Download or read book Breaking Ranks written by Colin Diver and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2022-04-12 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Some colleges will do anything to improve their national ranking. That can be bad for their students—and for higher education. Since U.S. News & World Report first published a college ranking in 1983, the rankings industry has become a self-appointed judge, declaring winners and losers among America's colleges and universities. In this revealing account, Colin Diver shows how popular rankings have induced college applicants to focus solely on pedigree and prestige, while tempting educators to sacrifice academic integrity for short-term competitive advantage. By forcing colleges into standardized "best-college" hierarchies, he argues, rankings have threatened the institutional diversity, intellectual rigor, and social mobility that is the genius of American higher education. As a former university administrator who refused to play the game, Diver leads his readers on an engaging journey through the mysteries of college rankings, admissions, financial aid, spending policies, and academic practices. He explains how most dominant college rankings perpetuate views of higher education as a purely consumer good susceptible to unidimensional measures of brand value and prestige. Many rankings, he asserts, also undermine the moral authority of higher education by encouraging various forms of distorted behavior, misrepresentation, and outright cheating by ranked institutions. The recent Varsity Blues admissions scandal, for example, happened in part because affluent parents wanted to get their children into elite schools by any means necessary. Explaining what is most useful and important in evaluating colleges, Diver offers both college applicants and educators a guide to pursuing their highest academic goals, freed from the siren song of the "best-college" illusion. Ultimately, he reveals how to break ranks with a rankings industry that misleads its consumers, undermines academic values, and perpetuates social inequality.
Download or read book The Impact of Higher Education Ranking Systems on Universities written by Kevin Downing and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-04-05 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book, written by three generations of rankings academics with considerable experience from three very different regions of the globe, lifts the lid on the real impact of higher education ranking systems (HERS) on universities and their stakeholders. It critically analyses the criteria that make up the ‘Big Three’ global ranking systems and, using interviews with senior administrators, academics and managers, discusses their impact on universities from four very different continents. Higher education continues to be dominated by a reputational hierarchy of institutions that sustains and is reinforced by HERS. Despite all the opinions and arguments about the legitimacy of the rankings as a construct, it seems experts agree that they are here to stay. The question, therefore, seems to be less about whether or not universities should be compared and ranked, but the manner in which this is undertaken. Delivering a fresh perspective on global rankings, this book summarizes the development of HERS and provides a critical evaluation of the effects of HERS on four different major regions – South Africa, the Arab region, South East Asia, and Australia. It will appeal to any academic, student, university administrator or governing body interested in or affected by global higher education ranking systems.
Download or read book Rankings and the Reshaping of Higher Education written by Ellen Hazelkorn and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-03-23 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: University rankings have gained popularity around the world and are now a significant factor shaping reputation. This second edition updates Ellen Hazelkorn's first comprehensive study of rankings from a global perspective, drawing in new original research and extensive analysis. It is essential reading for policymakers, managers and scholars.
Download or read book World University Rankings and the Future of Higher Education written by Downing, Kevin and published by IGI Global. This book was released on 2016-10-06 with total page 564 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Delivering quality education to students while remaining competitive at an international level is only one of the many challenges universities face today. To attain their goals, universities must adopt new strategies to achieve academic excellence. World University Rankings and the Future of Higher Education is a pivotal reference source for the latest scholarly research on the implementation of a ranking system for higher education institutions, providing a thorough overview of the impacts of these rankings on educational quality. Exploring the benefits and challenges of this system in a global context, this book is ideally designed for academicians, researchers, students, administrators, and policy makers interested in the effects of university rankings in the education sector and beyond.
Download or read book Research Handbook on University Rankings written by Hazelkorn, Ellen and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2021-12-10 with total page 584 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gathering unique and thoughtful contributions from leading international scholars, this timely Research Handbook offers diverse perspectives on university rankings twenty years after the first global rankings emerged. It presents an in-depth analysis that reflects the current state of research on rankings, their influence and impact.
