A little while back, I posed a question on PEN-L about the reasons for the recent inflation in costs of higher education. Many people knowledgeable in the ways of the academy pointed to administrative costs and the trend towards "corporatization" as one of the main contributors. A recent controversy brings to light a troubling new factor: many colleges - including public institutions - are spending a lot of money to improve their rankings in US News. Where is the outrage? http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/06/03/rankings ------------------------------------------------snip One session, however, revealed more than any other the extent to which the rankings, for all the protestations to the contrary, influence colleges' behavior. A presentation by Catherine Watt, the former institutional researcher and now a staff member at Clemson University, laid bare in a way that is usually left to the imagination the steps that Clemson has (rather brazenly) taken since 2001 to move from 38th to 22nd in U.S. News's ranking of public research universities. (Note: This paragraph has been altered to correct Watt's current position at Clemson.)
This was no accident. When President James F. Barker took over the South Carolina institution in 2001, he vowed in his initial interview to move Clemson into the top 20 (a distinction that many research universities covet, but few can achieve, given that most of those already in the top 20 aren't eager to relinquish their spots). Although many people on the campus were skeptical, Clemson has pursued the goal almost single-mindedly, seeking to "affect -- I'm hesitating to use the word 'manipulate,' " Watt said -- "every possible indicator to the greatest extent possible." She added: "It is the thing around which almost everything revolves for the president’s office." -raghu. -- "It's not the principle of the thing, it's the money!" _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
