The ever fluctuating U.S. News & World Report college rankings are splashed across headlines each year, followed by analysis and optimistic statements by university officials.
Despite the positive attention associated with a top ranking, many UI officials emphasize the importance of maintaining a skeptical distance.
UI administrators agreed the rankings play a role in some of the university’s policy decisions but said they typically put more weight on in-house evaluations.
Kan. Gov. Mark Parkinson recently told the state’s Board of Regents he wants them to develop a 10-year plan to place at least one of the state’s universities in the top 50 U.S. News & World Report rankings.
The governor spoke about the criteria that determine rankings, such as student retention and graduate job placement, but such an emphasis on a lone report was criticized by education officials.
“We don’t want the tail wagging the dog,” said Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames. “We don’t want ratings driving policy.”
A September brief released by the Institute for Higher Education Policy states universities risk overlooking such important aspects as diversity and student needs when they focus too much on numbers.
“As with a lot of assessments, you have to be cautious about teaching to the test,” said Joe Kearney, an associate dean of the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
And sometimes, officials can take attempts to improve rankings too far, Quirmbach said.
“There are instances of institutions that have deliberately fiddled around with policies to improve their ranks,” he said. “I would be disappointed if an administration made policy changes with the intent to change ratings.”
UI officials said they look at rankings and take them into consideration, but they noted most focus goes to other sets of data.
“We are looking at rankings, but we are also collecting our own data,” said Helena Dettmer, an associate dean for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “This is especially important because sometimes reputations live on even after many people have left.”
The UI has previously encouraged colleges to offer classes with fewer than 19 students — a U.S. News & World Report criteria, Dettmer said.
“Some of the faculty felt that we should not respond to that criteria,” she said. “They felt that other criteria were more important.”
UI Provost Wallace Loh has made it clear he’s concerned with retention rates, another measure the publication uses to evaluate schools, Dettmer said.
But Associate Provost Beth Ingram emphasized the focus on retention is largely an effort to improve student success rates — improved rankings would merely be an added bonus.
Balance is important when dealing with rankings, said William Hunter, dean of the Tippie College of Business, which was ranked 29th in August by U.S. News & World Report.
“It is important not to forget that publishing magazines is a business,” he said. “The information provided by rankings can be useful, but the rankings are only one piece of information and should not be relied on at the expense of everything else.”
However, Hunter acknowledged that rankings have effects on universities by influencing applicants and financial donations from alumni.
“There is pressure if you are in those high rankings, like Iowa is, to stay in them,” he said.
—by Lauren Mills
