Dive Brief:
- A new report in the Research in Higher Education journal claims to have recreated the U.S. News & World Report college rankings model to give university administrators insight into what’s needed to advance in the rankings.
- The answer, in a nutshell: massive expenditures and reputational improvements that have little to no chance of happening, Inside Higher Ed reported.
- The report’s authors, all of whom have worked at the University of Rochester, use the university as an example.
Dive Insight:
Rochester is consistently ranked in the mid-30s by U.S. News & World Report. To move into the top 20, the school would have to spend a lot more on faculty pay — $10,000 more per position to move up one spot —and about $12,000 more per student to move up one spot. Also required: Increasing the graduation rate by 2%, enrolling more top-10% high school graduates, increasing alumni giving, cutting acceptance rates, increasing college board test scores,and offering more aid. To improve its reputational ranking with other administrators into the top 20 range, Rochester would have to rise to 4.2 from 3.4 on a scale of 5, which has a 0.01% chance of happening.