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

Troy University

2016 University Academic Rankings
Troy University is a comprehensive public university that is located in Troy, Alabama, United States. It was founded on February 26, 1887 as Troy State Normal School within the Alabama State University System by an Act of the Alabama Legislature. It is the flagship university of the Troy University System with its main campus enrollment of 6,998 students and the total enrollment of all Troy University campuses of 19,579. Troy University is regionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS) to award associate, baccalaureate, master's, education specialist, and doctoral degrees.

In August 2005, Troy State University, Montgomery; Troy State University, Phenix City; Troy State University, Dothan; and Troy State University (Main Campus) all merged under one accreditation to become Troy University to better reflect the institution's worldwide mission. Prior to the merger, each campus was independently accredited and merging of these campuses helped to create a stronger institution by eliminating overlapping services and barriers to students. The merger combined talents and resources of staff, faculty, and administrators into a single highly effective and competitive university.

Today, the University serves the educational needs of students in four Alabama campuses, sixty teaching sites in 17 U.S. States and 11 countries. Troy University's graduates number more than 100,000 alumni representing all 50 states and from numerous foreign countries. Troy University is known as Alabama's International University for its extensive international program in attracting foreign students from around the world.

History

Troy University is a public university with its main campus located in Troy, Alabama. It was founded as a normal school in 1887 with a mission to educate and train new teachers. The school has since evolved into a state university, located in four sites across the State of Alabama: Troy, Montgomery, Phenix City and Dothan. The university also has various sites located throughout the United States and several international locations. Troy University is known for its innovation in offering in-class and online academic programs in servicing traditional, nontraditional, and military students. The main campus enrollment as of the fall of 2014 is 6,998 students. The campus itself consists of 36 major buildings on 650 acres (1.9 km²) plus the adjacent Troy University Arboretum.

At least three prominent political figures have been associated with Troy University. George Wallace, Jr., son of the late Governor George C. Wallace, is a former administrator at the university. Max Rafferty, the California Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1963 to 1971, was dean of the education department from 1971 until his death in 1982. Former Governor John Malcolm Patterson, an intra-party rival of George Wallace, taught U.S. history at the institution during the 1980s.

Name change

On April 16, 2004, the Board of Trustees voted to change the name of the institution from Troy State University to Troy University. The transition to the new name was completed in August 2005 and was the fifth in the school's history. When created by the Alabama Legislature on February 26, 1887, it was officially named the Troy State Normal School. The school was located in downtown Troy until moving to the present location on University Avenue in 1930. In 1929, the name was changed to Troy State Teachers College and it subsequently conferred its first baccalaureate degree in 1931. In 1957, the legislature voted both to change the name to Troy State College and to allow it to begin a master's degree program. The name was changed once again in 1967 to Troy State University.

Academics | Structure

Troy University cumulatively offers 46 bachelor's degree programs, 22 m ... [more on wikipedia]

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

Troy University Details

Troy University Details
detail value
stateAlabama
conferenceSun Belt Conference
publicPublic
scores1400/933/21
levelBelowAverage
rank[-1
overall ROI rank[-1
sizemedium
undergrads15114
grads3927
price25280
drop64
stem29
research0
scores validTrue
Common Questions...

What are the academic rankings for Troy University?

1. number -1 for Academics.

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

What universities are similar to Troy University?


National Academic Rankings

(summary of all ranking placements)

Troy University National Academic Rankings

Troy University National Academic Rankings
category rank scores difficulty smartest brainpower faculty research salary ROI overall ROI
Sun Belt Conference11121297991111
State of Alabama9151554661210
Top Ten State of Alabama81010546698


Peer Universities / Similar Universities

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

Troy University Peer Universities, Similar Universities to Troy University

Troy University Peer Universities, Similar Universities to Troy University
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI


Academic Peer Universities / Similar Academics

(mathematically similar academics)

Troy University Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to Troy University

Troy University Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to Troy University
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI