The more things change, the more they stay the same. At least that's what the most recent U.S. News rankings seem to say about the University.
Last week, U.S. News and World Report released its annual survey of national universities. For the second year in a row, the University was ranked sixth among the 1,419 accredited four-year universities.
Although administrators said they were happy with the ranking, they said they were not terribly concerned with the number either way.
"I'm pleased with the position, but [it's] not something I give a lot of credence to," said Christoph Guttentag, director of undergraduate admissions. "The notion that there is a number-one or number-10 university is intrinsically inaccurate. You are trying to rate something that cannot be rated."
University officials and students agreed that the rankings make little difference to the decisions of prospective students.
"I didn't look at the rankings," said Trinity senior Sara Sherman. "I knew Duke had a good reputation. Once I was here I became more concerned with how we ranked." Some students, however, said they were pleased with the consistently high rankings the University has had in recent years.
"I think the rankings are a testament to our prestige and the hard work Duke has done over the years," said Trinity sophomore Chris Lam. "As a student, I am proud of that."
Harvard University was awarded the first-place spot for the sixth consecutive year. Fellow Ivy League schools Princeton University and Yale University tied for second (see graphic). Amherst College remained the top liberal arts college. Williams College, its rival, dropped from second to third, losing its place to Swarthmore College.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill may have had a better basketball season last year, but its academic ranking was not as fortunate. The Tar Heels slid to 27th, one notch lower than last year.Some students said they thought the sweeping changes that have recently been made to the University, such as the changes to the residential and social systems, may have been in an effort to boost the University's ranking.
"I think that was the goal of all of the changes," said Trinity sophomore Ben Edwards. "But, in the end I think it will have a negligible effect."
Each school receives a ranking in six factors: academic reputation, student selectivity, alumni satisfaction, financial resources, retention rate and faculty resources. The University placed eighth in academic reputation, ninth in student selectivity, ninth in alumni satisfaction, 11th in financial resources, fifth in retention and 13th in faculty resources.
Academic reputation is based on a survey given to about 2,700 college presidents; student selectivity is comprised of figures such as Scholastic Aptitude Test scores and high school class rank; and alumni satisfaction is based on the percentage of living alumni who donate in annual university fund drives.
The financial resources ranking is determined through the school's expenditures in classroom instruction, administration, student services and academic support, while the retention figure indicates how many students graduate within six years of matriculation. The faculty resources ranking is based on factors such as average faculty salary including benefits and number of faculty with doctorates.
One administrator, however, said he did not understand why the University placed only 13th in faculty resources. "We do well in student-faculty ratios. We do well in terms of Ph.D.'s," said William Chafe, dean of the faculty of Arts and Sciences. "Our salary rankings are better than 13th. I'm perplexed."
In 1989, the University was at its highest ranking when it placed fifth. The University held on to seventh place for five consecutive years, when last year it moved up to sixth.
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