Can College Rankings Be Believed?

Abstract

The article summarizes literature on college and university rankings worldwide and the strategies used by various ranking organizations, including those of government and popular media. It traces the history of national and global rankings, indicators used by ranking systems, and the effect of rankings on academic programs and their institutions. Although ranking systems employ diverse criteria and most weight certain indicators over others, there is considerable skepticism that most actually measure educational quality. At the same time, students and their families increasingly consult these evaluations when making college decisions, and sponsors of faculty research consider reputation when forming academic partnerships. While there are serious concerns regarding the validity of ranking institutions when so little data can support differences between one institution and another, college rankings appear to be here to stay.

Keywords

• College rankings
• University rankings
• Global rankings
• Higher education assessment
• Ranking systems
• Program evaluation