universities

The 100 largest US universities by total enrollment.

Index 11.0 · scanned 2026-09-08 · up to 32 URLs per site

42.0median

Middle of 7 cohorts

All cohorts 42.0 · best cohort 47.5
42 of 94 portals block AI crawlers.

Where this list came from

Source: IPEDS HD2023 (institutional characteristics) and DRVEF2023 (enrollment), National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) (2023-fall)
License: A work of the United States federal government. Not subject to domestic copyright (17 U.S.C. § 105).
How we filtered it: Active, degree-granting, four-year-and-above institutions in the 50 states and DC, ranked by total fall enrollment (ENRTOT), joined to HD on UNITID. The homepage is the institution's own IPEDS web address, verified by loading it, never a search result. Campuses of one system that share a homepage are collapsed to the largest. The four-year filter is ours: ranking every degree-granting institution by headcount opens the list with community-college districts, which answers a different question. For-profit universities stay in — dropping them would be a judgment about who deserves measuring rather than a fact about size.
Instead of: The US News ranking, which is a copyrighted compilation we may read but not relicense — and which ranks prestige rather than size, a judgment the Census has no business importing.
Built: 2026-09-08

The filtering is ours and is disclosed as ours. The source published a list; the decision about which rows of it belong in a cohort was a judgment call, and it is written down so somebody can disagree with it.

100 organizations · 94 scanned (94.0% coverage) · scored as higher-ed

The shape of it

42.0

Median score

37.0–46.0

Middle half

26.0–58.0

Full range

Gated outright

GradeShare of the cohort SitesShare

Weak

59 62.8%

Not ready

35 37.2%

By dimension

The mean share of each dimension's available points that this cohort earned. Low here means the whole sector is weak on it, not that one site dragged an average down — the per-site spread is in the dataset.

DimensionMean share earned Mean

#1 · Primary Indicators These parameters determine the fundamental ease of access that AI has to your site information.

44.4% #2 · Rendering and Extraction AI generally turns off JavaScript. Does your site information survive without it?

53.3% #3 · Structured Data and the Entity Graph Does a machine know who and what you are?

31.9% #4 · Crawl, Index and Licensing Hygiene Sitemaps, redirects, 404s, licensing terms, and not wasting the crawl budget.

52.2% #5 · Authorship, Provenance, Freshness Who wrote this, when, and can it be verified?

9.4% #6 · Agent Interfaces Can software actually do things on your site?

89.3% #7 · Alternate Representations Clean machine copies of your content, in Markdown, the language AI understands best.

2.4%

How much of each site we read

The cap is 32 URLs and it is a ceiling, not a promise. A portal whose every link points at a different host yields one page; a university yields the full sample. The median here is 32, the range 1–32 — published so that "we sampled 32 URLs per site" cannot become a claim the data does not support.

5 sites in this cohort served a certificate we could not verify. They were read anyway and scored normally — reporting no response for a site every browser loads would describe our TLS stack rather than the site — and each one carries the finding in its row.

Where this cohort fails

5 tests almost nobody in this cohort passes

Universal — nobody passes these 5 checks · 1 of them worth 2 points or more

TestWhat it asksFailing OfPoints

AIR-4.4 Correct X-Robots-Tag on non-HTML resources

100.0% 78 1 AIR-7.2 link rel=alternate advertises the Markdown version

100.0% 1 2 LI-1 HowTo on procedural content

100.0% 53 0 LI-3 IndexNow fires on publish and update

100.0% 94 0 LI-4 Editorial policy page referenced via publishingPrinciples

100.0% 94 0

Near-universal — 95% and above 6 checks · 5 of them worth 2 points or more

TestWhat it asksFailing OfPoints

AIR-1.4 Content Signals declared in robots.txt

98.9% 94 3 AIR-7.1 Markdown companion for every canonical page

98.8% 80 2 AIR-7.3 Accept: text/markdown content negotiation

97.9% 94 2 LI-2 speakable on summaries and ledes

97.9% 94 0 AIR-1.10 /llms.txt exists and is generated from the content model

96.8% 94 2 AIR-5.1 Author entity pages with credentials

95.7% 94 2

Common — 90 to 95% 6 checks · 4 of them worth 2 points or more

TestWhat it asksFailing OfPoints

AIR-3.4 FAQPage and QAPage on genuine question-and-answer content

93.8% 48 2 LI-5 NLWeb endpoint exposed as an MCP server with an ask method

92.6% 94 0 AIR-2.2 Progressive disclosure content ships in the initial HTML

92.3% 78 3 AIR-5.2 Bylines linked to author entities

92.3% 78 2 LI-6 Domain MCP server over real content APIs

91.5% 94 0 AIR-3.3 Vertical-specific schema types

90.4% 83 4

The population

Every 100, named

Whether or not it has been scanned. Rows with no published URL stay in the table with the reason on them: dropping them would shrink the population to the part that was easy to measure. A few points between two neighbors is noise — click a header to sort by band or by score.

#	Organization	Site	Score	Grade	URLs	Detail
1	Western Governors University 185,015 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	wgu.edu	47	Weak	32	see the scan
2	Southern New Hampshire University Gated 184,099 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	snhu.edu	39	Not ready	32	see the scan
3	Grand Canyon University 107,563 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	gcu.edu	57	Weak	32	see the scan
4	Liberty University 103,068 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	liberty.edu	44	Weak	1	see the scan
5	University of Phoenix-Arizona Gated 101,150 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	phoenix.edu	54	Weak	32	see the scan
6	Arizona State University Campus Immersion 79,593 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	asu.edu	50	Weak	32	see the scan
7	Texas A & M University-College Station 76,633 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	tamu.edu	41	Weak	32	see the scan
8	Lone Star College System 70,991 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	lonestar.edu	32	Not ready	32	see the scan
9	University of Central Florida Gated 69,233 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	ucf.edu	47	Weak	32	see the scan
10	Dallas College Gated 66,592 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	dallascollege.edu	43	Weak	32	see the scan
11	University of Maryland Global Campus Gated 60,084 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	umgc.edu	36	Not ready	32	see the scan
12	Ohio State University-Main Campus Gated 60,046 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	osu.edu	45	Weak	32	see the scan
13	New York University Gated 57,335 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	nyu.edu	38	Not ready	1	see the scan
14	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Gated 56,563 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	illinois.edu	35	Not ready	32	see the scan
15	University of Washington-Seattle Campus 55,620 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	washington.edu	46	Weak	32	see the scan
16	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Gated 54,890 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	twin-cities.umn.edu	47	Weak	32	see the scan
17	University of Florida 54,814 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	ufl.edu	45	Weak	32	see the scan
18	Florida International University 53,953 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	fiu.edu	47	Weak	32	see the scan
19	The University of Texas at Austin Gated 53,082 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	utexas.edu	37	Not ready	1	see the scan
20	University of Arizona 53,001 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	arizona.edu	46	Weak	32	see the scan
21	Purdue University-Main Campus 52,905 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	purdue.edu	39	Not ready	32	see the scan
22	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Gated 52,065 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023); the edge returned 403 to AIRBot; destination taken from the redirect rather than loaded	umich.edu	26	Not ready	1	see the scan
23	Michigan State University 51,316 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	msu.edu	37	Not ready	1	see the scan
24	Rutgers University-New Brunswick Gated 50,617 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023); the edge returned 403 to AIRBot; destination taken from the redirect rather than loaded	newbrunswick.rutgers.edu	26	Not ready	1	see the scan
25	Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus 50,399 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	psu.edu	58	Weak	32	see the scan
26	American Public University System 50,187 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	apus.edu	40	Weak	32	see the scan
27	Houston Community College 49,749 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	hccs.edu	43	Weak	32	see the scan
28	University of Wisconsin-Madison 49,605 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	wisc.edu	44	Weak	32	see the scan
29	University of South Florida 48,572 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	usf.edu	42	Weak	32	see the scan
30	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus 47,946 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	gatech.edu	—	—	—	—
31	Indiana University-Bloomington 47,527 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	bloomington.iu.edu	46	Weak	32	see the scan
32	University of North Texas 47,507 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	unt.edu	39	Not ready	32	see the scan
33	University of Southern California 47,147 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	usc.edu	49	Weak	32	see the scan
34	University of California-Los Angeles Gated 46,678 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	ucla.edu	41	Weak	32	see the scan
35	University of Houston 46,676 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	uh.edu	41	Weak	32	see the scan
36	University of California-Berkeley Gated 45,699 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	berkeley.edu	43	Weak	32	see the scan
37	Kennesaw State University 45,069 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	kennesaw.edu	43	Weak	32	see the scan
38	Utah Valley University 44,651 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	uvu.edu	45	Weak	32	see the scan
39	Purdue University Global Gated 44,421 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	purdueglobal.edu	43	Weak	32	see the scan
40	Walden University 44,223 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	waldenu.edu	—	—	—	—
41	The University of Texas at Arlington Gated 43,992 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	uta.edu	34	Not ready	16	see the scan
42	Capella University 43,915 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	capella.edu	55	Weak	32	see the scan
43	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus 43,338 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	uc.edu	46	Weak	32	see the scan
44	Florida State University 43,234 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	fsu.edu	45	Weak	32	see the scan
45	Brigham Young University-Idaho 42,996 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	byui.edu	40	Weak	32	see the scan
46	University of the People Gated 42,867 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	uopeople.edu	47	Weak	32	see the scan
47	Valencia College 42,524 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	valenciacollege.edu	46	Weak	32	see the scan
48	University of California-San Diego 42,376 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	ucsd.edu	42	Weak	32	see the scan
49	California State University-Fullerton Gated 41,962 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	fullerton.edu	30	Not ready	32	see the scan
50	University of Georgia 41,615 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	uga.edu	32	Not ready	19	see the scan
51	University of Colorado Boulder 41,432 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	colorado.edu	41	Weak	32	see the scan
52	University of Maryland-College Park Gated 40,813 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	umd.edu	47	Weak	32	see the scan
