Alaska Pacific University moved up from the Third Tier to the Second Tier for Western Masters Level Universities in the 2004 Edition of U.S. News & World Report’s guide to America’s Best Colleges. This annual publication ranks over 1,400 colleges and universities in order to assist prospective students in the hunt for their ideal college.

According to U.S. News & World Report, institutions are ranked through 15 indicators of academic excellence including peer assessment, retention, faculty resources, selectivity, financial resources, graduation rate, and alumni giving. APU has moved from Fourth Tier to Third Tier and now to Second Tier in the span of just four years.

Jessica Carr, Co-Director of Admission stated, "It is wonderful to receive national recognition for the positive work going on throughout the university. This will help us recruit even more students of quality." Dr. Doug North, President of APU, noted that the higher ranking was achieved even though APU’s visibility among peer institutions was low. "We made it into the second tier even though hardly anybody has heard of APU or knows how academically excellent we are. As our visibility rises, I expect we can go even higher in the ratings."

Alaska Pacific is the only Alaska college or university to be ranked as a Second Tier institution. The move places APU in the company of Hawaii Pacific University, College of Santa Fe, Humboldt State University and San Francisco State University.

In its September issue Outside Magazine has also recognized the excellence of APU’s environmental science and outdoor study programs by naming APU as one of 40 schools "that turn out smart grads with top-notch academic credentials, a healthy environmental ethos, and an A+ sense of adventure." Student writer Cameron O’Connell wrote about APU students’ passion for the outdoors, "On Friday nights, the question isn’t ‘Where’s the party?’ but ‘Where are you heading this weekend?’" The Municipality of Anchorage deserves some of the praise here also, because the article was entitled, "The 40 Best College Towns: the coolest places to work, play, study, party, and live."

Alaska Pacific University is becoming well known for its "Active Learning" approach to education in all its academic programs. Active Learning consistently requires students to apply what they are learning to real world projects—in class field projects and also in projects that the student designs under the supervision of the faculty. Each undergraduate student carries out a Senior Project of significant scope as the culmination of the undergraduate course of study.