Valley City State University has garnered the No. 1 ranking among public regional colleges in the Midwest in the 2018 U.S. News and World Report Best College rankings.VCSU tied the University of Minnesota Crookston for the top position in the 2018 rankings. VCSU was also the No. 1 ranked public regional college in the Midwest in the 2017, 2016, 2013 and 2012 rankings. The university ranked second in 2015, 2014, 2011 and 2010. VCSU has now been ranked a U.S. News “Best College” for 20 consecutive years.“We’re understandably proud of our No. 1 ranking,” said VCSU President Tisa Mason. “We’ve been able to achieve and maintain the top spot over the last several years. Two decades as a ‘Best College’ is also important. That distinction reflects the quality—and the consistent effort it takes to deliver it—that we’ve sustained over time. That doesn’t mean that we’ve rested on our laurels, however; we’ve continued to adapt, adjust and innovate to put the best practices in teaching and learning to work for our students’ success.”U.S. News ranks colleges and universities according to their mission and, in some categories, by location. Schools are evaluated on a variety of criteria, including first-year retention rate, six-year graduation rates, educational spending per student, admissions selectivity, student-faculty ratio, class sizes, faculty resources, proportion of full-time faculty, alumni-giving rate and qualitative assessments by administrators at peer institutions.The “Regional Colleges in the Midwest” category includes 80 ranked colleges and universities, including 13 public institutions, in 12 states: North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota.The rankings are available online at www.usnews.com/colleges and in print in the 2018 U.S. News Best Colleges guidebook.