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Looks like Clemson has been on a mission to rise in the U.S. News rankings, at whatever cost. I am wondering what the city-data commentariat thinks about this one. Here are some excerpts:
Quote:
The university has ratcheted up the faculty salaries it reports to U.S. News by about $20,000, which it has achieved by actually increasing spending (paid for largely through increased tuition) and by altering the way it relays the data to the magazine's editors. Clemson folded its benefit payments into the average faculty pay figure it reports to U.S. News, requiring the institutional research office to produce several different definitions of faculty pay for U.S. News, the American Association of University Professors and other surveys, Watt said.
...
And to actual gasps from some members of the audience, Watt said that Clemson officials, in filling out the reputational survey form for presidents, "rates all programs other than Clemson below average," to make the university look better. "And I'm confident my president is not the only one who does that," Watt said.
“We have been criticized for not fulfilling the mission of a public land-grant institution,” Watt responded. But "we have gotten really good press. We have walked the fine line between illegal, unethical, and really interesting.”
Every University is doing this. As long as U.S. News is too lazy to do their own data collection (they rely entirely on self reporting) and allow arbitrary opinions to influence statistical fact (peer review) the rankings will continue to be gamed.
This professor just happened to be the first to state it out in the open.
Sorry, but no way. As strange as it sounds in today's era of self-promotion, there are still people around who have some integrity. If EVERY university was doing this, they would all end up tied at the top, and US News would throw out the results. (Might not be a bad thang).
I'm not necessarily knocking Clemson, but ranking it above Ivy League schools, MIT, Cal Tech....???? And then trying to defend himself by stating that Clemson offers the best "total package" education in America??? It's one thing to be a supporter of your school, but this is complete, self-serving stupidity. He should be ashamed. Plaudits to the prof who blew the whistle.
Last edited by PawleysDude; 06-17-2009 at 07:10 AM..
Reason: typo
Sorry, but no way. As strange as it sounds in today's era of self-promotion, there are still people around who have some integrity. If EVERY university was doing this, they would all end up tied at the top, and US News would throw out the results. (Might not be a bad thang).
I'm not necessarily knocking Clemson, but ranking it above Ivy League schools, MIT, Cal Tech....???? And then trying to defend himself by stating that Clemson offers the best "total package" education in America??? It's one thing to be a supporter of your school, but this is complete, self-serving stupidity. He should be ashamed. Plaudits to the prof who blew the whistle.
If no other University was doing this, then shouldn't Clemson be #1 in the nation?
No, it doesn't mean that. Clemson's prez rated Clemson as "strong", then rated every other school below that. The final tallies are confidential, but I'm willing to bet that Clemson ended up with a total of one "strong" rating. I'm also willing to bet that a number of top-tier schools were rated strong by multiple administrators not associated with those schools. That would place these schools higher than Clemson.
You said "if no other university..." That's quite different from the previous poster who said "Every university is doing this." Those are two very different statements. I don't doubt that a few other schools are trying to play the ratings game. That still doesn't justify what Barker did. He brought ridicule to both Clemson and SC.
I admit I'm not a Clemson fan. I grew up too close to Clemson and too close to a bunch of IPTAY fanatics to root for them. Regardless, if my school's prez had done this and brought on this type of negative publicity, I'd be embarassed.
How dare Clemson administrators use a measurable ranking system to improve the quality of the education it offers!?! For those who haven't taken the time to delve deeper than that employee's comments (most of which are not true, by the way), the US News & World Report rankings are based on measurable data - not merely the flimsy opinion of a few editors or a handful of university administrators. Things like acceptance rate, class size, graduation rate, research dollars generated, etc. are used to give a school its ranking. The surveys are but one small part of the ranking. And for what it's worth, Clemson administrators did NOT rank Clemson as "outstanding" while downgrading other institutions. A follow-up article in The Greenville News had statements from Clemson administrators explaining how they have ranked Clemson and other schools over the past few years.
Nobody should criticize the university for using measurable data to improve the quality of its education, and to ultimately provide students a very high quality experience while at Clemson.
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And then trying to defend himself by stating that Clemson offers the best "total package" education in America??? 