Download or read book Higher Education Accountability written by Robert Kelchen and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2018-02-27 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beginning with the earliest efforts to regulate schools, the author reveals the rationale behind accountability and outlines the historical development of how US federal and state policies, accreditation practices, private-sector interests, and internal requirements have become so important to institutional success and survival
Download or read book University Industry Collaboration Strategies in the Digital Era written by Günay, Durmu? and published by IGI Global. This book was released on 2021-01-29 with total page 431 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Competitive strategies and higher education-industry collaboration policies are playing a vital role in fostering the reputation and international rankings of higher education institutions. The positive impact of these policies may best be observed in the economic and social outputs of many countries such as the USA, Singapore, South Korea, and European Union (EU) countries such as Belgium, Germany, France, and the Netherlands. However, the number of academic publications that specifically concentrate on the impact of these policies on higher education institutions and authorities remains relatively limited. University-Industry Collaboration Strategies in the Digital Era is an essential research publication that provides comprehensive research on competitive strategies for higher education institutions that will allow them to forge beneficial partnerships with industries that will have a significant impact on their success. Highlighting a wide range of topics such as human resource management, network planning, and institutional structure, this book is ideal for administrators, education professionals, academicians, researchers, policymakers, and students.
Download or read book Rankings and Accountability in Higher Education Uses and Misuses written by Priscilla Toka Mmantsetsa Marope and published by UNESCO. This book was released on 2013-01-01 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The growing impact of university rankings on public policy and on students choices has stirred controversy worldwide. This unique volume brings together the architects of university rankings and their critics to debate the uses and misuses of existing rankings. With voices from five continents, it provides a comprehensive overview of current thinking on the subject and sets out alternative approaches and complementary tools for a new era of transparent and informed use of higher education ranking tables.
Download or read book Global University Rankings and the Politics of Knowledge written by Michelle Stack and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 2021 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Analysing rankings in diverse higher education settings, this book draws on discourse analysis, theory, ethnography, and case studies, to consider the question of how knowledge is produced and shared.
Download or read book The Best 387 Colleges 2022 written by The Princeton Review and published by Princeton Review. This book was released on 2021-08-31 with total page 881 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Make sure you’re preparing with the most up-to-date materials! Look for The Princeton Review’s newest edition of this book, The Best 388 Colleges, 2023 Edition (ISBN: 9780593450963, on-sale August 2022). Publisher's Note: Products purchased from third-party sellers are not guaranteed by the publisher for quality or authenticity, and may not include access to online tests or materials included with the original product.
Download or read book Engines of Anxiety written by Wendy Nelson Espeland and published by Russell Sage Foundation. This book was released on 2016-05-09 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Students and the public routinely consult various published college rankings to assess the quality of colleges and universities and easily compare different schools. However, many institutions have responded to the rankings in ways that benefit neither the schools nor their students. In Engines of Anxiety, sociologists Wendy Espeland and Michael Sauder delve deep into the mechanisms of law school rankings, which have become a top priority within legal education. Based on a wealth of observational data and over 200 in-depth interviews with law students, university deans, and other administrators, they show how the scramble for high rankings has affected the missions and practices of many law schools. Engines of Anxiety tracks how rankings, such as those published annually by the U.S. News & World Report, permeate every aspect of legal education, beginning with the admissions process. The authors find that prospective law students not only rely heavily on such rankings to evaluate school quality, but also internalize rankings as expressions of their own abilities and flaws. For example, they often view rejections from “first-tier” schools as a sign of personal failure. The rankings also affect the decisions of admissions officers, who try to balance admitting diverse classes with preserving the school’s ranking, which is dependent on factors such as the median LSAT score of the entering class. Espeland and Sauder find that law schools face pressure to admit applicants with high test scores over lower-scoring candidates who possess other favorable credentials. Engines of Anxiety also reveals how rankings have influenced law schools’ career service departments. Because graduates’ job placements play a major role in the rankings, many institutions have shifted their career-services resources toward tracking placements, and away from counseling and network-building. In turn, law firms regularly use school rankings to recruit and screen job candidates, perpetuating a cycle in which highly ranked schools enjoy increasing prestige. As a result, the rankings create and reinforce a rigid hierarchy that penalizes lower-tier schools that do not conform to the restrictive standards used in the rankings. The authors show that as law schools compete to improve their rankings, their programs become more homogenized and less accessible to non-traditional students. The ranking system is considered a valuable resource for learning about more than 200 law schools. Yet, Engines of Anxiety shows that the drive to increase a school’s rankings has negative consequences for students, educators, and administrators and has implications for all educational programs that are quantified in similar ways.
