Rankings not kind to KU

The second day of college rankings released by U.S. News and World Report magazine brought more bad news for Kansas University.

The School of Business dropped in the rankings released Friday, while the School of Engineering held steady with its mark from 2005. The news came a day after the university’s overall ranking fell from 42nd to 45th among public universities.

“I was certainly pleased we held our ground,” said Stuart Bell, dean of the School of Engineering. “I certainly would have liked improvement, and anticipate we’ll improve in the future.”

In addition to ranking overall university status, the magazine ranks certain programs in its fall “America’s Best Colleges” issue and again in an issue featuring graduate schools.

The engineering school is tied for 45th in the country among public universities and tied for 77th overall, down from 74th last year. Both new rankings are the same received by the engineering program at Kansas State University.

Meanwhile, the KU School of Business dropped six places, from 30th last year to tied for 36th this year among public universities. Overall, the school is 57th, down nine spots from last year.

Fiske Guide Names KU a ‘Best buy’

Kansas University again has been named a “best buy” by Fiske Guide to Colleges.

The guide called KU “one heck of a deal” and praised several of KU’s top-rated academic programs, the activism of its student body and the beauty of the Lawrence campus.

The book gives KU four out of five stars in the categories of academics, social life and quality of life and says the “academic achievements of each incoming class continue to rise.”

Fiske’s Guide has listed KU as a “best buy” for several years.

The magazine uses various criteria in its ranking, including reputation among colleagues, graduation and retention rates and faculty resources.

Bill Fuerst, dean of the School of Business, said he was still pleased to be among a group of top-tier public university business programs.

“There’s not enough science there to make anyone overly alarmed about that,” he said.

He said the recent addition of four majors to the School of Business – before students received one generic degree – and the hiring of 13 new faculty this fall should pay off in the reputation surveys distributed by the magazine.

“The business school has made some very significant strides in the last year,” Fuerst said. “Part of our challenge is making sure the people who do these rankings know about what we’re doing.”

Bell agreed. He said the School of Engineering should benefit from the addition of two major National Science Foundation-funded centers announced in the last two years.

“It’s a read on the public’s perception,” Bell said of the rankings. “We’ll focus on doing what are the right things for our students, but we also have to make sure we do a good job of getting the word out.”