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Comment: Compare college rankings to reality
Web Posted: 08/31/2007 05:25 PM CDT
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Tim Summerlin
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Football teams are playing, students are wearing clothes purchased with no state
sales tax — it's time again for U.S. News & World Report's annual college
rankings magazine.
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Sometimes I wonder if we
don't get into a greater furor
over this event than it merits,
whether we smack our lips
over our great ranking or
curse the system.
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On the other hand, this
annual news story does focus
attention — if it sheds only
murky light — on an issue
millions of Americans care
about, the quality of higher
education.
As a college president, I
regard the rankings as deeply
flawed in their criteria and
potentially misleading to
parents and college
prospects attempting to make sound decisions.
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This is not sour grapes, because this year's rankings are not unkind to Schreiner
University. And I credit the magazine with acknowledging that "many factors other
than those we measure will figure in your decision," but that is a little like saying,
"Of course, you can measure the winner by other standards than today's score,
but ..." The implication is that you're being told what is really important.
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A critical weakness in the rankings lies in the 25 percent weight they give to peer
assessment by presidents and other college officials. When such assessments
are a key driver, even when evaluators have a "don't know" option, the
opportunity for ignorance and shallow awareness to play a major role in overall
rankings is profound. (And, by the way, an immense market is created for colleges
to inundate one another with publications as a way of saying, "Notice me!")
www.VillanovaU.com
Several years ago, Schreiner determined not to participate in the peer
assessment process. Hundreds of other administrators across the country have
taken the same action. U.S. News & World Report's response, essentially, has
been, "We don't care. We can always find others to complete the forms."
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That attitude underscores why this criterion is viewed so skeptically. And it helps
make the case for the Education Conservancy's growing support in its appeal to
American colleges to refuse to participate in the reputation survey or in using the
magazine's data in promotional materials.
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The heavy reliance on what are called "inputs" (faculty salaries, SAT scores,
budgetary expenditures) in determining rank is another area of concern. Credit
does go to the magazine for addressing "outcome" factors and for attempts to find
more varied ways to compare colleges and universities (excellent first-year
programs, diversity of student body, service to Pell Grant students). But the
"glamour show" nature of the enterprise, given questionable criteria, remains.
As a parent of three college graduates, I am haunted by the fact that the one who
graduated with honors from one of the top-three ranked American universities is
the least satisfied with his undergraduate experience. Such evidence is anecdotal,
http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/stories/MYSA090107.01O.schreinercomment.221...
1/17/2008
MySA.com: Commentary
Page 2 of 2
but it is inescapable.
In the final analysis, the difference the college experience makes in an individual's
life and future prospects is at the heart of any evaluation, and the rankings
machine does a poor job of capturing that reality.
What are high school students or their parents to do as they contemplate the
college choice? There are many other sources of information, such as Princeton
Review, Washington Monthly or any number of college guides. Happily, the
National Association of Independent Colleges and Schools will come online in
September with a U-CAN site, which will provide critical data on hundreds of
private, or independent, colleges across the nation, along with links to Web sites
so inquirers can learn more. I suspect we will see more such sites being
established.
And there is no substitute for visits, where the people and culture of an institution
can be measured. Time magazine reminded us a year ago that "college is a
match to be made, not a prize to be won." That is a truth worth remembering.
Dr. Tim Summerlin is president of Schreiner University in Kerrville.
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http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/stories/MYSA090107.01O.schreinercomment.221...
1/17/2008