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college rankings exposed
TM
www.petersons.com
And always, there is the same language of innovation and excel-
lence. Large and small, east and west, highly selective and minimally
selective--the same vocabulary of recruitment is repeated over and over.
At this school, students are told, they will find distinguished faculty
who love to teach, a wide selection of interesting majors, friendly stu-
dents, and abundant opportunities for sports and recreation. Buzzwords
abound. What college or university dares to admit that it fails to provide
service learning, an integrated curriculum, off-campus study, or under-
graduate research? Who will even hint that they provide anything less
than the very best preparation for careers or that their reputation is
anything less than stellar? What university would say that undergradu-
ates are anything less than their top priority?
Again, educators may believe what they say about their own insti-
tutions. But the self-promotion understandably produces cynicism
among students and parents. They are the objects of marketing, and
they know it. But any attempt to get beyond these generic images and
ever present declarations of quality proves stubbornly difficult. Even
as colleges and universities continually offer more material for pro-
spective students--especially online, but even on billboards, radio, and
in magazines--it seems harder than ever to assess colleges and to know
their strengths, weakness, quirks, and peculiarities. By the time they
see the third set of backward walking tour guides, students and par-
ents can be forgiven for secretly wanting them to either trip, say some-
thing outrageous, or both.
Higher Education Nation
So how did we get here?
Students heading off to college participate in a cherished ritual, as col-
leges and universities love to remind us all. Indeed, for many Americans
young and old, "college"--even in this cyber age--conjures up images of
old world architecture, professors in tweed jackets, tattered books, caps
