Iowa’s Best Colleges and Universities by Academic Stewardship
What are the best colleges and universities in Iowa if you reward schools for making the best use of their limited resources? Academic Stewardship asks how effectively schools manage their financial and human resources to gain the influence that makes them academically excellent. Schools that are exemplary in Academic Stewardship are doing everything in their power to help students and faculty achieve their full potential.
Colleges and universities in Iowa deserve to be recognized when they do more with less. It’s impressive when a large wealthy school can spend money lavishly on expensive buildings and programs. But it’s even more impressive when a small school with limited means is able to train and inspire students that the larger wealthier schools tend to ignore.
The American Association of Colleges and Universities reported in late 2021 that almost 75 percent of higher-education professionals at US colleges and universities felt financial constraints prevented their schools from effectively attracting students. Distracted by the size and amenities of larger schools, prospective students tended especially to be overawed by the big research universities.
Iowa’s smaller colleges, especially its liberal arts colleges, need effective ways of communicating their value to a world that celebrates “bigger is better” and “you need the best.” Unfortunately, most college ranking companies, such as U.S. News & World Report, define “best” in a way that devalues schools with smaller budgets and fewer students even when these schools do remarkable work in advancing their students’ education. By and large, college rankings penalize schools that serve underserved populations.
Inspired by Malcolm Gladwell, who for years now has criticized conventional college rankings for misrepresenting what’s good and valuable in education, we decided to construct a new ranking metric that highlights those schools that do more with less. That metric—called the Academic Stewardship metric—takes away both the size and the wealth advantage of schools, and focuses instead on how well schools use the resources available to them to advance the education of their students.
How We Measure the Academic Stewardship of Iowa’s Colleges and Universities
As a metric, Academic Stewardship is defined by a precise mathematical formula, which can be found in our Academic Stewardship white paper. Measuring the Academic Stewardship of Iowa’s colleges requires measuring two forms of stewardship: 1) Stewardship of financial resources (using the money they have responsibility without waste) and 2) Stewardship of human resources (doing their best to help students, faculty, and administration to flourish). Together, these two types of stewardship form what we call Academic Stewardship. If you want to learn more about the factors involved in Academic Stewardship, click the more button below.
- Stewardship of financial resources: To determine a school’s stewardship of financial resources, we factored in its undergraduate size, budget, endowments and reserves, as well as tuition and fees. All these data are available from the National Center for Educational Statistics Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. In addition, we factored in a school’s financial responsibility as gauged by the Federal Student Aid Office at the US Department of Education through its financial responsibility composite scores.
- Stewardship of human resources: To determine a school’s stewardship of human resources, we used our InfluenceRanking engine to track the influence of the school’s faculty and alumni but also to control for size of the undergraduate student body. We’ve found that measuring a school’s influence based on the contributions of faculty and alumni make in their fields of study but then also controlling for size of the undergraduate population is the single best indicator of academic excellence. We call this Concentrated Influence. Schools that rank highly in Concentrated Influence are schools that, given their available human resources, invest heavily in their students and faculty, and the results are demonstrable.
- We measure the influence of colleges and universities based on the publications and citations of the schools’ faculty and alumni who are teaching in and working in areas related to their degrees. To do this, we take publicly available databases, such as Semantic Scholar, Crossref, and Wikipedia and use these to measure the influence of academics in their disciplines. Having measured the influence of persons, we then identify the schools that they’re affiliated with, adding up the influence scores of the faculty and alumni to measure the influence of the schools and their disciplinary programs. Finally, we control these influence scores by size of undergraduate student body so that schools do not score high in influence simply because of a size advantage. We lay out these methodological considerations on our methodology page.
- Academic Stewardship: Having measured a school’s stewardship of financial and human resources in the two previous points, we now divide the second measure by the first to define the Academic Stewardship metric. This metric spotlights smaller schools, with fewer financial resources and people, that invest wisely and do proportionately better in building influence than large wealthy schools. Many of these smaller, less wealthy schools are incentivized to make better use of their resources but would never get recognized in conventional school rankings, which directly or indirectly put a premium on the wealth of schools.
