LSU ranked in top tier of U.S. News & World Report’s 2016 rankings

In U.S. News & World Report’s 2016 edition of Best Colleges, LSU is ranked in the top tier for “Best National Universities” for the eighth straight year and is ranked 62nd overall among public universities.
“LSU has consistency been ranked in the top tier of the best national universities, and our graduates show that LSU is among the nation’s best values in higher education,” said LSU President F. King Alexander. “The real value of a university can be seen in such measures as tuition rates, levels of student indebtedness and career outcomes, and these are the important measures that parents and potential students need when making their college decisions.”
LSU provides students with a great start to their careers by helping to ensure they graduate with little-to-no debt, and, according to Payscale.com’s 2015-16 College Salary Report, the average starting salaries of LSU graduates is $50,400, placing the university 18th in the nation among its 50 public flagship peers.
“Among our SEC peers, LSU is the third highest in starting career salaries and first in least amount of student debt,” Alexander said. “At LSU, we are committed to providing exceptional, affordable and accessible higher education, and sharing these types of student outcomes in as transparent a manner as possible.”
For more information on LSU’s value and outcomes, visit http://www.lsu.edu/about/value.php.
In the 2016 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges, LSU’s ranking in the “Best National Universities” category moved up to 129 overall and is tied with five other schools: Arizona State University, University at Albany-SUNY, University of Arkansas, University of Illinois-Chicago and University of Kentucky.
The university also appeared on U.S. News & World Report’s list of “A-Plus Schools for B Students,” and both the LSU E. J. Ourso College of Business and LSU College of Engineering undergraduate programs are ranked in the top 50 among public universities. Engineering is ranked 49th in the Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs, and business is ranked 50th in the Best Undergraduate Business Programs.
LSU’s value isn’t limited to the flagship campus. In “Payback Picture” rankings for National Liberal Arts Colleges, U.S. News & World Report lists LSU of Alexandria among the schools whose students finish college with the least amount of debt. LSUA’s students ranked second on the list of least debt with an average of $10,114.
In the U.S. News & World Report rankings, the indicators used to capture academic quality of universities are assessment of excellence; graduation and retention rates; faculty resources; student selectivity; financial resources; graduation rate performance, which is the difference between actual and predicted graduation rates; and alumni giving.
These indicators are each weighted to arrive at a final overall score: assessment of excellence at 22.5 percent, graduation and retention rates at 22.5 percent, faculty resources at 20 percent, student selectivity at 12.5 percent, financial resources at 10 percent, graduation rate performance at 7.5 percent and alumni giving at 5 percent.
The National Universities category consists of the 280 institutions – 173 public, 100 private and seven for-profit – that offer a full range of undergraduate majors, as well as master’s and Ph.D. programs, and some emphasize research. In this year’s rankings, there are 202 schools listed in the top tier.
The 2016 edition of the Best Colleges book is available online at www.usnews.com/colleges.