Photo by Taylor Stanton

On Aug. 22, 2018, U.S. News & World Report revised its 2018 Best Colleges rankings. Drury, along with seven other colleges, was moved to the “unranked” category.

Before the revision, Drury ranked No. 8 in the Midwest on U.S. News & World Report’s Best Value Schools: Regional Universities list. Drury also appeared on the 2018 Regional Universities (Midwest) rankings as well as the Best Colleges for Veterans: Regional Universities (Midwest) rankings.

No. 8 to “unranked”

According to U.S. News, Drury “understated its total enrollment,” which boosted its rankings. U.S. News states that Drury reported a total enrollment of 1,611 students for the fall of 2016 and later changed this number to 3,571 students.

Once schools inform U.S. News of inaccurate data, they are labeled “unranked” until the next publication.

Two types of Panthers

In a statement, Drury’s president, Dr. Cloyd, explained that Drury consists of two student populations. These populations are traditional undergraduate students and nontraditional students.

“While the university provides high-quality instruction and personalized attention to both types of students, the reality is that these groups by and large represent different stages in life, career needs and learning habits. In this way, Drury has one mission but different approaches and requirements for meeting that mission,” said Cloyd.

Drury’s day school students are most commonly recent high school graduates looking for a four-year undergraduate experience.

Drury’s evening and online classes cater to nontraditional students. Some of these students are getting their degrees later in life, while others take classes to advance their careers.

Photo by Taylor Stanton

Data discrepancy

According to Cloyd, Drury reports data regarding its traditional undergraduate population to resources focused on those programs. Data from Drury’s nontraditional students is given to other resources that concentrate on evening and online programs.

“However, in the case of this particular data point, we mistakenly took information from the incorrect data set that combines our two populations,” said Cloyd.

Drury gave U.S. News information from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data Set (IPEDS). The IPEDS reflects Drury’s entire student population. This data set comes from the National Center for Education Statistics.

Changes to the IPEDS

“We have been working with IPEDS to fully separate the data from these two populations, which we understand several other schools who have this unusual dichotomy also do,” said Cloyd.

Mike Brothers, Drury’s executive director of university relations, stated that IPEDS will separate the data it collects in August 2019. This change will accurately represent Drury’s two student populations in future rankings.

“When people look at U.S. News, they’re looking for their high school student going to college,” said Brothers.

Once the data is separate, students and parents using U.S. News rankings during their college decision-making process will find information focused on Drury’s traditional undergraduate experience.

Photo by Taylor Stanton

2019 Best Colleges

Drury will not have its “unranked” status for long. The 2019 edition of Best Colleges comes out Sept. 10, 2018. However, Drury’s rankings will continue to be based upon the combined data from day school, evening and online classes.

“They will use our broader numbers in the new calculations. It will not be a correct and full representation of the Drury University experience because of the way U.S. News calculates things,” said Brothers.

Though IPEDS will not be separate for the next publication, it is likely that Drury’s rankings will exclusively reflect undergraduate life come 2020.

Written by Taylor Stanton