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Cleveland Institute of Art again has been named one of the best colleges in the Midwest, and is one of only two colleges of art and design to achieve this designation from The Princeton Review, an education services company nationally known for its test preparation programs and college and graduate school guides.

The Princeton Review named 159 institutions in 12 states to the “Best in the Midwest” list for 2015. The list is part of the company's website feature, “2015 Best Colleges: Region by Region" that was posted on PrincetonReview.com on August 4, 2014. The CIA entry is viewable by logging into the company’s website.

The company’s best colleges constitute only 25% of the nation's four-year colleges. The Princeton Review does not rank the schools on its regional best lists.

“I'm very proud that, out of hundreds of colleges in the Midwest, CIA is included among the best by The Princeton Review,” said CIA President Grafton J. Nunes. “In addition, CIA is one of only two colleges on this Midwest list that is a member of AICAD, the prestigious Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design."

Robert Franek, The Princeton Review's senior vice president and publisher, said, “We selected Cleveland Institute of Art – and the other terrific institutions on our 'regional best' lists – primarily for their excellent academic offerings.”

CIA’s profile on the Princeton Review site notes that “Academically, liberal arts are emphasized.” The profile also cites the personal studio space that each student receives, once in a major; the school’s flexibility in allowing students to explore disciplines outside their major; and the fact that faculty members are “actual working professionals.”

From several hundred schools in each region, The Princeton Review winnowed its list based on institutional data collected directly from the schools, visits to schools over the years, and the opinions of the company’s staff, college counselors and advisors. "Our selections also take into account what students at the schools report to us about their experiences at them on our 80-question student survey for this project. We ask every question that a prospective applicant might want to ask on a campus visit,” Franek said.

Comments from surveyed students are quoted in the school profiles on The Princeton Review site. For example, one CIA student is quoted as saying, “The student to faculty ratio is surprisingly low, which allows for a large amount of input from staff… Discussion is always encouraged.”

Above: From The Princeton Review, August 2014. All rights reserved. Used by permission and protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States. The printing, copying, redistribution, or retransmission of this Content without express written permission is prohibited.