The Foreign Service Journal, December 2014

70 DECEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT least some ranking indexes, devoting time and resources to ll out surveys and questionnaires from data-compiling agen- cies. As cumbersome as it is to participate, opting out may hurt a college or univer- sity’s standing in the rankings, or even disqualify them altogether. In fact, not answering just one question can keep a school from getting a rank. Kristin McKinley, associate director of research administration at Lawrence Uni- versity, a small liberal arts college on the banks of the Fox River in leafy Appleton, Wisconsin, explains: “For a school to be ranked in U.S. News Best Colleges (2015 edition), there was a single question deter- mining eligibility: Does your institution make use of SAT, ACT or SAT Subject Test scores in admission decisions for rst- time, rst-year, degree-seeking applicants? A school that answered ‘no’ was listed as ‘Unranked.’” Because methodology varies among ranking entities, some colleges fare better with one index than with another. For example, among the data collected by many ranking indexes, graduation rate is perhaps the most common factor and tends to be weighted the highest. “Yet even this gure varies based on type and calculation,” says McKinley. “At our institution, we focus on a six-year rate, given we have a double-degree program and many of our students have more than one major.” In other words, if a ranking index uses a four-year rather than a six-year gradu- ation rate, it would tend to work against a school that o ers double majors or combined degree programs. What’s Missing? “College rankings are poor guides with regard to the one thing that should really matter: Will this particular student nd this school to be an optimal learning environment? No ranking can answer that question,” argues George Leef, direc- tor of research for the John William Pope Center for Higher Education. Decrying the idea of “elite” schools that appear to o er a better education than schools low on the ranking list, Leef points out that many students learn more and better at small colleges whose profes- sors are more dedicated to teaching than to big-name research.