Campus Connection

UW-La Crosse remains the top-ranked comprehensive university in the UW System — for the 12th year in a row. U.S.News & World Report’s 2013 America’s Best Colleges list of Best Regional Universities in the Midwest lists UW-L as the state’s best and the No. 4 public university in the Midwest. The category includes institutions providing a full range of undergraduate majors and master’s programs. “We’re delighted to once again be the top-ranked campus of our kind in the UW System,” says Chancellor Joe Gow. “It’s helpful to have this external validation of the great work our faculty and staff do to ensure our students receive a high quality education.” The No. 4 ranking continues UW-L’s trend of being ranked among the Midwest’s top four public universities for the past 12 years. Truman State University in Missouri earned the top spot. The University of Northern Iowa and the University of Illinois-Springfield shared the No. 2 spot. UW-L dropped to No. 4 following a decade-long run of being No. 2 or 3. “We saw slight slippage which we attribute in large part to the fact that salaries for faculty and academic staff are not competitive to peer institutions,” says Gow. “Clearly we’re going to have to address these salary issues if we’re going to keep moving the university forward.” Among all private and public Midwestern universities, UW-L ranked No. 24, tying with Bethel University and Webster University. U.S.News also listed UW-L among “A-Plus Schools for B Students.” The list identifies “where non-superstars have a decent shot at being accepted and thriving — where spirit and hard work could make all the difference in admissions offices.” Other UW schools on that list were UW-Eau Claire and UW-Stevens Point. The top state ranking from U.S.News comes amid other recent kudos for the university:

• May 2012 College of Business Administration graduates scored higher than 93 percent of other U.S. business students on a test measuring their knowledge in business.

• The Radiation Therapy Class of 2011 had an average ARRT certification board exam score of 88.6% putting the program in the 92nd percentile nationally. With UW-L’s being the only radiation therapy program in the state, Wisconsin was the highest scoring state overall.

• Student-athletes in 2011-12 posted the highest combined grade point average among the nine Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference institutions, finishing with a cumulative 3.186 GPA. Eagles also recorded the highest number of student-athletes (344) with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00.

• UW-L was named to the February 2012 Kiplinger’s Personal Finance list of 100 best values in public colleges in the country. UW-L was No. 62 for in-state and No. 52 for out-of-state students.

Among other UW four-year campuses in the top 10 in the Best Regional Universities rankings, UW-Eau Claire was No. 5 (31st overall) and UW-Stevens Point was No. 10 (46th overall). UW-Madison is tied for No. 10 in the Best National Public Universities category. The rankings are a thorough examination of how more than 1,400 accredited four-year schools compare on a set of up to 16 widely accepted indicators of excellence. Among the many factors weighed in determining the rankings, the key measures of quality are: peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving. Complete listings are available at www.usnews.com/colleges.