KU falls 1 spot among public universities, moves up 6 spots overall, in 2021 U.S. News & World Report rankings

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas fell one spot to 60th among public universities in the 2021 edition of the U.S. News & World Report “Best Colleges” rankings, released today.

The university moved up six slots to 124th among all universities in this year’s rankings.

“We recognize the importance of these rankings, particularly among prospective students and families,” Chancellor Douglas A. Girod said. “At the same time, we remain focused on a broader set of metrics to measure our success. We continue to refine these metrics through our Jayhawks Rising strategic planning process.”

In recent years, KU has undertaken efforts to improve freshman retention rates and six-year graduation rates, which are among the many metrics tracked by the magazine for its rankings. Both areas have seen improvement in recent years.

“Our faculty and staff continue to do the work necessary to ensure more of our students remain on track to advance in their degree programs and graduate in a timely way,” Girod said. “In the age of COVID-19, it will be especially important to continue our work to create flexible, dynamic educational opportunities that enable us to meet students wherever they are.”

In other U.S. News undergraduate rankings, the School of Business ranked 42nd and the School of Engineering ranked 54th, both among public schools.

KU ranked 28th among public universities in the magazine’s Best Value category and 56th among publics for Best Colleges for Veterans.

U.S. News & World Report releases graduate school rankings in the spring. In the most recent edition of those rankings, KU has nine graduate programs in the top 10 and 48 programs ranked in the top 50 among public universities.