Colorado’s Best Colleges and Universities by Academic Stewardship
What are the best colleges and universities in Colorado 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 Colorado 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.
Colorado’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 Colorado’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 Colorado’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.
Colorado’s Best Colleges and Universities by Academic Stewardship
- #1 Best Small Colleges in Colorado 2024 #2 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Colorado 2024 #2 Best Private Colleges in Colorado 2024 #3 The Most Influential Universities and Colleges Ranked by State 2024
Other Rankings
- #5 Best Colleges in Colorado 2024
- #10 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Education Degrees
- #11 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Economics Degree
- #12 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Earth Sciences Degree
- #16 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Anthropology Degrees
- #16 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Sociology Degrees
- #16 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Math Degrees
- #17 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Earning Computer Science Degrees 2024
- #19 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for a Biology Degree
- #22 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Religious Studies Degrees
- #23 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for History Degrees
- #24 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Philosophy Degrees
Tuition + fees
$65K
Acceptance
16%
Graduation
86%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1370/31
Career Outlook for degree at Colorado College
Cost of Degree: $65,028Expenses: $18,200Starting Salary: $49,900Cost Recoup Time: 21 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Colorado College known for?
Colorado College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Computer Science
- Economics
- Earth Sciences
- Sociology
- Biology
- Mathematics
- Philosophy
- Literature
- Psychology
- Anthropology
Most Influential Alumni
- #22 50 Best Liberal Arts Colleges and Universities Ranked for Students #1 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Colorado 2024 #2 The Most Influential Universities and Colleges Ranked by State 2024 #3 Most Affordable Colleges in Colorado 2024
Other Rankings
- #3 Best Public Colleges in Colorado 2024
- #4 Best Colleges in Colorado 2024
- #5 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Engineering Degrees
- #7 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Earning Computer Science Degrees 2024
- #15 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for History Degrees
- #16 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Economics Degree
- #17 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Political Science Degrees
- #18 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Math Degrees
- #20 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Psychology Degrees
- #21 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Physics Degrees
- #23 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Chemistry Degrees
- #25 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for a Biology Degree
Acceptance
16%
Graduation
100%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1395/30
What is United States Air Force Academy known for?
United States Air Force Academy’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Computer Science
- Engineering
- Political Science
- History
- Physics
- Mathematics
- Law
- Economics
- Chemistry
- Psychology
Most Influential Alumni
- #11 The Best Catholic Colleges and Universities Ranked for 2024 #20 Best Online Christian Colleges and Universities for Doctoral Degrees #1 Best Christian Colleges in Colorado 2024 #4 Best Private Colleges in Colorado 2024
Other Rankings
- #7 Best Research Universities in Colorado 2024
- #10 Best Colleges in Colorado 2024
- #3 Best Online MBA Programs in Colorado
- #5 Best Online Master's Programs in Colorado 2024
- #5 Fastest Accelerated Online Bachelor's of Information Technology
- #6 Best Online Colleges in Colorado 2024
- #7 10 Fastest Accelerated Online Bachelor's of English
- #10 10 Fastest Accelerated Online Master's of Accounting Programs
- #11 Top 20 Most Affordable Online Bachelor's of Cybersecurity
- #15 Best Online Master’s in Information Technology
- #17 Best Online Master’s in Health Informatics
- #19 Best RN to BSN Online
- #7 How to Earn Your Master's Degree Without Your Bachelor's Degree
Tuition + fees
$42K
Acceptance
76%
Graduation
67%
Student body
7K
Median SAT/ACT
1120/23
Career Outlook for degree at Regis University
Cost of Degree: $42,220Expenses: $18,134Starting Salary: $62,700Cost Recoup Time: 16 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Regis University known for?
Regis University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Nursing
- Psychology
- Computer Science
- Criminal Justice
- Business
- Medical
- Economics
- Political Science
- Education
- Social Work
Most Influential Alumni
Regis University’s Online Degrees
BSN in Nursing Rn To Bsn
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
- #15 America's 15 Most Technologically Advanced Colleges #4 Best Research Universities in Colorado 2024 #4 Best Public Colleges in Colorado 2024 #4 Best Grad Schools in Colorado 2024
Other Rankings
Tuition + fees
$20K
Acceptance
58%
Graduation
82%
Student body
8K
Median SAT/ACT
1409/31
Career Outlook for degree at Colorado School of Mines
Cost of Degree: $20,040Expenses: $19,489Starting Salary: $95,600Cost Recoup Time: 9 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Colorado School of Mines known for?
