POINT LOOKOUT, MO. — College of the Ozarks is the No. 1 Most Innovative School in the Midwest and the No. 1 Best Value School in the Midwest, per U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges 2023-2024. Other rankings the College received include the following: No. 1 Best Undergraduate Teaching, No. 2 Top Performer on Social Mobility in the Midwest, No. 3 Best Regional College in the Midwest, Best Undergraduate Engineering in the Midwest, and Best First Year Experience.
College of the Ozarks ranked as the No. 2 Top Performer on Social Mobility in the Midwest. With a mission to serve students who exhibit financial need, this ranking is especially meaningful.
The College ranked No. 1 Best Undergraduate Teaching in the Midwest and No. 3 Best Regional College.
“We are pleased to once again be ranked highly by U.S. News & World Report, and especially to see acknowledgment given in the category of Social Mobility,” said Dr. Brad Johnson, president of College of the Ozarks. “Students at Hard Work U. don’t pay tuition; rather, they all work on campus to offset their cost of education. These recognitions honor the efforts of our students, and those of our staff and faculty. We aim to develop citizens of Christlike character who are well-educated, hardworking, and patriotic.”
The College was recognized in two new categories this year: Best Undergraduate Engineering Program in the Midwest and Best First Year Experience in the Midwest.
The College of the Ozarks Engineering Program was granted full accreditation last fall by the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET. The program was established in 2016, and the first engineers graduated from the College in 2020. The Bachelor of Science in Engineering prepares students for a wide range of engineering jobs in the industry and for specialized graduate programs in engineering and related fields. College of the Ozarks is the only Work College in the United States with a four-year engineering program.
Additionally, the College was recognized in A+ Schools for B Students, a list of options for students who do not have straight-A grades but want to attend a good college.
U.S. News & World Report has recognized College of the Ozarks as a best college since 1989.
Methodology
U.S. News evaluated nearly 1,500 U.S. four-year bachelor’s degree-granting institutions on as many as 19 measures for its 39th rankings edition. Calculations are based on student-faculty ratio, academic majors offered, application requirements, tuition and financial aid policies, student body demographics, and campus life.
U.S. News & World Report surveyed schools in the spring and summer of 2023. Some of this information published on our website – most notably tuition and fees – reflect the upcoming 2023-2024 academic year. The surveys used indicators including outcomes (social mobility, graduation and retention rates, and graduation rate performance), faculty resources, expert opinion, financial resources, student excellence, and alumni giving.
To view U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges 2023-2024 rankings, visit https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/college-ozarks-2500
To view full methodology, visit https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/how-us-news-calculated-the-rankings