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Criticism of college and university rankings in North America

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Criticism of college and university rankings refers to various movements in Canada and the United States which have critiqued rankings of universities and liberal arts colleges.

1990s movement

Reed College:
During the 1990s, three educational institutions in the United States were involved in a movement to boycott college rankings. The first, Reed College, refused in 1995 to participate in U.S. News and World Report annual survey. According to Reed's Office of Admissions:

Reed College has actively questioned the methodology and usefulness of college rankings ever since the magazine's best-colleges list first appeared in 1983, despite the fact that the issue ranked Reed among the top ten national liberal arts colleges. Reed's concern intensified with disclosures in 1994 by the Wall Street Journal about institutions flagrantly manipulating data in order to move up in the rankings in U.S. News and other popular college guides. This led Reed's then-president Steven Koblik to inform the editors of U.S. News that he didn't find their project credible, and that the college would not be returning any of their surveys.[1]

Rolling Stone, in its 16 October 1997 issue, argued that Reed's rankings were artificially decreased by U.S. News after they stopped sending data to U.S. News and World Report. [2] Reed has also made the same claim. [3] In discussing Reed's decision, President Colin Diver wrote in an article for the November 2005 issue of the Atlantic Monthly, "by far the most important consequence of sitting out the rankings game, however, is the freedom to pursue our own educational philosophy, not that of some newsmagazine." [4]

Stanford University and FUNC:
Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) Vice-President, Nicholas Thompson, founded FUNC or "Forget U.S. News Coalition" in 1996 as a show of support for Reed College's decision not to participate in the U.S. News and World Report survey. [5], [6] FUNC eventually spread to other colleges and universities and was comprised of a "group of students at universities across the country who argue that ranking something as complex and variable as a college education with a single number is an oversimplification. FUNC claims that the process makes college administrations focus on numerical rankings rather than on educating students." [7] FUNC also involved then-Stanford President Gerhard Casper. On 23 September 1996, Casper sent a letter to James Fallows, editor of U.S. News & World Report, stating, "As the president of a university that is among the top-ranked universities, I hope I have the standing to persuade you that much about these rankings - particularly their specious formulas and spurious precision - is utterly misleading." [8]

Alma College:
In January 1997, then-president of Alma College, Alan Stone, asked 480 colleges to boycott the U.S. News and World Report Rankings due to the peer assessment survey which counts for 25% of a college's ranking. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, in 1996, Alma College surveyed 158 colleges about the rankings. The result of the survey indicated that "84 per cent of the respondents admitted that they were unfamiliar with some of the institutions they had been asked to rank. Almost 44 per cent indicated that they 'tended to leave responses for unfamiliar schools blank.' " Stone stated, "this makes me wonder just how many votes are being considered for each school's academic-reputation ranking." [9], [10]

Stanford University and FUNC:
In February 1997, Stanford University contemplated following both Reed and Alma by not filling out the ranking survey, a move advocated by FUNC. [11] On 18 April 1997, Casper issued a letter critical of U.S. News and World Report college rankings titled "An alternative to the U.S. News and World Report College Survey"[12] Casper's letter circulated among college presidents and led to a decision by Stanford that it will "submit objective data to U.S. News, but will withhold subjective reputational votes." [13] Stanford also announced at this time that it would post information about the University on its website. [14] In 1998, Stanford posted an alternative database on its website, stating: "This page is offered in contrast to commercial guides that purport to "rank" colleges; such rankings are inherently misleading and inaccurate. Stanford believes the following information, presented without arbitrary formulas, provides a better foundation for prospective students and their families to begin comparing and contrasting schools." .[15] It has since been posted annually as the "Stanford University Common Data Set."[16] FUNC eventually disbanded and Stanford currently participates in the survey. [17]

2006 Maclean boycott

In September 2006, a number of universities in Canada jointly refused to participate in the Maclean’s University Rankings survey. The president of the University of Alberta, Indira Samarasekera, wrote of this protest:

Canadian universities are listening with great interest as the call to boycott U.S. News & World Report rankings continues to increase in volume among our colleagues to the south. Many of our American colleagues say that they would like to resist the rankings, but fear it can’t be done, especially if only a few institutions act. I write to let you know that institutions can take on the rankings. About a year ago, a growing number of Canadian institutions began to raise the same alarm, ultimately resulting in 25 of our 90+ institutions — including many of our leading universities — banding together to take just such a stand against the fall rankings issue of Maclean's, our Canadian equivalent [...] It’s time to question these third-party rankings that are actually marketing driven, designed to sell particular issues of a publication with repurposing of their content into even higher sales volume special editions with year-long shelf life.[18]