Colorado School of Mines’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Engineering
- Earth Sciences
- Chemistry
- Physics
- Mathematics
- Economics
- Computer Science
- Business
- Sociology
- Psychology
Most Influential Alumni
- #1 The Most Influential Universities and Colleges Ranked by State 2024 #1 Best Private Colleges in Colorado 2024 #2 Best Research Universities in Colorado 2024 #2 Best Colleges in Colorado 2024
Other Rankings
- #2 Best Grad Schools in Colorado 2024
- #1 Best Online MBA Programs in Colorado
- #1 Fastest Accelerated Online Bachelor's of Information Technology
- #2 Best Accredited Online Juris Doctorate (JD) Law Programs
- #2 Best Online Master's Programs in Colorado 2024
- #3 Best Online Colleges in Colorado 2024
- #4 Top 8 Best Online Applied Behavioral Analysis PhDs (Doctorates)
- #4 Best Online Degree Completion Programs for Returning Students
- #17 Best Online MBA Degree Programs for 2024 with No GMAT Required
Tuition + fees
$56K
Acceptance
78%
Graduation
77%
Student body
17K
Median SAT/ACT
1310/30
Career Outlook for degree at University of Denver
Cost of Degree: $56,439Expenses: $19,620Starting Salary: $65,400Cost Recoup Time: 18 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is University of Denver known for?
University of Denver’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Political Science
- Social Work
- Law
- Psychology
- Business
- Economics
- Anthropology
- History
- Education
- Religious Studies
Most Influential Alumni
- #5 Most Affordable Colleges in Colorado 2024 #6 Best Research Universities in Colorado 2024 #6 Best Public Colleges in Colorado 2024 #6 Best Grad Schools in Colorado 2024
Other Rankings
- #8 Best Colleges in Colorado 2024
- #4 Best Online MBA Programs in Colorado
- #4 15 Fastest Accelerated Online Master's of Psychology Programs
- #6 Most Affordable Online Master's of Speech Pathology Programs
- #6 Best Online Master's Programs in Colorado 2024
- #7 Best Online Colleges in Colorado 2024
- #9 Most Affordable Online Master's of Music Education Programs
- #15 20 Best Online Master's of Speech Pathology Degree Programs
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
79%
Graduation
52%
Student body
12K
Median SAT/ACT
1095/23
Career Outlook for degree at University of Northern Colorado
Cost of Degree: $10,769Expenses: $17,462Starting Salary: $47,100Cost Recoup Time: 12 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is University of Northern Colorado known for?
University of Northern Colorado’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Education
- Sociology
- Literature
- Political Science
- History
- Communications
- Earth Sciences
- Mathematics
- Business
- Medical
Most Influential Alumni
- #8 Best Research Universities in Colorado 2024 #8 Most Affordable Colleges in Colorado 2024 #8 Best Public Colleges in Colorado 2024 #8 Best Grad Schools in Colorado 2024
Other Rankings
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
85%
Graduation
43%
Student body
15K
Median SAT/ACT
1115/24
Career Outlook for degree at University of Colorado Colorado Springs
Cost of Degree: $12,380Expenses: $17,860Starting Salary: $49,300Cost Recoup Time: 12 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is University of Colorado Colorado Springs known for?
University of Colorado Colorado Springs’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Social Work
- Mathematics
- Criminal Justice
- Computer Science
- Physics
- Engineering
- Psychology
- Economics
- Literature
- Nursing
Most Influential Alumni
University of Colorado Colorado Springs’s Online Degrees
BS in Business
- Required Credits: None Reported
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Criminal Justice
- Required Credits: None Reported
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BA in Communication
- Required Credits: None Reported
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BA in Philosophy
- Required Credits: None Reported
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BA in Sociology
- Required Credits: None Reported
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Healthcare Sciences
- Required Credits: None Reported
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: None Reported
- #5 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Colorado 2024 #7 Most Affordable Colleges in Colorado 2024 #7 Best Public Colleges in Colorado 2024 #2 Best Online Bachelor's in Cybersecurity in Colorado
Tuition + fees
$10K
Acceptance
98%
Graduation
29%
Student body
22K
Median SAT/ACT
1020/19
Career Outlook for degree at Metropolitan State University of Denver
Cost of Degree: $10,260Starting Salary: $44,200What is Metropolitan State University of Denver known for?
