By Jeff Murphy,
September 18, 2020
WARRENSBURG, MO – U.S. News & World Report, a widely known source used by prospective students to find schools that match their
educational needs and goals, has announced its 2021 Best Colleges rankings. While
the university maintained its Midwest regional spot at #16 as a Top Public School and #50 among the Best Colleges for Veterans, it moved up two spaces from last year to #76 among Best Regional Universities in the Midwest, and was named #64 among Best Value Schools.
While UCM tied numerically with another Missouri public institution in all of the
rankings except Best Value Schools, its rankings in every category were second highest
among the state’s public universities in all of the above categories.
The annual U.S. News & World Report online feature also ranked UCM #90 among the Top
Performers on Social Mobility. This was a new category established a year ago in which
the rankings organization rated schools based on their success in helping economically
disadvantaged students to finish college.
UCM also was ranked #83 for Best Online MBA Programs and “#48 for Best Online MBA
Programs for Veterans. It also was included in a group that ranged from #132-#173
for Best Online Master’s in Nursing Programs, and #189 in Speech-Language Pathology.
Information released by U.S. News & World Report is based on data that was collected
from approximately 1,800 colleges and universities across the nation which are profiled
in the U.S. News Best Colleges directory, although only about 1,400 of these institutions
are ranked.
"It is gratifying to see UCM rise in the U.S. News & World Report Regional Rankings
and to be recognized in multiple categories. These rankings result from the diligence
of our faculty and staff in fostering student success, our long-standing focus on
educational quality, and our commitment to value.,” said Roger Best, university president.
“This success also reflects the significant engagement of alumni and many other supporters."
U.S. News & World Report’s statistical profiles help prospective students to learn
more about institutions they are considering to pursue their education, and are derived
from numerous data points reported by each institution to the U.S. Department of Education.
Regional universities included public and private colleges and universities that offer
a full range of undergraduate programs and some master’s programs but few doctoral
programs.
In its profile of UCM, among the many characteristics of UCM noted for the data year
include:
- A 17:1 student-faculty ratio with 50.5 percent of the university’s classes having
fewer than 20 students per class.
- Safety and security services that include 24-hour foot and vehicle patrols, late-night
transport/escort services, lighted pathways, student patrols, controlled dormitory
access.
- Fifty-nine percent of full-time undergraduates receive some kind of need-based financial
aid.
- The average need-based scholarship or grant award is $4,785.
- The most popular majors include: health professions and related programs, education,
business management, marketing, and related support services; homeland security, law
enforcement, firefighting and related protective services; and engineering technologies
and engineering-related fields.
The U.S. News & World Report rankings follow recent recognition by UCM as being one
of Princeton Review’s “Best in the Midwest” colleges and universities, and inclusion
as a best school in the Midwest as per the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Times Higher
Education 2020 College Rankings. UCM also was recently recognized by LendEDU for having
one of the lowest national debt numbers for 2019 graduates.