U.S. News & World Report on Monday released what it says is the most substantial overhaul of its college ranking empire in 40 years.
There was little change at the top, with Princeton University maintaining its top ranking in the nation, followed by MIT, Harvard University, and Stanford University, tied for third place. Williams College maintained its position as the nation’s top liberal arts college, and Spelman College once again ranked among the top historically black institutions.
But more than a dozen public universities, many of them relatively unknown, rose at least 50 places in the rankings. For example, Fresno State moved up 64 spots to No. 185, and Florida Atlantic University moved up 53 spots to No. 209. At Rutgers, he saw each of its three campuses move up one spot, while many other public institutions posted small, if notable, increases. At least 15 locations.
They benefited from algorithms that plummeted the rankings of some private universities, but they explained the deals that higher education leaders routinely talk about, such as changing the lives of economically disadvantaged students. It represented an effort to do so.
The reworked formula gave more weight to graduation rates for students who received need-based Pell grants and retention rates. We also introduced a measure related to whether first-generation college students and recent graduates earn more than those who only graduated from high school.
The biggest changes concerned schools that were not at the bottom of their previous rankings because they were neither particularly weak nor strong across a wide range of criteria. Being in the middle of the rankings meant that changes in methodology, such as removing alumni giving from the criteria, could easily cause dramatic rises and falls.
However, it is unclear to what extent the review will reduce criticism of U.S. News. Schools say rankings have a huge impact on students and parents, who use them as a proxy for prestige. And critics say it could distort universities’ priorities and how they admit students.
L. Song Richardson, president of the University of Colorado, said the revamped methodology is a “slight improvement.” The liberal arts school announced in February that it would no longer provide information to U.S. News.
“It doesn’t alleviate my concerns, which is why we didn’t rejoin,” said Ms. Richardson, who dropped two spots to 29th among liberal arts colleges. ” he said. “But certainly, I’m excited that they’re starting to listen to higher education leaders.”
Even though some public universities like Fresno State benefited this year, many university leaders still rank their universities as if education were a mass-produced consumer product. I balk at the idea of wearing one. Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber complained in a 2021 paper. opinion article The Washington Post wrote, “Ranking competitions are a bit of a prank, a silly obsession that can be harmful if universities, parents, and students take them too seriously.”
He added that it was “strange” to label a particular university as “the best”.
However, universities that rose sharply still welcomed the new rankings. Antonio D. Tillis, president of the Rutgers campus in Camden, N.J., said officials are “ecstatic” and that the increase will “address access and affordability, student success, academic excellence, and voter engagement.” This is reflected intentionally.”
U.S. News relies on a proprietary formula for its extensive for-profit rankings business, which scores everything from mutual funds to pediatric gastroenterology services. Publishers’ university rankings are widely recognized as the most influential in America, and administrators often employ them as a marketing tool, even if they are philosophically hostile to rankings. In most cases, even law schools and medical schools that have vowed in recent months to stop sharing information with U.S. News contributed data about their undergraduate programs.
Eric J. Gertler, executive chairman of U.S. News, strongly denied that the publisher made any adjustments to its formula to preserve university support. U.S. News had announced that it would rank schools regardless of whether they provided information.
The company eliminated five factors that often favor wealthy colleges, including undergraduate class size, alumni giving rates, and high school class rank, which together accounted for 18% of a school’s score.
This year’s formula relies even more on data sources other than school submissions, including overall graduation rates and per-student funding, which means universities spend on average per student on expenses such as instruction and research. There is not much emphasis on research on how much people are spending.
Private universities were found to be particularly vulnerable to the new formula. Small class sizes, which were 8 percent of the score a year ago, have become a point of pride for many elite institutions. The removal from the algorithm helped some top schools drop in their rankings.
The University of Chicago, which ranked 6th last year, fell to 12th place. Dartmouth College fell six spots to 18th place. Washington University in St. Louis, which ranked 15th last year, dropped to 24th. Brandeis, currently 60th, dropped 16 spots, about the same as Wake Forest, which dropped 18 spots to tie for 47th. Tulane fell from 44th to 73rd.
Tulane University President Michael A. Fitts said he was “shocked” by the school’s loss, saying it was due to a “fundamentally different methodology” that weakens schools like his. He argued that large public universities were better suited to meet the ambitions of the suddenly introduced U.S. News rankings, but said the strength of schools like Tulane did not decline overnight. Stated.
“Are they having the best of both worlds now or the worst of both?” he asked, referring to US News. “Essentially, are we looking at the ability to enroll a wide range of large classes of students and conflating different criteria? Or are we looking at things like the academic performance of students who are enrolled? ?”
To the frustration of many administrators, U.S. News kept its survey of presidents, presidents and deans, which are asked to consider other universities’ academic qualities, with the same weight as last year. Critics have long argued that the survey, which accounts for 20 percent of schools’ scores, introduces a distinctly subjective element to the system.
Gertler noted that the importance of research has declined over the ranking’s history, but defended its continued inclusion because “reputation in society matters.”
Some of the country’s most prestigious universities have seen their fortunes turn around. Columbia University, which had been in second place but fell to 18th after admitting a history of submitting inaccurate data, returned to 12th. The University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, Los Angeles had the same percentage. The nation’s top public schools each rose five spots to 15th place.
In Florida, New College, the subject of an ideological and administrative overhaul supported by Republican presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis, fell 24 spots to tie for 100th place among liberal arts schools.
The university, like many other universities whose rankings have fallen significantly, did not respond to requests for comment. Chicago, the only school outside the top 10, issued a statement blaming the drop in rankings on a change in methodology.
“We believe in the academics and fundamentals that have long defined the Chicago experience, including smaller class sizes and instructor education, considerations that were left out of this year’s U.S. News & World Report ranking metrics. , we will continue to work on it,” the university said.
Wake Forest expressed similar concerns.
“Wake Forest has never followed rankings like U.S. News to make decisions or to determine our university’s strategy,” President Susan R. Wente said. “I’m not going to start now.”
U.S. News is no stranger to complaints. But publishers have shown no sign that they’re interested in abandoning a system that brings them millions of attention and dollars.
Maia Coleman Contributed to the report.