Academic Stewardship as so defined is connected to keeping tuition and other costs down, but it should not be confused with affordability or frugality. The schools that this metric ranks as exemplary academic stewards tend to be all over the map when it comes to tuition and other costs. At issue is the influence of schools given the financial and human resources they have on hand. If a school is going to charge more for tuition, then that needs to be reflected in the school having proportionately greater influence.
Why Academic Stewardship Matters to Students and Their Families
The benefits of attending a school with strong academic stewardship include:
- A clear reason for why students are at the school in the first place. Without the distraction of amenities and luxuries, these schools are at once unpretentious but also passionately committed to their educational mission. The schools in this ranking are financially efficient and academically rigorous. By avoiding frills, these schools take the most direct path to accomplishing their mission of educating students.
- Valuing character over prestige and self-indulgence. A school that’s a good steward of its resources doesn’t instill shame in its students over what they are missing (such as elite cuisine) but rather pride in what they have and making the most of it. These schools exhibit a culture of good stewardship, which tends to build good character in the students that attend these schools.
- Avoiding the spoiled-student syndrome. It’s easy to think that offering students endless options and opportunities will enrich their time at school in every way. But spoiling people—whether in business, sports, or academics—has the opposite effect, causing people to take their advantages for granted and in the end achieving less than they might otherwise, a point well-documented in Daniel Coyle’s The Talent Code. Schools exhibiting academic stewardship avoid this pitfall.
- The best schools vs. the schools that help students to be their best. Students at schools demonstrating outstanding academic stewardship aren’t so much concerned about being at the “best” school, whatever that may mean, as about being at a school that helps them to be their best. These schools pay attention to their students, hoping that any glory goes to them rather than to the school. Small schools, and especially liberal arts colleges, help themselves by communicating this advantage to prospective students.
- Emphasizing development over talent and achievement. Schools like Harvard and Stanford have their pick of academic talent, and their students have a long record of achievement even before they apply to such elite schools. But if a school doesn’t have the resources of a Harvard or Stanford, how does it build a great team of students? In that case, it must focus on student development. Colleges exemplifying academic stewardship emphasize student growth and development, ensuring that the schools are doing everything in their power to help students reach their full potential and thereby become their best selves.
Iowa’s Best Colleges and Universities by Academic Stewardship
- #1 Best Christian Colleges in Iowa 2024 #3 Best Small Colleges in Iowa 2024 #3 Best Private Colleges in Iowa 2024 #3 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Iowa 2024
Other Rankings
Tuition + fees
$49K
Acceptance
79%
Graduation
63%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1275/26
Career Outlook for degree at Cornell College
Cost of Degree: $49,158Expenses: $15,578Starting Salary: $45,400Cost Recoup Time: 20 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Cornell College known for?
Cornell College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
Cornell College’s Online Degrees
BFA/MFA in Fine Arts
Degree Concentrations
- Creative Writing Low-Residency
- Required Credits: None Reported
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: None Reported
- #3 Best Christian Colleges in Iowa 2024 #5 The Most Influential Universities and Colleges Ranked by State 2024 #5 Best Small Colleges in Iowa 2024 #5 Best Private Colleges in Iowa 2024
Other Rankings
Tuition + fees
$37K
Acceptance
90%
Graduation
68%
Student body
2K
Career Outlook for degree at Loras College
Cost of Degree: $36,570Expenses: $12,017Starting Salary: $50,200Cost Recoup Time: 16 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Loras College known for?
Loras College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Social Work
- Religious Studies
- Chemistry
- Philosophy
- Education
- Psychology
- Criminal Justice
- Literature
- Communications
- Computer Science
Most Influential Alumni
- #4 Best Christian Colleges in Iowa 2024 #7 Best Small Colleges in Iowa 2024 #7 Best Private Colleges in Iowa 2024 #7 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Iowa 2024
Other Rankings
Tuition + fees
$51K
Graduation
65%
Student body
1K
Career Outlook for degree at Coe College
Cost of Degree: $50,664Expenses: $14,620Starting Salary: $50,000Cost Recoup Time: 19 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Coe College known for?
