Courses are taught by highly-qualified faculty with 84 percent of full-time faculty members hold doctorates or other terminal degrees in their field. On average there is one professor for every 12 students while 62 percent of classes have fewer than 20 students and 99 percent of classes have fewer than 50 students.

Our four-year graduation rate is the highest in the Minnesota and Midwest — higher than the public systems as well as the other states’ nonprofit colleges. Compared to other states’ four-year graduation rates — for both public and private institutions — our rate ranks fourth nationally. (This looks at first-year students and measures the share who stayed at the institution and earned their degrees.)

Looking just at students who start and stay at the same institution, 92 percent of these graduates finish in four years at our institutions. At the University of Minnesota, 82 percent of graduates finish in four years and for Minnesota State Universities the figure is 62 percent. (Unlike the graduation rate shown in the chart above, this measure only looks at graduates who started and then completed at the same institutions in four years, as opposed to taking longer.)

Low-income students succeed at our institutions. Our share of Pell Grant recipients graduating in four years ranks third nationally when compared to statewide averages for both public and private institutions.

In the most recent year, our colleges had 28 students who were named Fulbright Fellows, Goldwater Scholars and Truman Scholars. At the University of Minnesota, 16 students received those recognitions.