National ratings and rankings are controversial and the methodologies behind them are often suspect and poorly defined. Rating systems tend to depend on a few select variables, and they don't always measure what they claim to measure. Often, they don't even ask the right questions about what really matters in higher education. They tend to over-emphasize very minor distinctions from year to year or from institution to institution.
When examining rankings, please consider them as a rough guide only--a difference of a few rank places, or minor changes in ranking from year to year seldom imply any significant difference in quality. What distinguishes an institution can't be reduced to a mere number, index, or ratio. A full understanding of an institution can only be derived by reviewing multiple measures, both quantitative and qualitative.
The Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) has recently published a study about the advantages and disadvantages of various higher education ranking systems that are used around the world. See: College and University Ranking Systems: Global Perspectives and American Challenge (April 2007)
Readers are also encouraged to look at several free Web sites that take public data about colleges and universities, and allow anyone prepare customized reports and comparisons about the variables that most interest them:
Public College Information Sites:
What stands out is not the precision of any particular approach that claims to rank an institution, but rather, how consistently Bates places well among other institutions, using many methodologies, and different interpretations about what is important.
Please send suggestions for links and other improvements to planning@bates.edu.