2007 movement

Sarah Lawrence College:
In 2007, some educators in the United States began to question the impact of rankings on the college admissions process, due in part to the 11 March 2007 Washington Post article "The Cost of Bucking College Rankings" by Dr. Michele Tolela Myers (the President of Sarah Lawrence College). As Sarah Lawrence College dropped its SAT test score submission requirement for its undergraduate applicants in 2003 [19] (thus joining the SAT optional movement for undergraduate admission), SLC does not have SAT data to send to U.S. News for its national survey. Of this decision, Myers states, "We are a writing-intensive school, and the information produced by SAT scores added little to our ability to predict how a student would do at our college; it did, however, do much to bias admission in favor of those who could afford expensive coaching sessions.[20] (at present, Sarah Lawrence is the only American college that completely disregards SAT scores in its admission process[21]). As a result of this policy, in the same Washington Post article, Dr. Myers stated that she was informed by the U.S. News and World Report that if no SAT scores were submitted, U.S. News would "make up a number" to use in its magazines. She further argues that if SLC were to decide to stop sending all data to U.S. News and World Report, that their ranking would be artificially decreased. [22][23] U.S. News and World Report issued a response to this article on 12 March 2007 which stated that the evaluation of Sarah Lawrence is currently under review. [24]

Letter to colleges:
During this period, TIME magazine, [25] The Christian Science Monitor, [26] and USA Today, [27], [28] all reported that a letter would be sent to colleges and universities in the United States concerning rankings surveys. In early May 2007, 12 college and university presidents (Bethany, Dickinson, Drew, Earlham, Heritage, Lafayette, Marlboro, Southwestern, both St. John's Colleges (Annapolis and Santa Fe), Trinity Washington University, and Wheelock) sponsored a letter asking "their colleagues to stop filling out the survey of institutional reputations that makes up 25 percent of scores in the rankings — the largest single factor in the formula. The presidents also call for colleagues to pledge not to use U.S. News rankings in promotional materials." [29] President of Trinity Washington University, Patricia McGuire, wrote an editorial on this movement commenting, "Rip it up and throw it away. That's the advice I'm giving my fellow college and university presidents this month as the "reputation survey" from U.S. News & World Report lands on our desks." [30]

These colleges and universities were joined by 15 more (College of the Southwest, Colorado, Denison, Eckerd, Furman, McDaniel, Missouri Baptist, Moravian, Naropa, Lewis & Clark College, Northwestern University, Ohio Wesleyan, Philander Smith, Shimer, Unity, and Washington & Jefferson) in mid- May. In June 2007, the Annapolis Group will vote on whether or not to participate in the boycott. [31]

Annapolis Group meeting:
The Annapolis Group, which represents over 100 liberal arts colleges, published an article on their website in 2004, called "Liberal Arts College Presidents Speak Out on College Rankings." The article included statements made by the presidents of Dickinson, Reed, Puget Sound, St. John's College, Hamilton, Earlham, Hendrix, Colgate, Washington & Jefferson, Centre, Ursinus, Connecticut, Kenyon, Mt. Holyoke, and Skidmore. [32]

On 19 June, 2007, The Annapolis Group, issued a statement that its members "have agreed to participate in the development of an alternative common format that presents information about their colleges for students and their families to use in the college search process." This database will be web based and developed in conjunction with higher education organizations including the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and the Council of Independent Colleges. The statement also noted that "the majority of the Annapolis Group presidents attending the annual meeting in Annapolis, Md., expressed their intent not to participate in the annual U.S. News & World Report ranking exercise. The Annapolis Group is not a legislative body and any decision about participating in the US News rankings rests with the individual institutions." [33] The new database was described in TIME magazine as "a web-based alternative to the rankings that is being spearheaded by the 900-member National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. NAICU's easy-to-read template, which is expected to be rolled out by hundreds of schools in September." [34]

Chris Nelson, president of St. John's College (Annapolis) and outgoing president of The Annapolis Group, noted for Inside Higher Ed "that presidents are energized about the issue because they realize 'the lack of any evidence that the information collected has anything' to do with educational quality."[35] CNN noted that according to the new Chair of The Annapolis Group, Kate Will, "the majority of members indicated their intent to stop participating in the reputation survey, which produces what she says is 'not educationally valid research.' "[36] A 20 June 2007 article for the Chronicle of Higher Education also noted of Frances Lucas, president of Millsaps College, that "she previously had paid little attention to the rankings debate because her own institution was rated highly in U.S. News. But after learning more about the magazine's methodology and discussing the issue with colleagues at this week's meeting, she concluded that the rankings were based too heavily on measurements determined by institutional wealth." [37]

