Rankings & Recognition

Abilene Christian University has been recognized for its academic quality and value. ACU is honored to receive these acknowledgements for our commitment to excellence.

Apple Distinguished Program
Abilene Christian University has been named an Apple Distinguished Program for its work to understand the impact of mobility in education, to discover and create new ways to make learning more engaging, and to develop new teaching resources allowing teachers and learners to leverage mobility through iPad, iPhone and iPod.

2013 U.S. News & World Report
America’s Best Colleges
Abilene Christian University is again ranked among the nation’s Top 20 regional universities (West) as determined by U.S. News & World Report in its new “America’s Best Colleges” guide. Overall, ACU ranks 19th in the West.

In addition, ACU ranks among the top 15 universities in our region in the category of “Great Schools at Great Prices” for the 5th consecutive year. ACU ranks 13th for this category that is awarded to institutions based on a school’s overall academic quality weighed against net cost of attendance.

The Princeton Review – “Best Western Colleges”
The Princeton Review has again named Abilene Christian University one of the “Best in the West” for 2012. We are one of 121 schools receiving this distinction as “academically excellent institutions of higher learning” for the 15-state western region of the U.S.

America’s Best Colleges by Forbes Magazine
ACU is one of “America’s Best Colleges” as determined by Forbes Magazine in a rankings list published in August 2012. Forbes joined with the Center for College Affordability and Productivity to chose 650 schools based on “the quality of the education they provide, the experience of the students and how much they achieve.” ACU was ranked No. 485, placing the university in the top 7 percent of the 6,600 accredited postsecondary institutions eligible for consideration. ACU and Pepperdine were the only two universities on the list affiliated with Churches of Christ.

Online Master’s Program Ranked #8 in Nation as Top H.R. Management Program
ACU’s online Master of Organizational and Human Resource Development degree program was ranked eighth in the nation based on its quality, types of courses offered, faculty, rankings, awards and reputation. The program was ranked among the top 20 programs in 2013 by TheBestSchools.org, an independent organization with no ties to any other educational institution. All its editors know the academic world well, with some holding Ph.D.’s and having extensive experience in teaching, research and publishing at the university level. Read more about this ranking

National Survey Places ACU On Top in Multiple Categories
ACU ranked high across multiple categories in an annual report by the National Survey for Student Engagement (NSSE). The university placed well above average for its quality student-faculty interaction, enriched educational experiences and supportive campus environment.

More than 1,500 universities participated in the survey and were compared to each other in five major categories: academic challenge, active learning, student-faculty interaction, enriched educational experiences and supportive campus environment. Survey results were based on information from 668 ACU students.

Great College to Work For – Chronicle for Higher Education
For the fifth consecutive year, ACU has earned recognition by the Chronicle for Higher Education as one of the nation’s Great Colleges to Work For. ACU is cited in the category of Supervisor/Department Chair Relationship for the excellence of the university’s supervisors in making expectations clear and soliciting ideas from their employees.

ACUTA Institutional Excellence Award
ACU’s mobile-learning initiative has been recognized once again as an innovative approach to education through technology. ACUTA, the Association for Information Communications Technology Professionals in Higher Education, has awarded ACU its most prestigious honor, the award for Institutional Excellence in Information Communications Technology. This distinction, given annually to three universities, is awarded for innovative and exemplary endeavors, products or services in the field of higher education technology.

CIO 100 Award
CIO magazine announced ACU as a recipient of its 2009 CIO 100 Award. The 22-year-old award program recognizes organizations around the world that exemplify the highest level of operational and strategic excellence in information technology. ACU was one of only six universities to receive the award. Other recipients include AT&T, Dell, GE Energy, IBM and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Alcatel-Lucent Dynamic Enterprise Award
ACU was recently honored with one of Alcatel-Lucent’s first annual Dynamic Enterprise Awards. The Fortune 500 Company’s Web site states that the four winning institutions “demonstrate how fully leveraging the interconnection of networks, people, process and knowledge using IP technology provides unique competitive advantages.” ACU was honored along with the Siam Commercial Bank of Thailand; Fluor Limited, part of the UK’s National Roads Telecommunications Service; and the Saudi Ministry of Culture & Information. Additionally, industry analysts attending this year’s Enterprise Forum selected ACU as the winner of the first Analyst Choice Award. The university has partnered with Alcatel-Lucent in developing its campus network.

National Service Honor Roll
For the second year, ACU has been nationally recognized for its commitment to service. The university was listed on the 2008 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, which recognizes colleges and universities that support innovative and effective community service and service-learning programs. The Honor Roll is a part of the Corporation for National and Community Service, which is devoted to helping college students serve others while strengthening their academic and civic skills.

Excellence in Service Learning
ACU has received the “Excellence in Service-Learning” seal from Student Horizons. Each year, Student Horizons publishes the Guide to Service-Learning Colleges & Universities for college-bound students, highlighting institutions with exceptional service-learning programs. The guide defines service learning as “a teaching method that links course-based learning objectives to community-based service activities.”

America’s Best Christian Colleges
ACU is also included in the 2007-08 edition of America’s Best Christian Colleges. Universities in this guidebook provide “the highest quality education in a Christian environment.” Both America’s 100 Best College Buys and America’s Best Christian Colleges are published by Institutional Research and Evaluation, Inc. ACU is listed in this guidebook for the 11th straight year.

College of Distinction
ACU was named a “College of Distinction” for its exemplary commitment to engaged students, great teaching, vibrant communities and successful outcomes. ACU is one of only nine Texas universities on the list.

John Templeton Foundation
In its latest guidebook, Colleges That Encourage Character Development, the John Templeton Foundation recognizes ACU in its categories of Presidential Leadership, Civic Education and Senior-Year Programs.