4 ms·

University Presidents and Trustees have this bizarre fixation on rankings. I have no clue why, especially considering the fact that that composition of the top

University Presidents and Trustees have this bizarre fixation on rankings. I have no clue why, especially considering the fact that that composition of the top 100 is fairly stable. Rarely does a university experience a big swing, up or down. Most universities are never going to dethrone the top 20, no matter how hard they try. And it's not like they are in desperate need for enrollment either.

nemo44x 5y ago
Because we put MBA’s in leadership positions of universities so they do what they’ve been trained to do - run a business. And part of that is finding metrics to measure their success by.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- Y_Y 5y ago
  Someone should give those guys an old-school CRPG to provide an outlet for this make-the-number-go-up fixation. The metric that can be measured is not the eternal metric. The result that can be result-driven is not the eternal result.
  - ethbr0 5y ago
    What do you think fantasy football is?
ethbr0 5y ago
I expect it's a case of metrics-measured, metrics-optimized-for. Rankings are an easy "objective" measurement administrators can take to financial supporters (either government or private) and say "Here's what we're spending your dollars on." Consequently, rankings become very important to administrators.
cafard 5y ago
There was a stretch in my life where I knew a lot of people who knew where George Washington University ranked versus Carleton College versus who knows what. The upper middle classes take this stuff seriously.
dataflow 5y ago
When people hear about a university they don't know about, they often get their initial impressions from the rankings. I imagine universities that fail that test can end up being filtered out very early on in the process. For some people anything top 20 is great, but I think even the top universities don't want to be written off by the best candidates because they were #11 instead of #10.
ypzhang2 5y ago
It’s not really bizarre at all. Parents and therefore students care about rankings, and it directly leads to enrollment, donations, and talent attraction. There might not be changes in overall rankings but individual college or program rankings do change substantially. The administration will all profess a desire not to be so beholden but it’s part of the game so to speak, you have to play. Source: current board member of a public university college
- BitwiseFool 5y ago
  >"individual college or program rankings do change substantially." I hadn't considered that. Good insight.

nemo44x 5y ago

Because we put MBA’s in leadership positions of universities so they do what they’ve been trained to do - run a business. And part of that is finding metrics to measure their success by.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
Y_Y 5y ago
Someone should give those guys an old-school CRPG to provide an outlet for this make-the-number-go-up fixation. The metric that can be measured is not the eternal metric. The result that can be result-driven is not the eternal result.
- ethbr0 5y ago
  What do you think fantasy football is?

ethbr0 5y ago

I expect it's a case of metrics-measured, metrics-optimized-for. Rankings are an easy "objective" measurement administrators can take to financial supporters (either government or private) and say "Here's what we're spending your dollars on." Consequently, rankings become very important to administrators.

cafard 5y ago

There was a stretch in my life where I knew a lot of people who knew where George Washington University ranked versus Carleton College versus who knows what. The upper middle classes take this stuff seriously.

dataflow 5y ago

When people hear about a university they don't know about, they often get their initial impressions from the rankings. I imagine universities that fail that test can end up being filtered out very early on in the process. For some people anything top 20 is great, but I think even the top universities don't want to be written off by the best candidates because they were #11 instead of #10.

ypzhang2 5y ago

It’s not really bizarre at all. Parents and therefore students care about rankings, and it directly leads to enrollment, donations, and talent attraction. There might not be changes in overall rankings but individual college or program rankings do change substantially. The administration will all profess a desire not to be so beholden but it’s part of the game so to speak, you have to play. Source: current board member of a public university college

BitwiseFool 5y ago
>"individual college or program rankings do change substantially." I hadn't considered that. Good insight.