By Jeff Murphy,
September 10, 2018
WARRENSBURG, MO 鈥 Getting a college education is one of the most important decisions
individuals make, and many students and their families often turn to well-known national
rankings to provide helpful information and guidance about where to pursue a degree.
Online and print publications by some of the most prestigious organizations, including
those , have named the 欧美视频 on their lists of top universities.
On its list of 2019 Best Regional Universities, UCM moved up in the U.S. News & World
Report rankings from 87th among institutions in the Midwest in 2018 to 81st (tie)
in the latest rankings. The university also climbed from the 21st spot among Top Public
Schools to 17th, and was ranked 50th (tie) among Best Colleges for Veterans and 63rd
as a Best Value School.
Regional universities are institutions that offer a full range of undergraduate programs
and provide graduate education at the master鈥檚 degree level. They offer few, if any,
doctoral programs, although UCM does offer two cooperative doctorates. UCM was ranked
among 659 Regional Universities, which includes 259 public, 388 private and 12 for-profit
institutions.
bases its rankings on many factors including data points related to 16 measures of
academic quality. This year it updated its methodology to further emphasize student
outcomes, which hold the most weight at 35 percent 鈥 up from the 30 percent last year,
according to its 2019 Best Colleges website. This updated methodology also helps measure
how well schools support low-income students through graduation.
"We are extremely pleased that the quality and value of education at UCM is recognized
through rankings such as those provided by U.S. News & World Report, which is one
of the leading organizations for sharing college-choice information, and are glad
to know we are advancing in these rankings,鈥 said Roger Best, interim president of
UCM. 鈥淎lthough we advise all prospective students to thoroughly research choices
before committing to a university or college, and while we understand this choice
is based on many factors, we are confident that our focus on student engagement and
success through excellent academic programs ensures our students attain a life-changing
education and experience."
The U.S. News & World Report rankings add to previous recognition UCM received on
an institution-wide basis. Utilizing results of a nationwide survey, which examines
a range of key issues related to student engagement, interaction with teachers, and
satisfaction with their experience in college, included UCM among its list of best colleges earlier this month. The university also
was recognized by in August as a Best Midwestern College for 2019 Best Colleges: Region by Region.
In publishing results online, Princeton Review, which does not provide numerical rankings,
notes comments from students among factors contributing to a school鈥檚 inclusion as
a Best College. Included is student input recognizing the university鈥檚 welcoming campus.
Its notes, that 鈥淭ypical UCM students are friendly, hard-working warm-hearted people
from surprisingly diverse backgrounds (for a Midwestern school) and 鈥渕ost hail from
working class or middle-class families.鈥 Also included in the student comments are
statements such as, 鈥淭here is a large population of non-traditional students and the
school goes out of its way to make sure those students have access to all the necessary
resources.鈥