News editor
Tabor College moved up eight spots in the most recent U.S. News and World Report rankings of Midwest regional colleges.
Among 96 colleges ranked in that category by the magazine, Tabor placed 41st.
Nationwide, college administrators generally regard rankings such as these as extremely important because of their impact on colleges’ ability to recruit students.
“I am thankful that U.S. News recognizes Tabor College as a top tier college in the Midwest,” President Jules Glanzer said. “Moving up eight spots in the ranking is a credit to all faculty and staff for the quality work they do in helping provide an excellent education to those who choose to attend Tabor.”
Among nine Kansas regional colleges that made the list, just two, Benedictine College at 18th, and Bethel College at 27th, ranked ahead of Tabor. All except Central Christian College were in the top 75 percent, which U.S. News defines as the top tier.
About one-fifth of a college’s score is based on a survey of administrators at other regional colleges, while 77.5 percent of the score comes from data from colleges and public sources for such things as retention of students, faculty resources, student selectivity, institutional financial resources, alumni giving, and graduation rates.
“It is gratifying to know that those who vote for the USNWR rankings, including our peer colleges, recognize Tabor’s commitment to academic excellence,” vice president for academics Frank Johnson said.
Overall, U.S. news gathers data annually on nearly 1,600 universities and colleges, with 1,367 qualifying for the rankings.