WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2004
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN 34
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By Ross Fitch
rftich@kansan.com
KANSA STAFF WRITER
The University of Kansas, along with two of its schools, are among the top 50 public national universities and programs in the nation.
The 2004 U.S. News annual "America's Best Colleges" rankings were released Friday. According to University Relations, the University was ranked 42nd among public national universities.
The School of Business was ranked 30th, and the School of Engineering was ranked 45th, among other undergraduate programs at public universities.
Chancellor Robert Hemenway said the University's officials were happy with the rankings.
"We feel good about the rankings because they show that KU's excellence is being recognized." Hemenway said.
In previous years, Hemenway had strived for the University to make it into the top 25 public national universities. He said this year's rankings indicated that the University's goal of being in the top 25 was an appropriate goal.
The University's ranking was up two places from last year's ranking of 44, business school was up three places from last year's 3rd and the engineering school was down five places from last year's 40th.
The University was also rated 3.4 on a 5.0 scale in the assessment of academic quality, which tied it for 29th among all public national universities.
The assessment is done by chancellors, presidents and chief academic officers at national universities and this peer assessment constitutes 25 percent of the school's overall ranking.
A total of 248 national universities, both public and private, were ranked. According
to U.S. News and World Report, schools were categorized by mission and in some cases, region. Next, data from each college information was gathered for up to 15 indicators of academic excellence. These indicators included acceptance rates, graduation rates, the proportion of classes with fewer than 20 students, retention rates, faculty resources, financial resources and alumni giving rates.
Kevin Boatright, interim executive vice chancellor for University Relations, said the ranking reflected the University's programs and the quality of those programs. He said the University was pleased that its rankings have been continually improving.
The reaction to the University's ranking from the student body was mixed.
Some students said they didn't really have an opinion, whereas other students said the ranking spoke well of the University.
The high ranking didn't surprise Jimmy Haver, Tulsa, Okla., freshman. Haver said he had always thought highly of the University.
"I think KU's the best college in the Great Plains region," Haver said.
Haver said he was impressed with all of the teachers, and that the University really thrived because it offered a diversity of courses. The linguistics major said the University offered 25 different language classes and he knew he couldn't find that in Oklahoma.
The undergraduate engineering and business programs rankings were based solely on peer survey of deans and senior faculty on a scale of one to five. The KU School of Engineering received a rating of 2.9, placing it in the top 50 again, amidst five other Big 12 schools.
Stuart Bell, dean of engineer-
think KU's the best college in the Great
Plains region.
Jimmy Haver
Tulsa, Oklahoma freshman
ing, said the school was highly pleased it was ranked so high. Although the school was always watching the rankings, he said, the main focus of the school was on continuing to improve.
"They do reflect good measure,but our focus is on developing strategies that improve our programs," Bell said.
programs, B. Mike Brunin, St. Marys senior in architectural engineering, said the good faculty, traditions and student groups made the ranking seem normal.
The KU School of Business was also ranked high, with a peer assessment rating of 3.1
He also said the ranking showed that the school was publically recognized.
"I would expect us to be in the top 50." Brunin said.
William Fuerst, dean of business, said the ranking was sort of what he anticipated, but that it was an honor to be in the same company as the other schools.
"We're being compared with schools that are considered to be the best in the nation," Fuerst said. "We're delighted we're in that set of schools."
The school was continually looking for ways to improve, he said, and this year it planned on implementing finance, information systems, management and marketing majors into the school.
Shannon Guelbert, Overland Park graduate student in accounting and information systems, said the school of business' ranking surprised him.
He said he attributed the high ranking to an improvement in
BIG 12 UNIVERSITIES IN THE TOP 50 PUBLIC NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES
14th: Texas
32nd: Colorado
32nd: Iowa State
39th: UMissouri
42nd: Kansas
46th: Nebraska
TOP FIVE PUBLIC NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES:
Source; U.S. News
1st: University of California-Berkeley
2nd: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor;
University of Virginia
4th: University of California-Los Angeles
5th: University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
classes and faculty.
Boatright said it was important for the University not to base its values solely on U.S. News rankings. He said the University was considered a "best buy" because of its academic quality, cost to attend and financial aid it provides to students. He said the University was successful at acclimating students and keeping them involved. He said KU officials valued the University for its combination of academic success as well as being well-rounded.
"When you look at it as a whole, that can tell you whether you're making progress," Boatright said.
Hemenway said the rankings were a measure for quality, and that the University's focus would be on continuing to improve the University.
"If we focus on making KU a better university every day, the rankings will take care of themselves," he said.
Edited by Rupal Gor
Committee invites Cosby to perform
By Ross Fitch
rfitch@kansan.com
KANSAN STATE WRIER
The sound of cheers ringing throughout Allen Fieldhouse may change to laughter this October. Bill Cosby has been invited to entertain during Homecoming Week.
Trisha Gresnick, Student Union Activities program adviser and homecoming adviser, said the Homecoming Steering Committee had contacted Cosby's agent and offered him $100,000 for the speech. She said asked for a response by Friday.
He said the University had raised $50,000 from private sources and from the University's contract with Coca-Cola. He said Student Senate was still deciding on whether to contribute $5,000. Actual ticket sales would fund the rest of the cost, he said. While Dunlap was not sure how much the tickets
Jeff Dunlap, student body vice president, said the committee came to Student Senate to help alleviate the costs of bringing Cosby to homecoming.
would cost, he said they would be discounted for students.
"The ultimate goal is to bring back the tradition of bringing big-name entertainers to homecoming," Dunlap said.
Gresnick said the other performers the committee considered were Dave Chappelle, Dave Attell, Ray Romano, Larry the Cable Guy and N. o r m
COSBY
MacDonald. She said Chappelle was the only other performer they had formally invited, but he did not respond.
Gresnick said the committee chose Cosby instead of other performers because members felt a larger variety of people would turn out to see him.
"We chose him because we thought he could appeal to all students as well as the Lawrence community," Gresnick said.
Edited by Bill Cross
LAWRENCE
Monday's storm strands drivers with high water
Mike Wildgen, city manager, and Chuck Soules, Public Works director, briefed the city commission on Monday night's storm at last night's Lawrence city commission meeting.
Lawrence fire and emergency services received more than 30 calls from Lawrence residents.
Most calls dealt with water rescue and residents with cars stranded in high water.
in other city commission news:
grows, so does the homeless population, said Tami Clark, executive director of the Community Drop-In Center. Clark requested money from the city to increase case workers' hours and shelter hours.The city commission approved $11,610 to the CDIC.
As the Lawrence population
For the first time, the city will sell 31 surplus vehicles on Ebay that have met the criteria for replacement.
- City law prohibits cars from parking on public streets for more than 48 consecutive hours. Owners have to move their cars to the opposite side of the street, according to city ordinance.
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