Class #9: College Ranks

Background reading

• Read the class handout of the Best Liberal Art Colleges according to U.S. News. You can find explanations of the ranking methodology on the magazine's college ranks web page. In particular, read their explanation of why they rank colleges and their own on recommendations for how to use the rankings. For a dissenting opinion, read the famous Letter to the Editor of US News from former Stanford University President Gerhard Casper.

• " The Best, The Top, The Most," by Nicholas Thompson, New York Times, 3 August 2003.

• " A New College Ranking System, Wanted or Not," by Jacques Steinberg, New York Times, 8 October 2003.