Monday, June 25, 2007

Rankings Methods Scrutinized

The Cleveland Plain Dealer ran an article last week regarding the the annual U.S. News & World Report's college rankings.

At a recent meeting of the Annapolis Group, an organization of the leading national independent liberal arts colleges, the college leaders discussed the rankings and decided to stop participating in one particular factor: the part of the survey in which they assess each other's reputations. This portion of the survey represents 25 percent of a school's score in the rankings, according to Bloomberg News.

The presidents are planning to help develop another way help prospective students and their families determine the best school for their individual needs.

Presidents Dale Knobel of Denison, Tom Chema of Hiram and Georgia Nugent of Kenyon were all quoted in the article. Oberlin and Wooster were also mentioned. Click here for the full article.

Wabash Director of Public Affairs and Marketing, Jim Amidon, also weighed in on this issue in his weekly column in the Journal Review.

This is not the first time the U.S. News & World Report's survey has come under NCAC scrutiny. In 2003, Conference presidents voted to decline requests from the magazine for detailed statistical information about their institutions’ athletic programs. The presidents felt that a ranking of athletic programs would unnaturally distill athletics from the greater experience offered by each of our colleges.

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