Metropolitan State University of Denver’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Nursing
- Earth Sciences
- Engineering
- Anthropology
- Computer Science
- Mathematics
- Education
- Social Work
- Biology
- Business
Most Influential Alumni
Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Online Degrees
BS in Business Intelligence
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Management
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Marketing And Sales
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
- #4 Most Affordable Colleges in Colorado 2024 #5 Best Research Universities in Colorado 2024 #5 Best Public Colleges in Colorado 2024 #5 Best Grad Schools in Colorado 2024
Other Rankings
Tuition + fees
$10K
Acceptance
75%
Graduation
44%
Student body
30K
Median SAT/ACT
1145/24
Career Outlook for degree at University of Colorado Denver
Cost of Degree: $9,634Expenses: $22,026Starting Salary: $71,200Cost Recoup Time: 9 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is University of Colorado Denver known for?
University of Colorado Denver’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Nursing
- Medical
- Biology
- Criminal Justice
- Engineering
- Physics
- Computer Science
- Mathematics
- Anthropology
- Psychology
Most Influential Alumni
- #2 Most Affordable Colleges in Colorado 2024 #2 Best Public Colleges in Colorado 2024 #3 Best Research Universities in Colorado 2024 #3 Best Colleges in Colorado 2024
Other Rankings
- #3 Best Grad Schools in Colorado 2024
- #4 The Most Influential Universities and Colleges Ranked by State 2024
- #3 Best Online Master's Programs in Colorado 2024
- #4 Best Online Colleges in Colorado 2024
- #4 Top 5 Best Online Sociology PhD Degree Programs (Doctorates) 2024
- #5 Online Colleges That Start Anytime and the Benefits of a Self-Paced Education
- #6 Top 10 Best Online Communications PhD Degree Programs (Doctorates)
- #6 Best Online MBA Programs in Colorado
- #9 Most Affordable Online Sociology Doctorate Programs (PhDs)
- #15 Best Online Bachelor's in Construction Management Degree Programs
- #24 Top 50 Best No GRE Online PhD Degree Programs (Doctorates)
Tuition + fees
$13K
Acceptance
91%
Graduation
67%
Student body
37K
Median SAT/ACT
1185/26
Career Outlook for degree at Colorado State University
Cost of Degree: $12,559Expenses: $17,575Starting Salary: $53,400Cost Recoup Time: 11 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Colorado State University known for?
Colorado State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
Colorado’s Best Colleges in Your Area of Interest
Colleges and Universities in Colorado
Fans of the outdoors will feel right at home in Colorado. With the Rocky Mountains, Colorado River, and even part of the Great Plains, you’re sure to find adventure in The Centennial State. Students looking to balance outdoor adventure with higher education can choose from over 40 colleges and universities offering associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees for an average in-state tuition of $10,800.
Find college admissions consultants in your state.
Colorado’s 28 public institutes include junior colleges, universities, the United States Air Force Academy, and the Colorado School of Mines, a research university that specializes in science, technology, engineering, and math.
Tuition for Colorado’s public schools ranges from $3,000 to $19,000, with many of the colleges and junior colleges starting at $4,000 and the universities at $8,000. Several of public colleges in Colorado enroll a large number of online students, including Colorado State University
.Colorado’s private institutions boast smaller class sizes and student populations. This category includes five religiously affiliated campuses. Private colleges in Colorado tend to be more expensive, ranging from $4,000 to $55,000 in tuition. There are several online colleges in Colorado that are categorized as private schools.
The University of Colorado, Boulder, a notable research institute, is ranked as the number one school in the state and has a student population of just over 32,000. Students can earn degrees in computer science and physics both through in-person courses and online learning. Influential Boulder alumni include Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and Academy Award-winning actor and director Robert Redford.
Prospective art students can check out Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, and those desiring a career in the medical field can look into the Institute of Business and Medical Careers.
To learn more, check out the best brick-and-mortar and online colleges in Colorado.
What are Colorado’s Colleges & Universities?
- 9 Research Universities
- 15 Liberal Arts Colleges & Universities
- 9 Graduate Schools
- 17 Public Colleges & Universities
- 7 Private Colleges & Universities
- 2 Christian Colleges & Universities
- 9 Small Colleges & Universities (fewer than 5,000 students)
- 23 Affordable Colleges (below $20,000/year)
- 12 Community Colleges
- Best Online Colleges