photo by: Shawn Valverde/Special to the Journal-World

The University of Kansas campus is pictured in this September 2023 aerial photo.

Story updated at 2:56 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 24:

A rising enrollment tide does not lift all rankings, the University of Kansas is finding.

KU fell one spot in the closely watched U.S News & World Report college rankings, released Tuesday. KU is now ranked No. 152 among all national universities and No. 81 among public universities. Both rankings are down a spot from a year ago.

KU officials reacted little to the rankings, which they have not emphasized in recent years.

“We appreciate that some students and families look to these rankings when making their college decisions,” Chancellor Douglas Girod said in a press release. “That said, we remain focused on our own measures of success, which align with the Kansas Board of Regents’ strategic plan, the needs of Kansas businesses and communities, and our aspirations as one of the nation’s leading research institutions.”

One of KU’s better rankings was in a category that likely has helped fuel some recent enrollment growth. KU ranked No. 25 among public universities — and No. 96 overall — in the “Best Value Schools” category. KU ranked third in the Big 12 Conference in the value category, and was tops among public schools in the conference. It trailed private schools BYU and TCU.

The rankings are the first by U.S. News & World Report since KU posted its largest freshman class in history in 2023, which swelled KU’s overall enrollment to its highest total in 13 years. KU and other public universities in the state haven’t yet released enrollment figures for this school year, but KU officials have said they think the freshman class will be near another record.

Enrollment growth, though, isn’t a primary factor in U.S. News & World Report rankings, and the fact that KU held largely steady from a year ago is an improvement. Last year was the first for a new ranking methodology by U.S. News & World Report, and the new system did not fit well with KU.

In last year’s rankings, KU had one of the largest declines of any university in the country, falling 30 spots in the overall national rankings and 24 in the public school rankings.

This year’s results thus represent a stabilization, but also failed to produce any bounce back. Holding steady was not the norm for KU’s fellow schools in the Big 12 Conference. Five of the 16 member schools had rankings that fell by 10 or more places, with the University of Utah falling by 21 spots as it moved into the conference this year.

Despite the big swings, KU again finds itself in the bottom half of the conference in terms of overall rankings. Here’s a look at the national rankings for each school in the conference.

• Baylor: No. 91, up 2 spots

• University of Colorado: No. 98, up 7 spots

• TCU: No. 105, down 16 spots

• University of Arizona: No. 109, up 6 spots

• BYU: No. 109, up 6 spots

• Iowa State: No. 121, down 6 spots

• Arizona State: No. 121, down 16 spots

• Central Florida: No. 121, up 3 spots

• University of Utah: No 136, down 21 spots

• Houston: No. 144, down 11 spots

• Cincinnati: No. 152, down 10 spots

• KU: No. 152, down 1 spot

• Kansas State: No. 165, up 5 spots

• Oklahoma State: No. 196, down 11 spots

• Texas Tech: No. 214, up 2 spots

• West Virginia: No. 220, down 4 spots

KU’s change in ranking among Big 12 institutions has been stark since U.S. News & World Report changed its methodology, and also since the conference has changed members. In the 2023 rankings — these most recent rankings are considered the 2025 rankings — KU was the fourth ranked school in the conference and No. 2 among public universities. Now, KU is tied 11th in the 16-member conference and is tied for 8th among public schools. Every new member added to the conference in the last two years is either tied with or ahead of KU in the rankings.

The latest rankings also keep KU at the very bottom of the list of public universities that are part of the AAU — the Association of American Universities. This year marks the fourth consecutive year that KU has either had the lowest ranking among public AAU schools or been tied for the lowest ranking. With these 2025 rankings, KU is ranked 16 spots lower than any other public school in the association.

Here’s a look at the overall national rankings of the public schools in the AAU: UCLA: 15; California-Berkeley: 17; Michigan: 21; Virginia: 24; North Carolina: 27; California-San Diego: 29; Texas: 30; Florida: 30; California-Davis: 33; California-Irvine: 33; Georgia Tech: 33; Illinois: 33; California-Santa Barbara: 39; Wisconsin: 39; Washington: 46; Rutgers: 41; Ohio State: 41; Maryland: 44; Purdue: 46; Texas A&M: 51; Minnesota: 54; Stony Brook: 58; Michigan State: 63; Penn State: 63; Pitt: 70; Indiana: 73; Buffalo: 76; California-Riverside: 76; California-Santa Cruz: 84; South Florida: 91; Iowa: 98; Colorado: 98; Oregon: 109; Arizona: 109; Missouri: 109; Arizona State: 121; Utah: 136; KU: 152.

AAU leaders have never indicated that U.S. News & World Report rankings play any role in how the AAU chooses which schools to add or drop from its membership rolls. But nonetheless, some faculty members have expressed increasing concern over the years that KU’s membership in the organization could be at risk. KU leaders, however, have said that research funding and other metrics that likely are important to the AAU have been trending in positive directions for KU.

U.S. News & World Report also ranked some undergraduate programs at KU. Those rankings for 2025 include:

• School of Nursing, No. 16 among public universities, up 1 spot from a year ago.

• School of Business, No. 41, down 3 spots from a year ago

• Psychology program, No. 29 among public universities.

• Undergraduate teaching program, No. 16 among public universities.