Coe College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
- #2 Best Christian Colleges in Iowa 2024 #4 Best Small Colleges in Iowa 2024 #4 Best Private Colleges in Iowa 2024 #4 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Iowa 2024
Other Rankings
Tuition + fees
$48K
Acceptance
75%
Graduation
74%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1202/25
Career Outlook for degree at Luther College
Cost of Degree: $48,160Expenses: $14,725Starting Salary: $53,200Cost Recoup Time: 18 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Luther College known for?
Luther College ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Philosophy
- Religious Studies
- Psychology
- Anthropology
- Literature
- Communications
- History
- Mathematics
- Economics
- Biology
Most Influential Alumni
- #1 Best Small Colleges in Iowa 2024 #1 Best Private Colleges in Iowa 2024 #1 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Iowa 2024 #2 The Most Influential Universities and Colleges Ranked by State 2024
Other Rankings
Tuition + fees
$61K
Acceptance
11%
Graduation
88%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1455/32
Career Outlook for degree at Grinnell College
Cost of Degree: $61,480Expenses: $18,148Starting Salary: $61,000Cost Recoup Time: 19 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Grinnell College known for?
Grinnell College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Computer Science
- Chemistry
- Literature
- Economics
- Physics
- Political Science
- Philosophy
- History
- Anthropology
- Mathematics
Most Influential Alumni
- #8 15 Best Self-paced Online Colleges Ranked for 2024 #6 Best Small Colleges in Iowa 2024 #6 Best Private Colleges in Iowa 2024 #6 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Iowa 2024
Other Rankings
- #9 Best Colleges in Iowa 2024
- #1 Best Online Bachelor's in Cybersecurity in Iowa
- #1 Best Online Associate Degrees in Iowa 2024
- #6 Best Online MBA Programs in Iowa
- #6 Best Online Bachelor's in Network Administration Degree Programs for 2024
- #8 Best Online Associate in Psychology
- #9 Online Colleges That Start Anytime and the Benefits of a Self-Paced Education
- #11 Best Online Bachelor’s of Human Services Degree Programs Ranked for 2024
- #12 Best Online Associate in Business Administration
- #13 Best Online Bachelor's in Sports Management Degree Programs for 2024
- #16 Best Online Bachelor's of Finance Degree Programs for 2024
- #18 Best Online Colleges in Iowa 2024
- #18 Best Online Bachelor’s of Digital Media for 2024
- #18 Best Online Associate in Liberal Arts
- #22 Best Online Bachelor’s in Information Technology Degree Programs for 2024
- #24 Best Online Bachelor's in Accounting
Tuition + fees
$34K
Acceptance
54%
Graduation
42%
Student body
7K
Median SAT/ACT
970/21
Career Outlook for degree at Upper Iowa University
Cost of Degree: $33,639Expenses: $14,783Starting Salary: $45,500Cost Recoup Time: 17 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Upper Iowa University known for?