Download or read book Global Rankings and the Geopolitics of Higher Education written by Ellen Hazelkorn and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2016-11-18 with total page 373 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Global rankings and the Geopolitics of Higher Education is an examination of the impact and influence that university rankings have had on higher education, policy and public opinion in recent years. Bringing together some of the most informed authorities on this very complex issue, this edited collection of specially commissioned chapters examines the changes affecting higher education and the implications for society and the economy. Split into four interrelated sections, this book covers: The development of rankings in higher education, how they have impacted upon both the production of knowledge and its geography, and their influence in shaping policymaking. Overviews of the significance of rankings for higher education systems in Europe, Asia, Africa, Russia, South America, India and North America. An analysis of rankings in relation to key concerns that pervade contemporary higher education. Examination of the role rankings are likely to play in the future directions for higher education. This is a significant scholarly work that analyses in depth an important development in higher education systems, and which is likely to have an important influence upon how we understand the higher education policy-making process – past, present and future. It provides new analysis and conceptual understanding for researchers, and firm evidence for policy makers to use when addressing the value of rankings in measuring the quality of their institutions. Besides bringing together a powerful cast of academics, this book incorporates contributions from heads of important international higher education organisations – from both those involved in making and also in administering key decisions. This timely, reflective and accessible book forms crucial reading for those studying the subject of rankings, as well as the broader implications and unintended consequences of rankings on national higher education policies. Extending beyond academic researchers and students, this book will also be of significant interest to policymakers, higher education leaders and key stakeholders.
Download or read book University Rankings written by Jung Cheol Shin and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2011-06-06 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This ground-breaking and exhaustive analysis of university ranking surveys scrutinizes their theoretical bases, methodological issues, societal impact, and policy implications, providing readers with a deep understanding of these controversial comparators. The authors propose that university rankings are misused by policymakers and institutional leaders alike. They assert that these interested parties overlook the highly problematic internal logic of ranking methodologies even as they obsess over the surveys’ assessment of their status. The result is that institutions suffer from short-termism, realigning their resources to maximize their relative rankings. While rankings are widely used in policy and academic discussions, this is the first book to explore the theoretical and methodological issues of ranking itself. It is a welcome contribution to an often highly charged debate. Far from showing how to manipulate the system, this collection of work by key researchers aims to enlighten interested parties.
Download or read book The College Dropout Scandal written by David Kirp and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2019-07-01 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Higher education today faces a host of challenges, from quality to cost. But too little attention gets paid to a startling fact: four out of ten students -- that's more than ten percent of the entire population - -who start college drop out. The situation is particularly dire for black and Latino students, those from poor families, and those who are first in their families to attend college. In The College Dropout Scandal, David Kirp outlines the scale of the problem and shows that it's fixable - -we already have the tools to boost graduation rates and shrink the achievement gap. Many college administrators know what has to be done, but many of them are not doing the job - -the dropout rate hasn't decreased for decades. It's not elite schools like Harvard or Williams who are setting the example, but places like City University of New York and Long Beach State, which are doing the hard work to assure that more students have a better education and a diploma. As in his New York Times columns, Kirp relies on vivid, on-the-ground reporting, conversations with campus leaders, faculty and students, as well as cogent overviews of cutting-edge research to identify the institutional reforms--like using big data to quickly identify at-risk students and get them the support they need -- and the behavioral strategies -- from nudges to mindset changes - -that have been proven to work. Through engaging stories that shine a light on an underappreciated problem in colleges today, David Kirp's hopeful book will prompt colleges to make student success a top priority and push more students across the finish line, keeping their hopes of achieving the American Dream alive.
