Top-ranked KS university in U.S. News & World Report

Baldwin City, Kan. — Baker University was the highest-ranked Kansas university in the Midwest Regional University rankings of the 2016 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges, released Wednesday. This is the sixth consecutive year Baker has received the publication’s highest marks among universities in the state for its category.

Baker was listed at No. 36 out of more than 100 universities ranked in the region made up of Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. U.S. News & World Report defines regional universities as schools that offer a wide range of undergraduate majors and graduate programs but few doctoral programs.

Baker and other regional universities are compared to and ranked against their peer group in the surrounding geographical location because they tend to draw students primarily from surrounding states, according to U.S. News & World Report. Other regions in the publication included the North, South and West.

“Baker has long been known as a private institution of academic excellence,” Baker University President Lynne Murray said. “This ranking further illustrates Baker’s commitment to delivering its students a comprehensive education with benefits that continue beyond graduation.”

Baker and other schools included in the rankings are evaluated based on graduation and retention rates, peer assessment, student-to-faculty ratio, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving. U.S. News & World Report collects data from multiple sources, including the universities.

“This ranking is just another sign of the exciting things happening at Baker and the high-quality experience we ensure each of our students,” Murray said.