OSU Institute of Technology has been ranked one of the “best in the West” in US News’ 2019 Best Colleges list that was released Monday.

OSUIT was also listed 8th among the top public colleges in the West and 27th 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.

OSUIT President Bill R. Path said this is the fourth time the university has participated in the rankings, and each of those four years, OSUIT has been ranked in the top 30 Regional Colleges-West category.

“Year after year, OSUIT 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 at the top of the regional schools list with such a large number of quality institutions across our 15-state region,” said Path.

US News based the rankings on 16 areas of academic excellence including retention and graduation rates; faculty resources; surveys and assessments; financial resources; student excellence; and alumni giving.

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

“Being named one of the best in the West doesn’t mean we’ve reached our full potential. There are still ways we can keep improving and keep getting better and better,” Path said. “While I am very proud of the hard work of our students, faculty and staff, I hope this accomplishment motivates us all to reach toward the next level of excellence.”