West Liberty University is climbing up the rankings again.

On Monday, Sept. 13, the U.S News Best Colleges Publication released an updated ranking for regional universities in the south and West Liberty University (WLU) placed 59th. This is nine spots higher than the ranking of the previous year.

WLU also moved up in the Top Public Schools ranking, placing the university at number 27, which is one spot higher than last year’s list.

These rankings are created and published to help students and their families find a safe university that will fit them best.

This is the 37th year that U.S News Best Colleges Publication has been helping future students find their home away from home. The group considers 1,466 U.S institutions that grant bachelor degrees. They use statistical data, literature reviews, higher education experts and researchers as well as user feedback to create these rankings. The group does not consider athletics or social life and prides itself on unbiased rankings.

The website also contains information for justifying these rankings including general information like the type of school, religious affiliation and tuition. People looking at WLU on the site can see quick stats like student-faculty ratio and acceptance rates. Despite that athletics and social life are not considered in the rankings, they are listed on the page to give users access to more than 50 different types of numerical information.

The U.S News Best Colleges Publication rankings will be published in the guidebook as “Best Colleges 2022” which will come out in October.

According to WLU’s Media Relations, President W. Franklin Evans is pleased with the increase in ranking. “I am grateful to our faculty, staff and students that continually strive for excellence,” said Evans.

Ryan McCullough, West Liberty’s Faculty Senate Chair and an associate professor of communication, thinks that this increase in ranking was driven by the quality of students and faculty and their accomplishments. McCullough believes that this higher ranking will raise the profile of this institution and potentially attract more students. In reference to the new ranking of the university, McCullough says, “I hope it instills a sense of pride on campus… I know I am proud to work here because I get to work with such great students and colleagues.”

Freshman, Kimberly Connors, says that she used the websites and rankings that U.S. News produces to help make a decision on where to attend college. Connors is happy to hear about this increase in ranking because she believes it will increase West Liberty’s prestige and her chances of achieving her career goals.

Another WLU student feels similarly. MacKenzie Daub, senior and potential graduate assistant at WLU, says that this increase in ranking has boosted her confidence in pursuing graduate school at West Liberty. After viewing the higher ranking, Daub says, “I have more trust to put my education in [WLU’s] hands.”

You can view the West Liberty University page for the U.S. News Best Colleges rankings at https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/west-liberty-university-3823/overall-rankings.