SIOUX CITY -- Several Northwest Iowa schools have been designated among the Midwest's "Best Regional Colleges" in the 2011 edition of "America's Best Colleges" released Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report.
Dordt College, Sioux Center, and Northwestern College, Orange City, made the top 10, ranking third and ninth, respectively. Buena Vista University in Storm Lake was 14th. Briar Cliff University and Morningside College in Sioux City were 27 and 29, respectively.
The magazine released its findings Tuesday, comparing the country's top colleges in several regional and academic categories. Some of the factors considered include the schools' academics, reputation, class size, graduation rate, financial resources, alumni giving and student-to-faculty ratio.
Dordt also was named to the "A Strong Commitment to Teaching" and "Great Schools, Great Prices" lists. Northwestern was among 10 Midwestern regional colleges named to a new list in the guidebook "A-Plus Schools for B Students," which is described as places where non-superstars can thrive.
This marks the 27th year that U.S. News has published college rankings.
