Schools
Should Universities Participate In School Rankings Reports?
They're recent moves by medical and law schools in the United States to actively drop out of rankings reports by certain outlets.
April 28, 2023
Are recent moves by medical and law schools in the United States to actively drop out of rankings reports by outlets such as U.S. News & World Report’s annual “Best Colleges” publications a sign of more withdrawals to come? Even top-ranked Princeton University’s president, Christopher Eisgruber, wrote in The Washington Post, “Rankings are a misleading way to assess colleges and universities. There are lots of great places to get an education.”
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Additionally, the New York Times reported, “College presidents have decried the U.S. News rankings as meaningless. Policymakers accused them of skewing educational priorities. And high school guidance counselors call them unreliable.”
While other methods of evaluating colleges and universities are available — the U.S. government in 2015 began publishing online the College Scorecard that offers some data on both public and private schools — there remains a heavy reliance on rankings such as U.S. News & World Report, which includes considerable self-reported and opinion-based information.
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With all of this in mind, members of the California Student Journalism Corps in April asked fellow students their thoughts on supporting a move by more schools to withdraw from rankings reports.
Specifically, students were asked, “Many colleges and universities are deciding not to participate in school rankings reports. Do you support this idea? Why or why not?”
Below are their responses.
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