More colleges:
After the June meeting of the Annapolis Group, the following colleges announced that they will join those who had previously signed the May letter: Barnard College, Sarah Lawrence College, Kenyon College, [38] Amherst College, College of the Holy Cross, Mount Holyoke College, Wellesley College, Williams College, Swarthmore College, [39], [40] DePauw University, [41] Eckerd College, Rollins College, [42] Alma College, [43] Moravian College, Muhlenberg College, and Lafayette College. [44]

Commentary:
A number of other academics and critics commented on this movement. Professor Marty Kaplan of the USC Annenberg School for Communication stated after the 19 June, 2007 decision by the Annapolis Group in the Huffington Post that, "The problem with U.S. News' college rankings isn't that institutions of higher education shouldn't be held accountable for the quality of services they provide [...] The problem is that the fierce competition among colleges to raise their rankings torques the priorities of colleges toward the criteria that U.S. News uses." [45]

Alexander C. McCormick, a senior scholar at The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching commented on this debate in the 10 May 2007 article, "Hidden in Plain View," for Inside Higher Ed. He responded in this article to the way in which the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education is used in the creation of U.S. News rankings. The problem, he argues, with this use is that there is "no basis for inferring national versus regional focus, because it’s not a factor in the classification criteria. So it should come as no surprise that the national and regional lists contain a great many inconsistencies and bizarre placements [...] By continuing to rely on the Carnegie Classification, they avoid the tough job of defining their terms." [46]

Author and essayist Peter Sacks continues the critique in two articles for The Huffington Post. In the 05 April 2007 article "America's Best College Scam" he commented, "At this juncture, I know of only one way for that implosion to happen. The really big dogs of the America higher education industry need to step up and do what's right." [47] In the follow-up article, "The Coming College Rankings Revolution" (14 April, 2007), Sacks discusses the National Survey of Student Engagement ("Nessie"), research which, he claims, U.S. News has tried - but failed - to obtain from many schools. Rather than selectivity, which "Nessie" does not find useful, it looks for schools that offer "a challenging academic curriculum, personal interaction between teachers and students, and a supportive campus environment." Sacks further promotes a report by the Spellings Commission that calls for the development of a database created by the government which would provide this type of information to college-seeking students and families. [48]

Finally, a 29 March 2007 article in The Daily Princetonian noted that "Princeton — which the magazine ranked No. 1 for the seventh straight year — has continued to supply the magazine with relevant statistics. University Vice President and Secretary Bob Durkee '69 said that while the rankings inform students and their parents of relevant comparative data for different schools, they shouldn't be used to exclusively inform an applicant's choice of college." [49]

