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OBU—Oklahoma Baptist University

OBU Earns Top Rankings from U.S. News & World Report for 33rd Consecutive Year

September 24, 2024

U.S. News & World Report has again ranked Oklahoma Baptist University as the top Oklahoma university on its list of Best Regional Universities in the West.

OBU has been ranked on the list of Best Regional Universities in the West for 33 consecutive years and has been ranked the top Oklahoma institution for 30 years.

OBU was the highest-ranked university in the state of Oklahoma on the Best Regional Universities in the West, with 13 other schools from the state ranking below OBU. “Best Regional” rankings are calculated through a few factors, including graduation and retention rates, social mobility, undergraduate academic reputation, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources for students, graduate indebtedness and multiple other measures of academic quality.

OBU was one of only two Oklahoma institutions to make the list of Best Value Schools for Regional Universities in the West. To select institutions for this list, U.S. News & World Report factors the academic quality and cost for each school after accounting for total expenses and financial aid.

OBU was also one of only two Oklahoma schools to make the list of Best Colleges for Veterans for Regional Universities of the West. This ranking reflects which schools are affordable for veterans and active-duty service members based on the benefits available to them.

OBU again was ranked on the list for Social Mobility Among Regional Universities of the West. This assesses how well schools graduated economically disadvantaged students. The ranking factors, which feed standalone Top Performers on Social Mobility rankings, were computed by aggregating two distinct ranking factors assessing graduation rates of students who were awarded Pell Grants.

OBU President Dr. Heath A. Thomas is grateful for the recognition these rankings bring to the transformational, world-class education found on Bison Hill and for the value an OBU education offers to graduates.

“We are grateful to once again be recognized by U.S. News & World Report as not only an institution of the highest academic quality but also one of tremendous value for our students,” Thomas said. “We are grateful for our faculty, who care about their students in a meaningful, personal way while leading them to passionately seek knowledge through the lens of biblical truth in their disciplines. We are likewise grateful for the legacy of Christian liberal arts education, which began on Bison Hill more than 114 years ago. As our students learn to think critically and form a distinctively Christian worldview, they grow and mature into the future shapers who will one day transform our world as they live all of life, all for Jesus.”