Do College Rankings Mean Anything?
On August 20th, the annual “America’s Best Colleges” issue of U.S. News & World Report was released. Among North Carolina schools, Duke was tied for fifth, Wake Forest 27th, UNC-Chapel Hill 29th, and NC State 86th.
Articles
Articles
Does publicly funded ‘media democracy’ mean killing the president?
North Carolina taxpayers are supporting, through the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an “independent news” site that regularly features calls for the execution of George W. Bush, promotes armed uprisings in America, and receives dozens of other conspiratorial rants too bizarre to explain.
Inquiry #17: Do College Rankings Mean Anything?
The annual college rankings published by U.S. News & World Report are widely read and regarded as an authoritative assessment of the nation’s colleges and universities. If the U.S. News rankings place one school higher than another, many people take that as proof that the higher-ranked school is academically better. Unfortunately, the U.S. News ranking system is deeply flawed.
UNC under FIRE
RALEIGH – Once again, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill stands accused of discrimination against a Christian student group.
UNC-Chapel Hill Freezes Funds, Revokes Recognition of Christian Student Group
For the second time in as many years, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill stands accused of discrimination against a Christian student group.
Conservatives criticize UNC-Chapel Hill reading program again
RALEIGH – Conservatives students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are criticizing the Summer Reading Program again. The surprise is that this year, the program’s selection, made for the first time with an open selections process, was expected to avoid the sort of criticism previous selections endured.
The Contradictions of Donald Lazere
Donald Lazere writes in the July 2 Chronicle Review that “the only way for you to find out who is telling the truth is to become a scholar, tracing the authenticity of these claims back to primary sources.” This he demonstrates by inventing an absurd claim, then arguing that his conservative opponents won’t admit that claim because it exposes their true agenda — which is “to unleash the most ignorant forces of the right in hounding liberal academics to death.”
On Senator Kerry’s Higher Education Proposals
Now that we can stop talking about Senator John Kerry as the “presumptive” Democratic nominee, it is worthwhile to take a look at the proposals he has put forth regarding higher education.
College sports makes for strange bedfellows
For many people, collegiate athletics contribute a huge portion of a college’s identity, even overshadowing the schools’ academic programs and research initiatives. College administrators see athletics as a way to reach out to possible donors, alumni, supporters, and prospective students. Little wonder that schools strive to field quality teams in order to win games, conference titles, bowl games, and national championships.
Winston-Salem State tries the Hail Mary pass
In football, the Hail-Mary pass is a last-second, desperation play that has a chance of winning or tying the game, but has a very low probability of success.
Colleges and universities try something like the Hail-Mary when they attempt to use success in athletics as a means of improving their academic reputations and finances. The idea is that winning at sports will transfer over to the institution as a whole, boosting applications and funding. Like the Hail-Mary pass, it’s unlikely to succeed, but college administrators keep trying.