The college president's top priority is to protect the college ranking, everything else is secondary!

I hear every week people are wanting to evaluate colleges strictly based on the college ranking as if it's some magical indicator of a student's success. It is certainly used as a measurement of a college quality and value. But should it be?

The answer should be found in evaluating the criteria that goes into a college ranking, such as-

- 4 year graduation rate

- Job placement rate

- Avg. starting salary of graduates

- Internship opportunity

- Research opportunity

- Study abroad opportunity

- GPA of incoming freshmen

- Range and depth of degree programs

- Avg. student loan debt upon graduation

- Campus investment

I could buy into that if this was in fact the list of criteria. But no, none of these items go into a college ranking. That's right, NONE.

In fact, the top criteria of fifteen for establishing a college ranking at 18% weight is of all things, the 6-year graduation rate, that's preposterous and it makes rankings a farce. It's no wonder the national average time it takes to graduate with a 4-year degree is 5.8 years. No accident there, rather it's by design of the college and driven by the ranking system. Colleges are masters at molding their interests into your behaviors...5.8 years worth.

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Find out the full story behind college rankings in Ch. 4 of my book- Dissecting the Big Business of College, you can pick up your copy here, either in eBook or hard-cover. 

 Dissecting the Big Business of College

Hans

Founder CollegeLogic

Office # 203.470.3704