Critics of college rankings tend to use harsh words when describing U.S. News & World Report’s annual list of top colleges, and some have even called it evil (The Chronicle, June 29).
But the latest rhetorical entry in the rankings debate was relatively mild. On Friday, the presidents of 19 highly ranked liberal-arts colleges released a joint statement saying they were concerned about the “inevitable biases” in rankings formulas, and that rankings contribute to the “admissions frenzy.”
Because of those worries, the presidents said they had agreed to publish institutional data -- about class sizes, graduation rates, among other things -- on their colleges’ Web sites, instead of submitting such information exclusively to U.S. News and other publications that compile college guides. The presidents also said they would not mention the U.S. News or other rankings in “new” promotional materials because rankings “mislead the public into thinking that the complexities of American higher education can be reduced to one number.”
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