According to an insider at Clemson University, yes. The US News and World Report college ratings, influential with prospective students, have been both decried and touted by many college administrators, depending of course on their own rankings. An excerpt from an Associated Press story:
- Among the steps reportedly alleged by Catherine Watt, who until 2006 headed Clemson's institutional research office: Clemson manipulated class sizes, artificially boosted faculty salary data and gave rival schools low grades in the rankings' peer reputation survey, which counts for 25 percent of the score.
- Watt said Thursday that reports on her remarks had missed the point of her presentation to a conference and that she regretted any suggestion of illegal activity. Meanwhile, the university denied several of the allegations, but acknowledged it aims to improve in the influential rankings. Clemson jumped from No. 38 among public universities in 2001 to No. 22 in 2008 -- an unusually quick ascent considering the rankings typically change little from year to year.
I'd be curious to hear from you as to how seriously US News rankings influence your and your children's college choices.
Kelly Puente joined the Press-Telegram in 2006 as an editorial assistant and eventually worked her way up to general assignement reporter. Over the years, she’s covered everything from crime and breaking news to human interest and the cities of Bellflower and Cerritos. Kelly is a Long Beach resident and graduate of Cal State Long Beach. She’s new to the education beat and is looking for great stories.
they can absolutely matter when seeking a job.