LEWISTON, Idaho – Lewis-Clark State College continued its long tradition of earning high praise from U.S. News & World Report’s annual ranking of best colleges, which was published on Monday.
LC State was named a top 10 public regional college in the West and was in the top 10 for Best Value in regional Colleges in the West in the 2022-23 rankings. LC State also received accolades for having one of the best undergraduate degree nursing programs and for its social mobility.
The organization ranked LC State as the No. 7 Best Value School in the West Region, which included 102 colleges in both the West and Southwest. LC State was the highest ranked public college located west of Oklahoma and its ranking is up one spot from a year ago.
“Rankings like these are just one of many indicators of the incredible value of a Lewis-Clark State College degree,” LC State President Cynthia Pemberton said. “While we’re pleased by such rankings, our greatest validation and pride comes directly from our students. When they tell me how much they’re learning and how much they love it here, that’s when I know LC State is doing well. When they shake my hand at graduation and share their excitement about next steps – jobs, careers, graduate school, that’s when I know LC State is doing well. When I hear from alumni who to tell me how much their degree has meant to them and the positive difference it is making in their lives, that’s when I know LC State is doing well.”
The rankings continue a strong tradition of honors for LC State by U.S. News & World Report. LC State has been ranked as the No. 1 public college in the West twice and is regularly ranked among the top 10 public colleges and top 25 public and private colleges in the West.
U.S. News & World Report’s methodology for Best Value School rankings is based on four ranking indicators. Those are academic quality, the percentage of all full-time undergraduate students receiving need-based scholarships or grants, aid that students don’t have to pay back, and the average discount from the school’s total price for full-time undergraduates. A score is assigned to each of the four areas and the overall combined score is then used to determine the rankings.
The college also was ranked No. 10 in the Top Public Schools – West Region, which again includes both the West and Southwest. LC State has regularly been ranked in the Top 10 in this category. This category uses 10 criteria including graduation and retention rates, social mobility, graduation rate performance, undergraduate academic reputation, faculty resources for the 2021-22 academic year, student selectivity for the fall 2021 semester entering class (top 10 percent standing in high school class and high ACT/SAT scores), financial resources per student, average alumni giving rate, and graduate indebtedness.
Out of the 102 overall public and privates colleges that were ranked in the West overall, LC State came in at No. 23. It’s the same ranking as above but includes private institutions as well.
For the second straight year, LC State ranked high in social mobility, a category that was started last year. LC State ranked No. 45 overall in the nation among all colleges and universities. The organization defines social mobility as successfully enrolling and graduating large proportions of disadvantaged students awarded with Pell Grants. The organization states that economically disadvantaged students are less likely than others to finish college thus social mobility helps these students earn their degree.
LC State also was honored for having one of the top 300 Undergraduate Nursing programs in the nation.
U.S. News & World Report rankings are put together to provide data-driven information and guidance to help prospective students and their families understand higher education options. The rankings are based on data collected from each college in as many as 15 areas of academic excellence.
LC State has the lowest tuition among Idaho’s public four-year institutions and has an enrollment of around 3,700 students. LC State was one of more than 1,800 colleges and universities to submit data to be included in rankings, which started in 1983 to provide college-bound students information on schools and to make comparisons.