Is your college among the worst in the nation? The Art Institute of Houston was ranked among the worst in the country.

The worst colleges in the US?



The Art Institute of Houston has been ranked as the 11th worst college in the country by Washington Monthly when each college's graduation rate is weighted heaviest against tuition costs and other facts.



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The Art Institute of Houston has been ranked as the 11th worst college in the country by Washington Monthly when each college's graduation rate is weighted heaviest against tuition ... more Photo: Art Institute Of Houston Photo: Art Institute Of Houston Image 1 of / 26 Caption Close Is your college among the worst in the nation? 1 / 26 Back to Gallery

If your college is among the 20 reported to be the nation's worst, you're probably thinking, "Hey, it wasn't that bad."

These schools' shortcomings, according to Washington Monthly, are not so much in the quality of the education per se but rather in its utility: How likely are students to graduate? What does a degree from there cost? What's the level of student debt? What's the default rate on student loans?

"Many of these colleges are dropout factories, where students are unlikely to graduate, and prices, debt levels, and student loan default rates are high," author Ben Miller said in the magazine's September/October issue, which ranked poor-performing colleges.

"For these students, the crucial question is where not to go to college," Miller wrote. "When you're wandering through a minefield with destructive options that lead to high loan debt and no degree, it's worth having a map."

Only one Texas school appears on any of the magazine's four different lists: The Art Institute of Houston, No. 11 on the ranking weighted by graduation rate.

It's no easy task, Miller said, to assemble a ranked list. Schools that are awful by one criterion might be okay when judged by a different yardstick.

"For example, a worst colleges list has to decide whether a high-student-debt college with a so-so graduation rate should be ranked higher or lower than a cheaper option with minimal debt but even fewer completers," Washington Monthly said.

That very issue is bedeviling federal officials trying to come up with a way to identify colleges so bad they lose federal funding, according to the magazine.

Those issues notwithstanding, Washington Monthly came up with four rankings based on different criteria sets.

Ranking #1: The Basics

This ranking looks at net price (tuition minus grants), average student debt, default rate and graduation rate. Here are the five worst:

New England Institute of Art, Massachusetts

Columbia College-Hollywood, Calif.

Fountainhead College of Technology, Tenn.

St. Augustine's University, N. C.

Platt College-Aurora, Colo.

Ranking #2: Graduation rate given more weight

Worst five:

St. Augustine's University, North Carolina

Mt. Sierra College, Calif.

Art Institute of Atlanta, Ga.

DeVry University, Ill.

Benedict College, S.C.

Ranking #3: Including percent of students who borrow

Worst five

Benedict College, S.C.

Westwood College-South Bay, Calif.

Central State University, Ohio

Shaw University, N.C.

St. Augustine's Univerity, N.C.

Ranking #4: Including net price charged to low-income students

Worst five

Shimer College, Ill.

Southern Vermont College, Vt.

Becker College, Mass.

Platt College-Aurora, Colo.

Virginia Intermont College, Va.

Washington Monthly calls out these institutions, saying they have been flying under the radar too long, while most attention is focused on the stiff competition to be on the nation's best-schools list.

"Only the students who have the misfortune to enroll at one of these places find out the truth," the magazine said. "If we want to improve national attainment and deal with college cost, that cannot continue. It's time to get these colleges some attention by putting them at the top of the list."