OSU Institute of Technology continues to rank among the top 20 Regional Colleges in the 2022 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Rankings.

OSUIT was recognized in three categories of the Regional Colleges-West in the recently released 2022 rankings: No. 9 in Top Public Schools, No. 31 in Best Regional and No. 37 in Top Performers on Social Mobility.

U.S. News defines the West, the largest geographical region in the rankings to include 15 states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

"As we celebrate an important milestone in our campus' history with our 75th Anniversary, I am also proud to celebrate the accomplishments that this institution continues to achieve," said President Bill R. Path. "While we reflect on our past, it's important that we continue to position ourselves for the future."

OSUIT was also included on the Least Debt list, which includes schools whose 2018 and 2019 graduates had the lightest debt loads. OSUIT undergraduates who earned a bachelor's degree and received a federal loan carry a typical total debt after graduation of $12,000, the lowest in the state of Oklahoma.

"At OSUIT, we strive to provide a high-quality education at an affordable price," said Path. "This recognition on the Least Debt list paired with our 90% job placement rate brings me great pride in our institution."

Due to the high demand for graduates of OSUIT's technical programs, industry partners will often sponsor students by providing financial support, paid internships, loan reimbursement, etc., in return for a signed agreement that the graduate will work for them for a defined period of time.

This is the third consecutive year OSUIT was ranked in the Top Performers on Social Mobility category. This ranking considers that economically disadvantaged students are less likely than others to finish college, even when controlling for other characteristics.

OSUIT was also included on a new list this year, Freshman Retention Rate with a 61% retention rate, higher than the national average at two-year colleges. The retention rates were calculated by the average proportion of freshmen entering fall 2016 through fall 2019 who returned to school the following fall.

It recognizes that some colleges are more successful than others at advancing social mobility by enrolling and graduating large proportions of disadvantaged students awarded with Pell Grants. Most of these federal grants are awarded to students whose adjusted gross family incomes are under $50,000. In 2019-2020, data shows that OSUIT had 34% of undergraduates receiving Pell grants. This also included the campus on the Economic Diversity list.

OSUIT was also recognized in the Campus Ethnic Diversity Regional Colleges-West rankings with a diversity index number of 0.59. U.S. News factors in the proportion of minority students, excluding international students, and the overall mix of groups among each institution's fall 2020 total undergraduate student body. The formula produces a diversity index that ranges from 0 to 1. The closer a school's number is to 1, the more diverse the student population and the more likely it is for students to interact with peers from different racial or ethnic groups.

The 2022 U.S. News Best Colleges rankings are calculated from 14 key measures of quality, including graduation and retention rates; social mobility; graduation rate performance; undergraduate academic reputation; faculty resources; student selectivity for the fall 2020 entering class; financial resources per student; average alumni giving rate; and graduate indebtedness.