53	Texas Tech University 40,773 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	ttu.edu	39	Not ready	32	see the scan
54	California State University-Long Beach Gated 40,278 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	csulb.edu	40	Weak	32	see the scan
55	University of California-Davis 39,707 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	ucdavis.edu	46	Weak	32	see the scan
56	The University of Alabama 39,622 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	ua.edu	43	Weak	26	see the scan
57	George Mason University Gated 39,527 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	gmu.edu	46	Weak	32	see the scan
58	Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Gated 39,418 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	lsu.edu	35	Not ready	32	see the scan
59	San Diego State University 39,241 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	sdsu.edu	44	Weak	17	see the scan
60	Miami Dade College Gated 39,139 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	mdc.edu	38	Not ready	32	see the scan
61	Texas State University 38,722 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	txst.edu	45	Weak	14	see the scan
62	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Gated 38,294 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	vt.edu	40	Weak	32	see the scan
63	Collin County Community College District 37,772 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	collin.edu	38	Not ready	32	see the scan
64	California State University-Northridge Gated 37,760 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	csun.edu	28	Not ready	1	see the scan
65	North Carolina State University at Raleigh 37,323 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	ncsu.edu	40	Weak	1	see the scan
66	Boston University 36,624 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	bu.edu	—	—	—	—
67	University of California-Irvine Gated 36,582 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	uci.edu	39	Not ready	1	see the scan
68	University of South Carolina-Columbia Gated 36,579 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	sc.edu	37	Not ready	32	see the scan
69	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville 36,304 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	utk.edu	43	Weak	32	see the scan
70	San Jose State University Gated 36,062 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	sjsu.edu	29	Not ready	32	see the scan
71	Oregon State University Gated 35,622 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	oregonstate.edu	40	Weak	32	see the scan
72	Austin Community College District 35,600 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	austincc.edu	—	—	—	—
73	Columbia University in the City of New York Gated 35,279 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023); the edge returned 403 to AIRBot; destination taken from the redirect rather than loaded	columbia.edu	26	Not ready	1	see the scan
74	University of Utah Gated 35,260 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	utah.edu	34	Not ready	32	see the scan
75	Brigham Young University 35,074 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	byu.edu	45	Weak	23	see the scan
76	Georgia State University Gated 34,974 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	gsu.edu	36	Not ready	1	see the scan
77	The University of Texas at San Antonio Gated 34,864 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	utsa.edu	48	Weak	32	see the scan
78	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Gated 34,525 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	pitt.edu	46	Weak	32	see the scan
79	University of Illinois Chicago 33,522 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023); read without verifying the certificate: the certificate chain is incomplete: the server does not send its intermediate, so a client that cannot fetch one itself cannot verify the site. Browsers hide this; most crawlers do not	uic.edu	38	Not ready	32	see the scan
80	Colorado State University-Fort Collins Gated 33,500 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023); ConnectError; web address supplied by hand, not by the source list	colostate.edu	41	Weak	32	see the scan
81	Auburn University Gated 33,015 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	auburn.edu	34	Not ready	32	see the scan
82	University of Kentucky Gated 32,703 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	uky.edu	37	Not ready	32	see the scan
83	Ashford University 32,604 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	uagc.edu	48	Weak	32	see the scan
84	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 32,234 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	unc.edu	48	Weak	32	see the scan
85	University of Arkansas 32,140 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	uark.edu	34	Not ready	32	see the scan
86	The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley 31,931 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	utrgv.edu	39	Not ready	22	see the scan
87	University at Buffalo Gated 31,889 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	buffalo.edu	29	Not ready	1	see the scan
88	University of Massachusetts-Amherst 31,810 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	umass.edu	43	Weak	32	see the scan
89	San Jacinto Community College 31,494 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	sanjac.edu	—	—	—	—
90	California State University-Sacramento Gated 31,172 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	csus.edu	33	Not ready	32	see the scan
91	Northeastern University 31,159 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	northeastern.edu	—	—	—	—
92	University of Nevada-Las Vegas 31,094 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	unlv.edu	47	Weak	32	see the scan
93	University of Missouri-Columbia 31,013 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	missouri.edu	49	Weak	32	see the scan
94	The University of Texas at Dallas Gated 30,885 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	utdallas.edu	28	Not ready	1	see the scan
95	Florida Atlantic University 30,790 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	fau.edu	46	Weak	32	see the scan
96	Weber State University Gated 30,536 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	weber.edu	27	Not ready	32	see the scan
97	Bakersfield College 30,410 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	bakersfieldcollege.edu	46	Weak	32	see the scan
98	Harvard University 30,386 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	harvard.edu	47	Weak	32	see the scan
99	Johns Hopkins University Gated 30,362 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023); the edge returned 403 to AIRBot; destination taken from the redirect rather than loaded	jhu.edu	29	Not ready	1	see the scan
100	University of North Carolina at Charlotte 30,298 students (IPEDS ENRTOT, fall 2023)	charlotte.edu	45	Weak	32	see the scan

Scores are for the population, not for ranking two named sites against each other — a few points between neighbors is noise. See what these numbers can and cannot support. Data: sites.csv · checks.csv · summary.json

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