normal School) into one state Normal School Board.

Over the next fifty-eight years both the school and the governing board changed their names several times. In 1921, the legislature gave the institution the name Northern Illinois State Teachers College and empowered it to award the four-year Bachelor of Education degree. In 1941 the Normal School Board changed its name to the Teachers College Board. In 1951 the Teachers College Board authorized the college to grant the degree Master of Science in Education, and the institution's Graduate School was established. On July 1, 1955, the state legislature renamed the college Northern Illinois State College and authorized the college to broaden its educational services by offering academic work in areas other than teacher education. The Teachers College Board granted permission for the college to add curricula leading to the degrees Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science. On July 1, 1957, the Seventieth General Assembly renamed Northern Illinois State College as Northern Illinois University in recognition of its expanded status as a liberal arts university.

In 1965, the Illinois State Teachers College Board became the Board of Governors of State Colleges and Universities and was reorganized to include Northeastern University, Governor's State, and Chicago State Universities. In 1967 authority for Northern Illinois University, Illinois State University, and Sangamon State University were passed on to a newly formed Board of Regents. In 1984, the Board of Regents created the position of Chancellor for the three regent universities, to act as a chief executive for all three schools; the first person appointed chancellor was then-NIU President William R. Monat. The Board of Regents and the Chancellor governed the three Regency universities until the end of 1995. On January 1, 1996, authority for each of the three regency universities was transferred to three independent Boards of Trustees, each concerned solely with one university.

University presidents | Academics

NIU has seven degree-granting colleges that together offer more than 60 undergraduate majors, 70 minors, nine pre-professional programs, and ... [more on wikipedia]

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

Northern Illinois University Details

Northern Illinois University Details
detail value
stateIllinois
conferenceMid American Conference
publicPublic
scores1495/997/22
levelAverage
rank[435
overall ROI rank[289
sizemedium
undergrads15435
grads5176
price37502
drop42
stem32
research24
scores validTrue
Common Questions...

What are the academic rankings for Northern Illinois University?

1. number 435 for Academics.

2. number 289 for ROI (Return on Investment).

What universities are similar to Northern Illinois University?

1. Oakland University

2. University of North Carolina at Charlotte

3. University of Louisville

4. University of Toledo

5. University of Hawaii at Manoa

6. University of Memphis

7. Western Michigan University


National Academic Rankings

(summary of all ranking placements)

Northern Illinois University National Academic Rankings

Northern Illinois University National Academic Rankings
category rank scores difficulty smartest brainpower faculty research salary ROI overall ROI
Mid - American Conference1011913126623
Mid West Region799691544626314258
State of Illinois224231129681014


Peer Universities / Similar Universities

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

Northern Illinois University Peer Universities, Similar Universities to Northern Illinois University

