U.S. News Ranks OBU Best in Oklahoma; Second in the West

For the 11th consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report has recognized Oklahoma Baptist University as the top comprehensive college in Oklahoma in their annual rankings of "America's Best Colleges."

OBU is listed second among "Comprehensive Colleges-Bachelor's" for the western region in the 2005 rankings, which will appear in the September 23, 2004 issue of U.S. News & World Report.

OBU is ranked second in the category for the fourth consecutive year. In the 2005 rankings, as in 2002 and 2003 and 2004, the private liberal arts college in Shawnee is ranked after Linfield College, a private institution in McMinnville, Ore. It marks the 13th consecutive year for OBU to be ranked in the top ten for colleges in the West, and the fifteenth time in sixteen years for the university to be listed as one of "America's Best Colleges."

"We are grateful for OBU's continued excellent rankings," said OBU president Mark Brister. "While education and technology are ever-changing, OBU remains constant and steadfast as an academically excellent and unapologetically Christian university. OBU produces strong graduates, who are prepared to lead. We are pleased that the U.S. News & World Report rankings continue to reflect the strength of our commitment."

The only other Oklahoma institution listed in the Comprehensive Colleges-Bachelor's category Top 10 was Oklahoma Christian University, ranked seventh. Oklahoma Wesleyan University was ranked 15th. The University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma and St. Gregory's University were ranked in the third tier (21st through 30th). Langston University and Oklahoma Panhandle State were listed in the fourth tier (31st to 40th).

OBU was 10th in the West in the "Great Schools, great prices" category. No other Oklahoma school - at any level - received a "best value" ranking. "Making college affordable while attracting and retaining a highly-qualified and dedicated faculty challenges us to work hard," Brister said. "These rankings show that OBU has found a good balance."

The university is made up of five academic schools - the Joe L. Ingram School of Christian Service, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Warren M. Angell College of Fine Arts, the Paul Dickinson School of Business and the School of Nursing. OBU offers 75 fields of study and a 14-1 student-faculty ratio.

U.S. News & World Report provided additional rankings. OBU also received the ranking as fourth in the region for graduation rate. In the statistical rankings, OBU had the fourth-highest percentage of faculty serving full-time among the top-10 and Oklahoma colleges in the region with a total of 86 percent of OBU's faculty serve at the university full-time.

OBU's student-faculty ratio of 14/1 ranked fifth among the region's top 10. U.S. News & World Report also ranked OBU second in the region in "peer assessment," a category which is based on an academic reputation survey sent to presidents, chief academic officers and admission deans at peer institutions in the region.

Founded in 1910, OBU offers nine bachelor's degrees, with 75 majors. The university's fall 2003 enrollment was approximately 1,850. OBU students are from 38 states and 22 other countries.