Officials: U.S. News Rankings Flawed

The annual report, which was released Sept. 13, ranks top secondary and higher educational institutions in the nation by using categories such as top public colleges, student-to-faculty ratio and the percentage of classes with less than 20 students.

Officials from several schools expressed concern about the rankings being given too much merit.

UNC Provost Robert Shelton said that the rankings are taken too seriously and that the emphasis is placed on the wrong categories.

UNC ranked 28th among top-tier national universities and fifth among public schools.

Shelton said people must be careful when examining the rankings because they favor private universities, which tend to score higher because of large financial endowments and low student-to-faculty ratios.

But officials at private institutions question the rankings' legitimacy as well.

Henrik Dullea, vice president for university relations at Cornell University, which ranked 14th among the nation's top 50 universities, said students should be more concerned with the programs, size and location when deciding which university to attend.

"Any ranking systems are inappropriate," Dullea said.

John Burness, senior vice president for public relations at Duke University, also said he is skeptical of the report because the magazine changes its ranking methods each year.

Duke tied for fourth place among national universities, up from eighth in 2001.

Burness said officials at most top universities across the country agree with the report's 50 top-ranked schools, though he added some might disagree with the order.

But he said the rankings should not be the sole factor in a student's decision to attend a university. He said students also should consider campus visits or talking to recent graduates.

Burness said it is more important for students to choose a school with a program suited to them rather than choose one because it is ranked No. 1.

"We're definitely glad to have the ranking," Burness said. "But whether we're four, eight, or six -- we don't really pay much attention to it."

Helen Dennison, spokeswoman for third-tier UNC-Greensboro, said the report does not give prospective students an accurate picture of universities.

"This report should not be the only determinant when students are deciding which university or college a student decides to attend," she said.

Louise Dudley, spokeswoman for the 23rd-ranked University of Virginia, also said the reports fail to capture the essence of a university.

"There is no perfect formula to capture the quality of a university," she said.

Bryan Rutledge, director of college counseling at St. John's School, a private high school in Houston, Texas, said he is in agreement with university officials, saying choice should be based on an individual's preference.

Rutledge said the school does not rank their students and therefore does not rank universities.

"The rankings are a disservice."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.