There’s good news as well as bad, or at least alarming, news for Kansas University and its students, faculty, alumni and friends in the just-released college rankings by U.S. News & World Report.

The good news is reflected by the major improvement in the rankings of KU’s School of Business and School of Engineering. Both schools are led by relatively new deans who have enthusiasm and vision.

Neeli Bendapudi moved into her KU School of Business deanship in 2011, and Michael Branicky assumed leadership of the School of Engineering in 2013. Granted, the improvements in these two schools cannot be attributed solely to the deans. Many individuals and circumstances in each school helped bring about the better scores. Nevertheless, individuals such as Bendapudi can and do make a big difference, which invigorates students, faculty and alumni with renewed energy, enthusiasm and excitement.

Again, the improvements in these two schools represent the work and commitment of many, but the new deans, seeing the right opportunities and conditions, sparked the fire that has brightened and elevated the schools in so many ways. Stan Rolfe, interim engineering dean from 2012 to 2013, also played a major role in the elevated ratings.

Now to the bad or alarming news.

Not too many years ago Kansas University was considered one of the elite of the former Big Eight and now Big 12 Conference schools. This certainly was the case before Texas schools were added to the conference. KU was truly a flagship institution in the former Big Eight Conference.

The recent U.S. News & World Report magazine report dropped KU from 47th among public universities to 50th. In the ranking of national universities, KU dropped from 101st last year to 106th.

This is not good, no matter what reasons or excuses may be offered.

This is particularly bad news when KU (now ranked 50th) used to be ahead of most schools in the Big Eight and Big 12, aside from the University of Texas (17th). In the new ratings KU is topped in the public school classification by Colorado, 38th; Missouri, 45th; Nebraska, 45th (all of which used to be in the Big 12). Texas A&M, 25th, was ahead of KU in previous rankings.

Kansas now is tied at 50th with both Oklahoma and Iowa State; Kansas State places 74th; Oklahoma State 76th; Texas Tech 84th and West Virginia 93rd.

The big question is how Nebraska, which recently was kicked out of the prestigious Association of American Universities, was able to jump over KU. This is the first time in the memory of many that Nebraska has topped KU.

Why?

According to U.S. News & World Report, two factors are very important: graduation rates and post-graduation employment numbers. (The post-graduation employment numbers made a big difference in the improvement of the KU School of Law ranking in a previous report.)

KU officials have made much of their efforts to improve the percentage of students who graduate and the time required to receive their degrees. As KU Provost Jeff Vitter said, “We’re focused on metrics directly related to student success, such as how many students progress and earn degrees. Students becoming graduates is central to our mission of educating leaders, and if we improve in this and other aspects of our mission, then the ranking will follow.”

This opens up one big question: By rushing graduation rates, have academic requirements been weakened? What’s better, a solid, above-average education that might require a few more semesters, or quicker graduation rates and percentages but an easier academic schedule?

Whatever the case, congrats to the business and engineering schools, and one hopes next year’s U.S. News & World Report will show an across-the-board improvement in all schools under the university umbrella and an overall higher ranking for KU in both the public school and national university rankings.

KU is an excellent research-based university and should merit higher marks.