Upper Iowa University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Sociology
- Computer Science
- Nursing
- Business
- Education
- Political Science
- Psychology
- Social Work
- Biology
- Literature
Most Influential Alumni
Upper Iowa University’s Online Degrees
BS in Human Services
- Required Credits: None Reported
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BA in Communication Studies
Degree Concentrations
- Communication Studies
- Mass Media
- and Sports Communication
- Required Credits: None Reported
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Criminal Justice
Degree Concentrations
- Homeland Security
- Required Credits: None Reported
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Emergency and Disaster Management
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Business Administration
Degree Concentrations
- Entrepreneurship
- Finance
- General Business
- Global
- Health Services Administration
- Human Resource Management
- Marketing
- Sports Administration
- Required Credits: None Reported
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Information Systems
Degree Concentrations
- Information Systems and Security and Integration (ISSI)
- and Information Systems and Technology Management (ISTM)
- Required Credits: None Reported
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Business Management
Degree Concentrations
- Financial Management
- Accounting
- Required Credits: None Reported
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Nursing
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Public Administration
Degree Concentrations
- General
- Emergency Management
- Fire Science or Law Enforcement
- Policy and Politics
- Required Credits: None Reported
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: None Reported
BS in Information Technology
Degree Concentrations
- Cyber Security and Computer Forensics (SEC)
- and Network Management (NET)
- Required Credits: None Reported
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Social Science
Degree Concentrations
- General Social Science
- History
- Political Science
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BA in Sociology
- Required Credits: None Reported
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
- #2 Best Small Colleges in Iowa 2024 #2 Best Private Colleges in Iowa 2024 #3 Best Grad Schools Iowa 2024 #3 Best Research Universities in Iowa 2024
Other Rankings
- #4 The Most Influential Universities and Colleges Ranked by State 2024
- #4 Best Colleges in Iowa 2024
- #1 Best Online Master's Programs in Iowa 2024
- #3 Best Online MBA Programs in Iowa
- #3 Best Online Colleges in Iowa 2024
- #9 Best Online MBA in Business Analytics Ranked for Students in 2024
- #14 Best Online Bachelor’s of Communications Degree Programs for 2024
- #18 Best Online Master’s in Communications
Tuition + fees
$48K
Acceptance
67%
Graduation
76%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1225/27
Career Outlook for degree at Drake University
Cost of Degree: $47,742Expenses: $15,820Starting Salary: $68,700Cost Recoup Time: 15 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Drake University known for?
Drake University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
Drake University’s Online Degrees
BA in Journalism and Mass Communication
- Required Credits: 124
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
- #2 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Iowa 2024 #3 Most Affordable Colleges in Iowa 2024 #3 Best Public Colleges in Iowa 2024 #5 Best Colleges in Iowa 2024
Other Rankings
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
95%
Graduation
64%
Student body
11K
Median SAT/ACT
1175/23
Career Outlook for degree at University of Northern Iowa
Cost of Degree: $9,411Expenses: $12,577Starting Salary: $49,700Cost Recoup Time: 9 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is University of Northern Iowa known for?
University of Northern Iowa’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- History
- Education
- Computer Science
- Business
- Mathematics
- Biology
- Social Work
- Communications
- Literature
- Political Science
Most Influential Alumni
University of Northern Iowa’s Online Degrees
BAS in Criminal Justice
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BA in Elementary Education
- Required Credits: 48-53
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: None Reported
BA in Liberal Studies
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
- #5 15 Best Online Colleges for Veterans to Start Their Careers #14 50 Best Public Grad Schools 2024 #1 The Most Influential Universities and Colleges Ranked by State 2024 #1 Best Grad Schools Iowa 2024
Other Rankings
- #1 Most Affordable Colleges in Iowa 2024
- #1 Best Public Colleges in Iowa 2024
- #1 Best Research Universities in Iowa 2024
- #1 Best Colleges in Iowa 2024
- #1 Best Online Bachelor's in Sports Management Degree Programs for 2024
- #1 Best Online MBA Programs in Iowa
- #1 Best Online Colleges in Iowa 2024
- #1 Best Online Bachelor’s in Liberal Arts and Humanities Degree Programs for 2024
- #2 The Best Online Colleges Ranked for Students in 2024
- #2 Best Online Bachelor’s of Communications Degree Programs for 2024
- #5 Best Online Bachelor's in Social Work Degree Programs Ranked for 2024
- #5 Top 5 Best Online English PhD Degree Programs (Doctorates)
- #9 Fastest Online Bachelor's Degrees Ranked for 2024
- #9 Top 20 Best Online MBA Programs that Can Be Completed in One Year 2024
- #9 Top 15 Most Affordable Online Economics PhD Programs (Doctorates) 2024
- #10 Most Affordable Online Sociology Doctorate Programs (PhDs)
- #11 Top 50 Best No GRE Online PhD Degree Programs (Doctorates)
- #8 Most Affordable Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranked for 2024
Tuition + fees
$10K
Acceptance
86%
Graduation
74%
Student body
33K
Median SAT/ACT
1235/25
Career Outlook for degree at University of Iowa
Cost of Degree: $10,353Expenses: $16,530Starting Salary: $62,000Cost Recoup Time: 9 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is University of Iowa known for?
