U.S. News & World Report keeps KU among public top 50

More of the released rankings

A list of the Big 12 Conference schools and their rankings among public and private institutions,

47-tie. University of Texas-Austin

61-tie. Texas A&M University-College Station

77-tie. University of Colorado-Boulder

80-tie. Baylor University

88-tie. Iowa State University

96-tie. Kansas University

96-tie. University of Nebraska-Lincoln

102-tie. University of Missouri

102-tie. University of Oklahoma

*Kansas State University, Oklahoma State University and Texas Tech University were included in the magazine’s “Third Tier” of schools in an unranked list, placing from 134th to 190th on the overall list.

The newest U.S. News & World Report rankings place Kansas University at 96th overall, and in a sixth-place tie among Big 12 Conference schools.

In the 2010 rankings, KU finds itself ranked in a five-way tie for 43rd among public universities, down slightly from its 40th place tie in last year’s rankings. Though former Chancellor Robert Hemenway outlined a goal to have KU place in the top 25 among public institutions, KU has been ranked around the 40th-place mark since reaching a high of 30th in 1999, and a low of 45th in 2006.

Danny Anderson, KU’s interim provost, said that KU was proud to be ranked among the top 50 public schools, but also focused on different indicators.

“When the rankings are good, you’re really happy, and when you haven’t done well, you’re disappointed,” he said.

He said KU is focused on its own agenda not driven by ranking systems, and instead by its new chancellor. Those include increasing graduation rates and improving its research capabilities.

“Rankings are a good mirror,” he said. “We also realize that they’re not the only mirror that we have.”

The four public institutions tied with KU in the rankings were SUNY-Stony Brook, the University of Alabama, the University of California-Riverside and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.