Download or read book The Best 386 Colleges 2021 written by The Princeton Review and published by Princeton Review. This book was released on 2020-12-22 with total page 882 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Make sure you’re preparing with the most up-to-date materials! Look for The Princeton Review’s newest edition of this book, The Best 387 Colleges, 2022 (ISBN: 9780525570820, on-sale August 2021). Publisher's Note: Products purchased from third-party sellers are not guaranteed by the publisher for quality or authenticity, and may not include access to online tests or materials included with the original product.
Download or read book Speaking of Universities written by Stefan Collini and published by Verso Books. This book was released on 2017-03-28 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A devastating analysis of what is happening to our academia In recent decades there has been an immense global surge in the numbers both of universities and of students. In the UK alone there are now over 140 institutions teaching more subjects to nearly 2.5 million students. New technology offers new ways of learning and teaching. Globalization forces institutions to consider a new economic horizon. At the same time governments have systematically imposed new procedures regulating funding, governance, and assessment. Universities are being forced to behave more like business enterprises in a commercial marketplace than centres of learning. In Speaking of Universities, historian and critic Stefan Collini analyses these changes and challenges the assumptions of policy-makers and commentators. He asks: does “marketization” threaten to destroy what we most value about education; does this new era of “accountability” distort what it purports to measure; and who does the modern university belong to? Responding to recent policies and their underlying ideology, the book is a call to “focus on what is actually happening and the clichés behind which it hides; an incitement to think again, think more clearly, and then to press for something better.”
Download or read book The European Higher Education Area written by Adrian Curaj and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-10-12 with total page 906 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bridging the gap between higher education research and policy making was always a challenge, but the recent calls for more evidence-based policies have opened a window of unprecedented opportunity for researchers to bring more contributions to shaping the future of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Encouraged by the success of the 2011 first edition, Romania and Armenia have organised a 2nd edition of the Future of Higher Education – Bologna Process Researchers’ Conference (FOHE-BPRC) in November 2014, with the support of the Italian Presidency of the European Union and as part of the official EHEA agenda. Reuniting over 170 researchers from more than 30 countries, the event was a forum to debate the trends and challenges faced by higher education today and look at the future of European cooperation in higher education. The research volumes offer unique insights regarding the state of affairs of European higher education and research, as well as forward-looking policy proposals. More than 50 articles focus on essential themes in higher education: Internationalization of higher education; Financing and governance; Excellence and the diversification of missions; Teaching, learning and student engagement; Equity and the social dimension of higher education; Education, research and innovation; Quality assurance, The impacts of the Bologna Process on the EHEA and beyond and Evidence-based policies in higher education. "The Bologna process was launched at a time of great optimism about the future of the European project – to which, of course, the reform of higher education across the continent has made a major contribution. Today, for the present, that optimism has faded as economic troubles have accumulated in the Euro-zone, political tensions have been increased on issues such as immigration and armed conflict has broken out in Ukraine. There is clearly a risk that, against this troubled background, the Bologna process itself may falter. There are already signs that it has been downgraded in some countries with evidence of political withdrawal. All the more reason for the voice of higher education researchers to be heard. Since the first conference they have established themselves as powerful stakeholders in the development of the EHEA, who are helping to maintain the momentum of the Bologna process. Their pivotal role has been strengthened by the second Bucharest conference." Peter Scott, Institute of Education, London (General Rapporteur of the FOHE-BPRC first edition)
