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Forbes gets into the college ranking game
For years, the U.S. News and World Report ranking of the best colleges and universities in the United States has been the dominant barometer of higher education quality in most people's minds. But it has drawn criticism for its evaluation methodology, which focuses primarily on "inputs" such as admissions selectivity, alumni giving, and financial resources -- which tell little about students' actual educational experiences. A new Forbes list, tabulated by ACTA friend Richard Vedder and his colleagues at the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, takes a different route by attempting to evaluate the schools based on educational outcomes and student satisfaction.
There is much to recommend this list; four-year graduation rates and the number of students receiving Rhodes and Fulbright fellowships are more likely proxies for educational quality than endowments and alumni gifts. However, as the authors themselves admit, the criteria are not perfect. For example, 25 percent of the ranking is determined by student evaluations of instructors on the website RateMyProfessors.com. Student ratings of professors, as ACTA discussed in our publication Degraded Currency, are not always an accurate method for evaluating instruction, as students often favor lenient graders and entertaining teachers.
Ultimately, as ACTA's studies on academic excellence demonstrate, a numerical ranking is no substitute for a thorough examination of general education and academic rigor. But students and parents looking for a number now have a notable new resource!
Posted by Sandra E. Czelusniak on August 20, 2008 at August 20, 2008 09:29 AM
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