LEWISTON, Idaho – Lewis-Clark State College has once again been named among the top 10 public schools in the West in U.S. News & World Report’s annual ranking of best colleges, which was published on Monday.
LC State was ranked No. 9 in the Top Public Schools – West Region category, which includes public colleges in the West and Southwest. The ranking is one spot higher than its No. 10 ranking in 2022. The college has been regularly ranked in the top 10 in this category.
“Lewis-Clark State College is different,” LC State President Cynthia Pemberton said. “We’re a small college – and we like it that way. Our small size allows us to keep our focus right where it should be – on helping students reach their full potential, no matter who they are, or where they’re at in their education journey. Students thrive at LC State.”
For the third straight year, LC State ranked high in social mobility – No. 47 among colleges in the West. 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 offers 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.
“We’re proud to offer a small college, private school-quality experience at an affordable public school price,” said Pemberton.
U.S. News & World Report’s annual best college 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.
The Top Public school rankings use 10 criteria to determine the rankings, including graduation and retention rates, social mobility, graduation rate performance, undergraduate academic reputation, faculty resources for the 2022-23 academic year, student selectivity for the fall 2022 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.
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 in the West.