University of Iowa’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
University of Iowa’s Online Degrees
BA in Applied Studies
Degree Concentrations
- Creative Writing
- Human Relations
- Justice Studies
- Political Science
- Required Credits: 60
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BA in Enterprise Leadership
- Required Credits: 120-136
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BA in Liberal Studies
Degree Concentrations
- Expression in Writing and Arts
- Global Studies
- Family
- Community
- and Social Support
- Health and Human Studies
- Justice and Ethics
- Organizational Studies
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Nursing
- Required Credits: 32
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Radiation Sciences
- Required Credits: 60
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BA in Social Work
- Required Credits: 121-132
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
- #2 Best Grad Schools Iowa 2024 #2 Most Affordable Colleges in Iowa 2024 #2 Best Public Colleges in Iowa 2024 #2 Best Research Universities in Iowa 2024
Other Rankings
- #2 Best Colleges in Iowa 2024
- #3 The Most Influential Universities and Colleges Ranked by State 2024
- #1 Fastest Accelerated Online Doctorate of Information Technology
- #2 Best Online MBA Programs in Iowa
- #2 Best Online Colleges in Iowa 2024
- #6 Best Online Bachelor’s in Liberal Arts and Humanities Degree Programs for 2024
- #13 Best Online Doctorate in Education Degree Programs Ranked for Students
Tuition + fees
$10K
Acceptance
90%
Graduation
74%
Student body
33K
Median SAT/ACT
1220/24
Career Outlook for degree at Iowa State University
Cost of Degree: $10,133Expenses: $13,339Starting Salary: $56,000Cost Recoup Time: 9 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Iowa State University known for?
Iowa State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Chemistry
- Economics
- Engineering
- Computer Science
- Biology
- Mathematics
- Physics
- Earth Sciences
- Education
- History
Most Influential Alumni
Iowa State University’s Online Degrees
BS in Early childcare education and programming
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BA in Liberal Studies
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
Iowa’s Best Colleges in Your Area of Interest
Colleges and Universities in Iowa
With a large number of both brick-and-mortar and online colleges in Iowa, students have plenty of great schools to choose from.
Iowa’s largest public university, Iowa State University, serves over 30,000 students and offers extra flexibility for both undergraduate and graduate students through a selection of online degree programs in more than 50 academic fields including business administration, psychology, computer science, and more.
The University of Iowa-home of the Hawkeyes-is also home to some of the nation’s top programs in literature, philosophy, and law. The University of Iowa has also been at the forefront of higher education, starting the nation’s first co-educational medical school, as well as being the first public school to grant a law degree to a woman, Mary B. Hickey Wilkinson, in 1873.
Find college admissions consultants in your state.
For prospective students hoping to obtain their degrees at a smaller school, Iowa offers over 40 options to choose from. For a more affordable option, students can pay $4,000 per year for tuition at Indian Hills Community College. Like most community colleges in Georgia, Indian Hills also offers an array of online programs.
At the other end of the spectrum, students will pay up to $52,000 for an academic year at Grinnell College. Furthermore, nearly half of the schools in Iowa are religiously affiliated.
Iowa is often recognized for its agriculture as it produces the most pork and corn in the nation. Equally noteworthy is Iowa’s wealth of one-of-a-kind roadside attractions. From the largest wooden nickel, to the crookedest street, to the Grotto of Redemption, The Hawkeye State is full of wonders. Students in search of curiosities and oddities while earning a degree can attend one of Iowa’s public or private colleges.
Whether you’re looking to earn your associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree, Iowa offers a wealth of on-campus and online learning options. Discover more about Iowa’s top brick-and-mortar and online programs as well as top career paths in the state of Iowa.
What are Iowa’s Colleges & Universities?
- 5 Research Universities
- 23 Liberal Arts Colleges & Universities
- 6 Graduate Schools
- 4 Public Colleges & Universities
- 24 Private Colleges & Universities
- 19 Christian Colleges & Universities
- 24 Small Colleges & Universities (fewer than 5,000 students)
- 4 Affordable Colleges (below $20,000/year)
- 15 Community Colleges
- Best Online Colleges