Spring Break
College presidents quit peer-ranking in U.S. News
by Rachel Marder
Senior Editor
News | 7/12/07
Posted online at 2:12 PM EST on 7/2/07
/ Last updated at 3:30 AM EST on 7/2/07
Despite the recent decision by some college presidents to cease their participation in part of U.S. News and World Report Magazine's annual university survey, University President Jehuda Reinharz has no plans to follow suit, a University spokesperson said.
The New York Times reported June 20 that nearly 80 presidents of liberal arts colleges, including Barnard, Kenyon and Sarah Lawrence, announced that they plan not to rank their peer institutions on the survey in the future.
The magazine surveys presidents and other academic officers on their impressions of peer institutions and uses this data to rank colleges and universities.
Peer assessment is the heaviest-weighed factor in the rankings.
One-hundred-and-four liberal arts colleges were ranked in the 2007 list.
Brandeis isn't in the magazine's rankings of liberal arts colleges. Rather, it is ranked in the top universities list, where this year it placed 31st of 124 schools, three spots higher than last year. The University shares it's ranking with the College of William and Mary. New York University and Boston College are ranked 34th.
"As far as the U.S. News rankings are concerned, there are not plans to change the status quo at this time," University spokesperson Lorna Miles wrote in an e-mail to the Justice.
Reinharz declined to comment last semester on the magazine's ranking methods.
The Annapolis Group, a collection of 124 liberal arts colleges, released a statement after a meeting in Annapolis, Md. last month that many of its member-presidents "expressed their intent not to participate in the annual U.S. News survey."
Presidents who plan to opt out have argued for months that the categories used for the rankings don't prioritize what's valuable about a university. Some institutions have changed their priorities to fit the U.S. News mold and attain a higher ranking on the list, the Times reported.
"We really want to reclaim the high ground on this discussion," Katherine Will, Gettysburg College's president told The Times. "We should be defining the conversation, not a magazine that uses us for its business plan."
The New York Times reported June 20 that nearly 80 presidents of liberal arts colleges, including Barnard, Kenyon and Sarah Lawrence, announced that they plan not to rank their peer institutions on the survey in the future.
The magazine surveys presidents and other academic officers on their impressions of peer institutions and uses this data to rank colleges and universities.
Peer assessment is the heaviest-weighed factor in the rankings.
One-hundred-and-four liberal arts colleges were ranked in the 2007 list.
Brandeis isn't in the magazine's rankings of liberal arts colleges. Rather, it is ranked in the top universities list, where this year it placed 31st of 124 schools, three spots higher than last year. The University shares it's ranking with the College of William and Mary. New York University and Boston College are ranked 34th.
"As far as the U.S. News rankings are concerned, there are not plans to change the status quo at this time," University spokesperson Lorna Miles wrote in an e-mail to the Justice.
Reinharz declined to comment last semester on the magazine's ranking methods.
The Annapolis Group, a collection of 124 liberal arts colleges, released a statement after a meeting in Annapolis, Md. last month that many of its member-presidents "expressed their intent not to participate in the annual U.S. News survey."
Presidents who plan to opt out have argued for months that the categories used for the rankings don't prioritize what's valuable about a university. Some institutions have changed their priorities to fit the U.S. News mold and attain a higher ranking on the list, the Times reported.
"We really want to reclaim the high ground on this discussion," Katherine Will, Gettysburg College's president told The Times. "We should be defining the conversation, not a magazine that uses us for its business plan."
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