Northern Illinois University Peer Universities, Similar Universities to Northern Illinois University
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
99.41
Oakland UniversityMichiganHorizon LeaguePublicAverage417270
97.97
University of North Carolina at CharlotteNorth CarolinaDivision I-AA Independents / C...PublicAverage292207
93.11
University of LouisvilleKentuckyAtlantic Coast ConferencePublicAverage258224
93.06
University of ToledoOhioMid American ConferencePublicAverage405285
92.77
University of Hawaii at ManoaHawaiiMountain West Conference / Big...PublicAverage204245
92.69
University of MemphisTennesseeAmerican Athletic ConferencePublicAverage359314
92.11
Western Michigan UniversityMichiganMid American ConferencePublicBelowAverage446320
91.89
University of Akron Main CampusOhioMid American ConferencePublicAverage331251
91.77
Cleveland State UniversityOhioHorizon LeaguePublicAverage440299
91.73
Kansas State UniversityKansasBig Twelve ConferencePublicAverage249168
91.58
Oklahoma State UniversityOklahomaBig Twelve ConferencePublicAverage182124
91.39
University of New MexicoNew MexicoMountain West ConferencePublicAverage265153
91.23
West Virginia UniversityWest VirginiaBig Twelve ConferencePublicAverage320192
91.18
University of Missouri-Kansas CityMissouriWestern Athletic ConferencePublicAboveAverage197155
86.40
California State University-ChicoCaliforniaCalifornia Collegiate Athletic...PublicAverage392409
86.32
University of California-Santa CruzCaliforniaDivision III IndependentsPublicAverage157208
86.22
Mississippi State UniversityMississippiSoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage197130
86.11
University of Nevada-RenoNevadaMountain West ConferencePublicAverage289340
86.10
CUNY Brooklyn CollegeNew YorkCity University of New York At...PublicAverage296394
85.96
Clemson UniversitySouth CarolinaAtlantic Coast ConferencePublicAboveAverage9851
85.61
University of Massachusetts-LowellMassachusettsAmerica EastPublicAboveAverage247275
85.48
University of California-RiversideCaliforniaBig West ConferencePublicAverage167212
85.32
Boise State UniversityIdahoMountain West ConferencePublicAverage389329
85.28
University of Nebraska at OmahaNebraskaThe Summit LeaguePublicAverage491364
85.24
North Dakota State UniversityNorth DakotaMissouri Valley Conference / T...PublicAverage261196
85.19
University of Southern MississippiMississippiConference USAPublicAverage493423
85.17
Wichita State UniversityKansasMissouri Valley ConferencePublicAverage382307
85.15
University of Nebraska-LincolnNebraskaBig Ten ConferencePublicAboveAverage11998
85.04
University of Alabama at BirminghamAlabamaConference USAPublicAboveAverage153148
84.99
Auburn UniversityAlabamaSoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage13979
84.98
University of North DakotaNorth DakotaBig Sky ConferencePublicAverage363266
84.93
Southern Illinois University-EdwardsvilleIllinoisOhio Valley ConferencePublicAverage438368
84.90
University of Oklahoma-Norman CampusOklahomaBig Twelve ConferencePublicAboveAverage13754
84.72
South Dakota State UniversitySouth DakotaMissouri Valley Conference / T...PublicAverage354263
84.62
University of Massachusetts-AmherstMassachusettsMid - American Conference / At...PublicAboveAverage88144
84.57
Indiana University-Purdue University-IndianapolisIndianaThe Summit LeaguePublicAverage427342
84.54
University of Wisconsin-MilwaukeeWisconsinHorizon LeaguePublicBelowAverage420367
84.45
Tennessee Technological UniversityTennesseeOhio Valley ConferencePublicAverage374212
84.31
Washington State UniversityWashingtonPacific 12 ConferencePublicAverage189193
84.30
Oregon State UniversityOregonPacific 12 ConferencePublicAverage152202
84.24
The University of Texas at San AntonioTexasConference USAPublicAverage330180
84.04
Florida Atlantic UniversityFloridaConference USAPublicAverage305303
83.86
San Jose State UniversityCaliforniaMountain West ConferencePublicAverage386389
83.62
San Diego State UniversityCaliforniaMountain West ConferencePublicAverage183218
83.59
Texas Tech UniversityTexasBig Twelve ConferencePublicAverage176104
83.25
California State University-Long BeachCaliforniaBig West ConferencePublicAverage318387
83.20
Rutgers University-NewarkNew JerseyNew Jersey Athletic ConferencePublicAverage371392
79.60
Ball State UniversityIndianaMid American ConferencePublicAverage337326
79.49
University of Illinois at ChicagoIllinoisHorizon LeaguePublicAboveAverage159111
79.43
University of North FloridaFloridaAtlantic Sun ConferencePublicAboveAverage219214


Academic Peer Universities / Similar Academics

(mathematically similar academics)

Northern Illinois University Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to Northern Illinois University

Northern Illinois University Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to Northern Illinois University
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
96.03
Sun Belt Conference (Low)-Sun Belt Conference-Conf-Average-327
93.03
The University of Tennessee-ChattanoogaTennesseeSouthern ConferencePublicAverage434464
92.22
Southern Illinois University-EdwardsvilleIllinoisOhio Valley ConferencePublicAverage438368
89.61
Xavier UniversityOhioBig East ConferencePrivateAboveAverage436336
89.21
Augsburg CollegeMinnesotaMinnesota Intercollegiate Ath ConfPrivateAverage437376
87.72
Pacific Lutheran UniversityWashingtonNorthwest ConferencePrivateAverage439431
86.99
Bryant UniversityRhode IslandNortheast ConferencePrivateAboveAverage433405
84.99
Samford UniversityAlabamaSouthern ConferencePrivateAboveAverage431272
83.17
Ripon CollegeWisconsinMidwest ConferencePrivateAboveAverage431450