Response from U.S. News:
On 22 June 2007, The U.S. News and World Report issued a response. It argued that the peer assessment survey is important because "it allows us to measure the 'intangibles' of a college that we can't measure through statistical data." It also argued that the database which the Annapolis Group plans to offer as an alternative replicates information that U.S. News already supplies. [50]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ "College Rankings". Reed College Admission Office.
  2. ^ Watson, Harriet (November, 1997). "U.S. News and World Report hat trick". Reed College. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "College Rankings". Reed College Admission Office.
  4. ^ Diver, Colin (November, 2005). "Is There Life After Rankings?". The Atlantic Monthly. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Thompson, Nick (25 October 1996). "Down With Rankings!". Summit: Stanford's Newsmagazine of Progressive Politics. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "Stanford Students Attack"U.S. News" College Rankings". Chronicle of Higher Education. 25 October 1996. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ Garigliano, Jeff (15 March 1997). "U.S. News college rankings rankle critics - Forget U.S. News Coalition is pressuring U.S. News and World Report to cease publishing overall rankings for colleges". Folio. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ Casper, Gerhard (18 April 1997). "Letter from Casper Gerhard to James Fallows, editor of U.S. News & World Report". Stanford University. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "Alma College's President Urges Boycott of "U.S. News" Rankings". Chronicle of Higher Education. 1997-01-31. Retrieved 2007-06-22.
  10. ^ "Alma College's President Urges Boycott of "U.S. News" Rankings". Rice University. 1997-01-31. Retrieved 2007-06-22.
  11. ^ "STANFORD: University mulls over ratings". Palo Alto Online. Palo Alto Online. 1997-02-19. Retrieved 2007-06-22.
  12. ^ Casper, Gerhard (18 April 1997). "An alternative to the U.S. News and World Report College Survey". Stanford University. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ Ray, Elaine (May/June 1997). "Can a College Education Really Be Reduced to Numbers?". Stanford University. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ "Rankings: Round Two". Stanford University. April 23, 1997.
  15. ^ "Stanford University Statistics for Prospective Undergraduate Students". Stanford University.
  16. ^ "Stanford University Common Data Set". Stanford University.
  17. ^ "Stanford Fourth in US News Rankings". Stanford University. 22 September 2006. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ Samarasekera, Indira (2 April 2007). "Rising Up Against Rankings". Inside Higher Ed. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ "Sarah Lawrence College Drops SAT Requirement, Saying a New Writing Test Misses the Point". The New York Times. 13 November 2003. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ Tolela Myers, Michele (11 March 2007). "The Cost of Bucking College Rankings". The Washington Post. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ "U.S. News Statement on College Rankings". U.S. News and World Report. 12 March 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ Tolela Myers, Michele (11 March 2007). "The Cost of Bucking College Rankings". The Washington Post. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ Jaschik, Scott (12 March 2007). "Would U.S. News Make Up Fake Data?". Inside Higher Ed. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ "U.S. News Statement on College Rankings". U.S. News and World Report. 12 March 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ "The College Rankings Revolt". TIME. 21 March 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. ^ Arnoldy, Ben (12 April 2007). "College presidents plan 'U.S. News' rankings boycott". Christian Science Monitor. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. ^ Marklein, Mary Beth (6 April 2007). "Rankings face backlash from college presidents". USA Today. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. ^ Marklein, Mary Beth (9 April 2007). "Sentiment building against rankings". USA Today. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  29. ^ "Battle Lines on 'U.S. News'". Inside Higher Ed. 07 May 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  30. ^ McGuire, Patricia (16 May 2007). "Colleges Should Boycott Bogus Ratings Game". Hartford Courant. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  31. ^ "Growing Challenge to 'U.S. News'". Inside Higher Ed. 18 May 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  32. ^ "Liberal Arts College Presidents Speak Out on College Rankings". Annapolis Group.
  33. ^ "ANNAPOLIS GROUP STATEMENT ON RANKINGS AND RATINGS". Annapolis Group. 19 June 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  34. ^ RAWE, JULIE (20 June 2007). "A Better Way to Rank Colleges?". TIME. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  35. ^ Jaschik, Scott (20 June 2007). "More Momentum Against 'U.S. News'". Inside Higher Ed. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  36. ^ Brady, Janine (20 June 2007). "Many American colleges balk at U.S. News rankings". CNN. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  37. ^ Hoover, Eric (20 June 2007). "Liberal-Arts College Group Plans to Help Develop Alternative to Commercial Rankings". Chronicle of Higher Education. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  38. ^ Finder, Alan (20 June 2007). "Some Colleges to Drop Out of U.S. News Rankings". New York Times. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  39. ^ Oaks, Bob (21 June 2007). "NE Colleges Defy US News". WBUR. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  40. ^ "Group of colleges quits US News list". Boston Globe. 20 June 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  41. ^ "DePauw Joins Annapolis Group Peers in Quest to Deliver Better Information to Prospective Students and Parents". DePauw University. 20 June 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  42. ^ OLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER, SHANNON (21 June 2007). "Eckerd says no to rank system". Tampa Bay Times. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  43. ^ HORVATH, ROSEMARY (22 June 2007). "Alma College pulls out of U.S. News rankings". The Morning Sun. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  44. ^ Marshall, Genevieve (20 June 2007). "3 local colleges join others in bucking U.S. News rankings". The Morning Call. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  45. ^ Kaplan, Marty (20 June 2007). "Reaming College Rankings". Huffington Post. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  46. ^ McCormick, Alexander (10 May 2007). "Hidden in Plain View". Inside Higher Ed. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  47. ^ Sacks, Peter (5 April 2007). "America's Best College Scam". The Huffington Post. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  48. ^ Sacks, Peter (14 April 2007). "The Coming College Rankings Revolution". The Huffington Post. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  49. ^ Weidmann, Maxwell (29 March 2007). "Universities oppose college rankings". The Daily Princetonian. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  50. ^ "About the Annapolis Group's Statement". U.S. News and World Report. 22 June 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)


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