Northwestern College ranked among nation's best by Forbes

Northwestern College is again ranked among the nation’s best colleges and universities by Forbes.com. Northwestern is ranked as the eighth-best Iowa college and 393rd overall in the 2016 “America’s Top Colleges” ranking by Forbes.

Forbes, in partnership with the Center for College Affordability and Productivity (CCAP), includes only 660 institutions in its rankings. According to the rankings website, www.forbes.com/top-colleges, selections are based on educational output. “What sets our calculation apart is our firm belief in ROI [return on investment],” writes Caroline Howard on Forbes’ website. “We look at factors that directly concern students (and their families): Are current undergrads satisfied? Is it likely I’ll graduate on time or incur a ton of student debt? Will I get a good job and be a leader in my chosen profession?”

The rankings are based on five general categories: post-graduate success, which evaluates alumni pay and prominence; student satisfaction, which includes professor evaluations and freshman-to-sophomore-year retention rates; student debt, which penalizes schools for high student debt loads and default rates; four-year graduation rate; and academic success, which rewards schools whose students go on to earn doctoral degrees or win prestigious scholarships and fellowships. Data are from the Department of Education, Payscale and CCAP’s “America’s Leaders” list.

“Northwestern’s high ranking by Forbes—like our rankings by Money magazine, Washington Monthly, College Factual, ChristianUniversitiesOnline.org and GreatValueColleges.net—is based on data showing the strong value we offer students,” says Mark Bloemendaal, Northwestern’s dean of enrollment and marketing. “The figures show what our graduates see all the time: that a Northwestern education provides an excellent return on investment. Forbes has quantified that a Northwestern education leads to great outcomes and a promising future for our alumni.”

Forbes selected only 13 Iowa colleges and universities for the America’s Best Colleges list. They include Grinnell College,73; Drake, 136; University of Iowa, 184; Luther, 225; Iowa State, 257; Cornell College, 272; Coe, 352; Northwestern College, 393; University of Northern Iowa, 401; Dordt, 413; Simpson, 428; Central, 487; and Clarke, 559.