Why is Kansas University dropping in the U.S. News and World Report annual rankings of America's Best Colleges?
Not too many years ago, KU was ranked among the top 20 or 30 public universities, but in recent years, the university has been slipping and, according to the latest U.S. News and World Report analysis, KU now is tied with four other schools in 45th position among the "Top 50 Public National Universities." The other universities tied with KU are the State University of New York at Stony Brook, Arizona, Nebraska and the University of New Hampshire.
In the listing of "Best National Universities" (public and private) KU is in a tie with a group from 97th to 103rd places with the same four public universities, along with Illinois Institute of Technology and Texas Christian University.
"National universities," as defined by the magazine are a group of 248 American universities, 162 public and 86 private, that offer a wide range of undergraduate majors as well as master's and doctoral degrees. Many strongly emphasize research.
Tied in the 97-103 bracket, KU was behind other Big 12 schools: Texas, 52nd; Texas A&M, 60th; Colorado, 78th; and Iowa State and Missouri, tied at 85th.
Oklahoma is in a tie in the 109-114 bracket. Kansas State, along with Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, is in the so-called "third tier" of schools, listed alphabetically from 125th to 180th.
Some might say being ranked somewhere between 97th and 103rd among the best "national universities" and between 45th and 49th among the top public universities isn't too bad.
And it isn't, in some respects.
However, the discouraging, disappointing and maybe dangerous situation is that KU is slipping. As noted above, at one time, KU was among the top 20 or 30 public universities. Now it is at its lowest ranking since 1999. Last year, it was placed in the 42nd position among public universities, and this year, it has dropped seven positions among all schools, public and private.
A great deal has been said in recent years about Chancellor Robert Hemenway's goal to have KU ranked among the top 25 public universities and eventually in the top 25 of all universities, but this is becoming an increasingly difficult goal.
Either other schools are putting more effort into their academic programs and KU is unable to keep pace, or, worse yet, KU hasn't been able to climb any higher in the rankings because it hasn't gained advantage over other schools that have remained static in their respective efforts.
Some are quick to pooh-pooh the magazine's rankings. They claim there isn't too much to base these rankings on and that there isn't any reason to be alarmed.
Like it or not, and whether those in the academic community want to admit it, the public takes great notice of rankings. The academics may claim the average citizen isn't that knowledgeable or understanding of what is important at a university, but they should remember the "average citizens" are the taxpayers, and they are far more interested in how their state university is performing and how their children are being educated than many faculty and administrators may like to believe.
Not many years ago, KU was the acknowledged Big Eight Conference flagship institution. Colorado was right next to KU, but for years, KU had been the leader. Now Colorado, Iowa State and Missouri are ranked ahead of KU, and Nebraska is tied with KU. That's a drastic change!
What's going on? Will next year's U.S. News show KU dropping to an even lower position?
Is it a matter of poor state fiscal support, not enough good students selecting KU, poor or unimaginative leadership, a loss of good faculty, not enough support and backing from Lawrence-area residents, not enough public concern throughout the state about the level of academic excellence at KU, poor vision and a lack of courage by members of the Kansas Board of Regents, a lack of involvement by alumni, misplaced emphasis on the KU campus, or what?
It is disappointing to read the remarks of Regents Chairwoman Donna Shank. Asked about KU's drop in the rankings, she is quoted as saying she wasn't overly concerned. She recognized much has been made about KU aiming for the top 25, that this latest ranking must be a blow to many and many factors are out of the university's control. She said, "It's not something I'd worry a lot about, given KU's reputation and ranking anyway. They're still an exceptional institution. Is it disappointing for KU, given its goal to be a top 25 university? Probably yes."
Every regent should be very alarmed about what is going on. So should the governor and all those interested in KU. Obviously, something is not right or, as mentioned above, other schools within the conference have stepped up their efforts and passed KU. They should be pressuring KU officials about the embarrassing drop.
It's a puzzle why more people are not more concerned. How could KU slip so badly in such a short time?
The chancellor is quoted as saying, "We're not going to hand over important decisions of the university to a news magazine. We're going to go about doing what is best for the university based on the same criteria we've used the last 10 years."
What will alumni, regents and friends of the university say about this if the university continues to slip in the news magazine's rankings?
These alumni and friends of the school, along with the regents and state legislators, should be eager to do what they can to help the school climb in the rankings.
Why not have the goal of KU doing what is necessary to show the biggest jump in these rankings that U.S. News and World Report editors have recorded in recent years? The opportunity would seem to be present IF there is the commitment from all responsible parties.
Again, the public, taxpayers, students, prospective students, their parents, those who pay the ever-rising tuition costs, faculty members, those being recruited as new faculty members, alumni, prospective athletes and many others do look at rankings. Rankings are important, and dropping rankings raise many troublesome questions.
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