To the editor:

I can appreciate the concern expressed in the Journal-World’s coverage of KU’s recent rankings in U.S. News, but much of it is misplaced.  Since nearly half the points in that ranking system are linked to selectivity in student admissions, which impacts retention and graduation rates among other things, it should not be surprising that KU has difficulty in gaining on institutions located in more populous states. Demography is destiny in much of the education world, for better or worse, and while KU’s relatively open admissions process may hamper its competitive standing in certain respects, it also affords many students who might otherwise be unable to attend a flagship research institution the opportunity to succeed at one of the region’s best.  And as far as the AAU goes, federal research dollars, not U.S. News rankings, are the principal metric of concern, and KU’s faculty continues to be competitive in that regard. Those are Kansas traditions worth celebrating, whatever the ranking metrics may have to say.   

John Rury,

Lawrence