FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT, WHO DO WE APPRECIATE? Blugolds stroll on the eighth-best Midwest regional campus. (UWEC photo)

For the 27th straight year, UW-Eau Claire has landed on the list of top public regional universities in the Midwest published by U.S. News & World Report.

As it did last year, UWEC was No. 8 in the rankings of its public peers, while it was No. 41 among 165 public and private colleges. UWEC tied with the University of Minnesota-Duluth and Winona State University at No. 8, while UW-Stout in Menomonie landed at No. 15. (Curious about No. 1? It’s Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri.)

According to a UWEC media release, “The rankings are based on criteria that includes peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, graduation rate performance, and alumni giving.”

“For nearly three decades U.S. News has consistently recognized that UW-Eau Claire is among the best public universities in the Midwest,” Chancellor James Schmidt said. “The year-after-year recognition is a tribute to our exceptional students, faculty, staff, and alumni, all of whom help to make UW-Eau Claire such an incredible institution.”

In addition to its high place among its public regional peers, UWEC achieved these rankings:

• Included on lists for best “Undergraduate Business Programs,” “Undergraduate Nursing Programs” and “Undergraduate engineering — no doctorate.”

• 16th among private and public Midwestern universities in the “Best Colleges for Veterans” category based on the university’s efforts to make a college education more affordable for veterans and active-service members.

• Included in the “Top Performers on Social Mobility” Midwest Universities category, which measures how well schools graduated students who received federal Pell grants (those typically coming from households whose family annual incomes are less than $50,000, though most Pell Grant money goes to students with a total family income below $20,000).

• 50th in the “Best Value Schools” ranking. This category factors academic quality and cost after accounting for total expenses and financial aid.

• Included in the publication’s “A-plus Schools for B students.”

Learn more about UWEC’s U.S. News ranking here.