The 2016 list of Best Colleges from U.S. News & World Report released Wednesday ranks OSU Institute of Technology as the top school for students to graduate with the least amount of debt in the West region.

OSUIT, which participated in the rankings for just the second year, was also listed 6th among the top public colleges in the West and 30th among all colleges in the West. Fifteen states are included in the region: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

“Being recognized for our efforts to make our students’ education as affordable as possible is something I’m proud of,” said Dr. Bill R. Path. “Student loan debt has now surpassed credit card debt in the U.S., so to be able to offer students a path to an education and career without also carrying such a heavy burden of student debt is very rewarding.”

“Year after year, OSU Institute of Technology continues to gain national attention and recognition for our quality and quantity of programs available to our students. It’s quite an accomplishment being ranked in the top 30 regional schools with such a large number of quality institutions across our 15-state region,” said Path.

U.S. News rankings take into consideration several factors such as freshman retention rates, graduation rates, student to teacher ratios, acceptance rates, ACT/SAT test scores and percentage of classes with 20 or fewer students.

OSUIT was also ranked 18th in the Best Colleges for Veterans in the West, as well as taking the top spot on the list in the West colleges that have students with the least amount of debt. OSUIT students have an average of just $8,785 of debt when they graduate; that’s $4,600 less than the second-listed institution, Rogers State University in Claremore.

Other Oklahoma schools that made the Best Regional Colleges-West list include Bacone College, Oklahoma Baptist University, Oklahoma Panhandle State University, Oklahoma Wesleyan University, Rogers State University, Southwestern Christian University, St. Gregory’s University.