This year Baldwin Wallace University has been ranked 17th on U.S. News’ Best Regional Universities for the Mid-West.
When the U.S. News & World Report ranks qualifying universities, there are up to 16 different factors considered.  Each factor is weighted on importance and relevance.
For the 2014 rankings, the approach was updated to reflect the current state of college admissions.  No longer are high school class ranks considered very important in college admissions, and class standing received less weight than usual in this year’s ranking to reflect this.
The weight of retention and graduation rates for liberal arts colleges and national university rankings were increased, as well as the graduation rate performance for regional school rankings. For example, BW’s graduation rate performance was analyzed as a larger factor than before in determining where it fell on the list because BW is a regional school candidate.
BW has been highly ranked on the U.S. News & World Report Top Regional Universities for 20 years. “We celebrate it….[We have] programs of substance that are recognized by our peers,” Trina Dobberstein, Dean of Students and Vice President of Student Affairs, said. Not only does this achievement demonstrate the role the admissions department plays in the running of the school, but it also represents what the students bring to BW.
BW has also been ranked 12th on U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Value” list for the Mid-West.  This is to show that BW’s commitment to an affordable education has been noticed and praised.
U.S. News & World Report has another category in which BW was ranked: “A+ Schools for B Student.”  According to Trina Dobberstein, most A+ students who attend A+ schools will be successful but the real challenge is pushing the students that are not A+ students to be just as successful.  This achievement “speaks on the commitment of the students and the faculty,” Dobberstein said.
“The ranking doesn’t drive what we do for the students and is not a constant motivator,” Dobberstein said. BW has a “healthy balance in terms of aspiring to be impactful… [and] we are always going to seek to do our best.”