Ohio Northern University has been ranked No. 2 among Midwest regional colleges in “Best Colleges 2016,” which is published annually by U.S. News & World Report.

Ohio Northern has appeared in the top 10 of the publication’s Regional College Midwest Rankings for the past 24 years and in the top five for the past 11 out of 12 years.

According to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, Midwest regional colleges focus almost entirely on the undergraduate experience and offer a broad range of programs in the liberal arts and in fields such as business, nursing and education. Because most of the 364 colleges in the category draw heavily from nearby states, they are ranked by region.


“The No. 2 ranking is a tribute to the hard work and accomplishments of our extremely dedicated, highly committed faculty and staff,” said Daniel A. DiBiasio, ONU president. “The U.S. News ranking, together with the University being highly rated by other publications like Washington Monthly and The Princeton Review, affirms the quality and distinctive mix of academic opportunities offered at ONU.”

In addition, Ohio Northern University’s T.J. Smull College of Engineering was recognized as one of the nation’s top 50 undergraduate engineering programs

The college ranks 39th among engineering schools whose highest degree is a bachelor’s or master’s, marking the eighth time in nine years that U.S. News & World Report has listed ONU engineering in its top-50 rankings. U.S. News ranks undergraduate engineering programs accredited by ABET (formerly known as Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology).

“Best Colleges 2016” ranks colleges within four regions: North, South, Midwest and West. The Midwest region is comprised of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

U.S. News and World Report offers its publication as a way for students to broaden their college search and make comparisons before visiting and interviewing at appropriate universities.

For reporting purposes, the schools are categorized by mission and, in some cases, region. Data is gathered from each college on up to 15 indicators of academic excellence. Those indicators fall into the following categories: peer assessment, retention of students, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, graduate rate performance and alumni giving.

The indicators are designed to reflect the school’s student body, its faculty and financial resources and to measure how well the institution educates its students.