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

University of South Alabama

2016 University Academic Rankings
The University of South Alabama (USA) is a public, national research university in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in May, 1963, and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alabama. USA is the only major public institution of higher learning on the upper Gulf Coast. With Alabama's two older universities more than 200 miles distant, the University is strategically located in the greater Mobile area, which has a population of more than a million within a 100-mile radius.

Currently, USA is divided into ten colleges and schools and includes one of Alabama's two state-supported medical schools. As of the Fall semester of 2014, South Alabama has an enrollment of 16,055 students. To date, the University has awarded over 80,000 degrees.

USA has an annual payroll of $404 million (US), with over 5,500 employees, and is the second largest employer in Mobile, Alabama. The University South Alabama has an annual economic impact of US$2 billion. In addition, the university owned hospitals treat over 250,000 patients annually.

Academics

The university offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate degrees in ten colleges and schools. Several programs offer masters level degrees in addition to undergraduate degrees. Doctoral level degrees are offered in several areas, including Business Administration, Nursing, Medicine, Basic Medical Sciences, Instructional Design, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Audiology, Marine Science, Psychology, Physical Therapy, and a Doctor of Pharmacy degree offered in collaboration with Auburn University.

In 2015 fall, USA's School of Computing offered its first doctoral program in computing, as well as a master's degree in marine conservation and resource management.

The psychology doctoral program was initiated in 2009 and is t offers a Combined degree, emphasizing both Clinical Psychology and Counseling Psychology.

USA offers classes in nearby Baldwin County at its Fairhope campus, and recently opened its new Gulf Coast Campus in Gulf Shores. In all, undergraduate students at South Alabama can choose from more than 50 bachelor's degree and certificate programs while there are more than 40 master's degree programs. As of 2011, USA ranks as the 22nd best public university in the southern United States, and 52nd overall (in the South). It has an acceptance rate of 86.5%.

The student-faculty ratio at USA is 22:1, and the school has 41.5 percent of its classes with fewer than 20 students. USA students are 57% female and 43% male.

Colleges | Administration

The University is governed by a Board of Trustees appointed by and including the governor of Alabama. The Board appoints a president of the University. Since the founding of the University, there have been three presidents: Frederick Palmer Whiddon (served 1963-1998) and V. Gordon Moulton (served 1998-2013). John W. Smith, the current executive vice president, served as an interim president until the arrival of Tony G. Waldrop in 2014.

Athletics and traditions

The Jaguars participate in 17 NCAA sanctioned sports (8 men 9 women), and are founding members of the Sun Belt Conference. Men's sports include Football, Basketball, Baseball, Tennis, Cross Country, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, and Outdoor Track and Field. Women's sports include Basketball, Softball, Soccer, Tennis, Cross Country, Volleyball, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, and Golf. All sports participate in the Sun Belt Conference, a Division I/FBS conference. The school is often referred to as simply "South", "USA", or the "Jags", but the more formal South Alabama is often used as well.

The university announced the creation of a NCAA sanctioned football team on ... [more on wikipedia]

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

University of South Alabama Details

University of South Alabama Details
detail value
stateAlabama
conferenceSun Belt Conference
publicPublic
scores1465/977/22
levelBelowAverage
rank[-1
overall ROI rank[-1
sizemedium
undergrads11479
grads4326
price26984
drop57
stem33
research39
scores validTrue
Common Questions...

What are the academic rankings for University of South Alabama?

1. number -1 for Academics.

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

What universities are similar to University of South Alabama?


National Academic Rankings

(summary of all ranking placements)

University of South Alabama National Academic Rankings

University of South Alabama National Academic Rankings
category rank scores difficulty smartest brainpower faculty research salary ROI overall ROI
Sun Belt Conference10891095669
State of Alabama71211665598
Top Ten Sun Belt Conference989984669
Top Ten State of Alabama688665567


Peer Universities / Similar Universities

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

University of South Alabama Peer Universities, Similar Universities to University of South Alabama

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


Academic Peer Universities / Similar Academics

(mathematically similar academics)

University of South Alabama Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to University of South Alabama

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