During my 30 years as a campus president at two institutions, one private and one public, I had a love-hate relationship with U.S. News’ higher education rankings. At Ramapo College, a moderate-sized, mostly undergraduate, liberal arts-focused institution in New Jersey, I objected to being ranked along with regional public institutions like Cortland and Kean that aspired for university status. With several colleagues at colleges similar to Ramapo, I petitioned U.S. News to create a separate category for public liberal arts colleges. They agreed.
That effort addressed one concern but not others. Along with other presidents, I thought the rankings relied heavily on “input” measures like faculty and financial resources per student. These total 40% of the measurement.
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