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An eye-opener
Still groggy this morning? Well, skip your coffee and just read Doug Lederman's story, over at Inside Higher Ed, on Clemson University.
If you follow higher education, you know that for all the criticism of U.S. News & World Report's college rankings, institutions take them terribly seriously. But that knowledge alone will not prepare you for Lederman's piece, which reports on a presentation by former Clemson administrator (and current professor) Catherine Watt. One notable portion:
When President James F. Barker took over the South Carolina institution in 2001, he vowed in his initial interview to move Clemson into the top 20 (a distinction that many research universities covet, but few can achieve, given that most of those already in the top 20 aren't eager to relinquish their spots). Although many people on the campus were skeptical, Clemson has pursued the goal almost single-mindedly, seeking to "affect -- I'm hesitating to use the word 'manipulate,' " Watt said -- "every possible indicator to the greatest extent possible." She added: "It is the thing around which almost everything revolves for the president's office."
The "about" page on Clemson's website seems to support that assertion, noting that "Clemson has set its sights on being one of the nation's top-20 public universities by 2011," a goal it says was "officially adopted by the Board of Trustees in 2001."
Lederman's article gets more interesting from there. Here's one snippet:
In reporting institutional financial information to the magazine, she said, Clemson runs "multiple definitions to figure out where we can move things around to make them look best" in the rankings. Academic expenditures are emphasized and administrative overhead minimized wherever possible, within reason, she said. The university has encouraged as many alumni as possible to send in at least $5 to help bring up their giving rate, and hired a firm to find disconnected alumni.And to actual gasps from some members of the audience, Watt said that Clemson officials, in filling out the reputational survey form for presidents, "rates all programs other than Clemson below average," to make the university look better. "And I'm confident my president is not the only one who does that," Watt said.
As they say, read the whole thing. If you do, you may be left wondering: Is Clemson's top priority academic excellence, or merely the appearance thereof?
Posted by Charles Mitchell on June 03, 2009 at June 3, 2009 08:56 AM
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Comments
Goodhart's Law in action.
Posted by: Mike at June 3, 2009 09:21 PM