The Chronicle

Issue date: 7/25/07 Section: News
Last update: 7/25/07 at 9:19 AM EST

Duke: 8, UNC: 27.

These were the final placements of the institutions in U.S. News and World Report's annual rankings of America's best colleges in 2007.

Although the magazine's college ranking is very popular among prospective students, many institutions have recently expressed their dissatisfaction with the publication's assessment.

As of July, 61 college and university presidents have signed the "Beyond Ranking" letter, a commitment to not participate in U.S. News' peer assessment and a refusal to use the rankings as an indication of the quaality of the institution. And although Duke has not joined the group, the University's senior admissions official said he sees the rankings as very flawed.

The peer assessment makes up 25 percent of the ranking, the largest single factor. Other criteria include retention (20 percent), faculty resources (20 percent), student selectivity (15 percent), financial resources (10 percent), graduation rate performance (5 percent) and alumni giving rate (5 percent).

"This is a test of the academy's character and ability of college presidents to demonstrate leadership beyond institutional self-interest," said Lloyd Thacker, founder of Education Conservancy, a non-profit organization committed to improving education relevance of college admission.

The letter was drafted in March with the help of Education Conservancy and 12 original signers.

"We believe these rankings are misleading and do not serve well the interest of prospective students in finding a college or university that is well suited to their education beyond high school," the letter reads.

Thacker said he was pleased with the number of signers, adding, however, that he hopes to see the participation from the top-ranked institutions in the country.

"No college president will say that the influence of the rankings is in line with their educational value," he said. "If we're in the business of training kids to align their values with their actions, why should we expect less of ourselves? Saying no to rankings is the right thing to do."



I'll be right behind you

"I think many colleges would be hesitant to be the first of their peer group to do that because if you don't participate you have absolutely no control over the information in there," said Christoph Guttentag, Duke's dean of admissions. "The problem with being highly ranked is that nobody wants to jeopardize that position."

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