By Sean Leviashvili
For the second consecutive year, Northeastern ranked at 96 on the U.S. News ‘ World Report “Best Colleges” list. But on the recently published Forbes.com college rankings list, where Northeastern just made the cut claiming the 568th spot out of 569 in total.
“Oh wow,” said Lassandra Smith, a middler majoring in music industry. “I can’t believe we scored that low.”
A flaw in the ranking system was recently pointed out, however, by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity (CCAP), a research institute that focuses on costs and efficiency in higher education. CCAP is also one of the anchors of the study.
“We did treat Northeastern as a four year school,” Matthew Denhart of the CCAP said in an interview with The News.
“If we set Northeastern’s graduation rate equal to what our statistical regression model predicts it should be, the school elevates in the overall ranking to somewhere around 543,” he said in an e-mail.
This was the big issue, said Philomena Mantella, senior vice president for enrollment and student life.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPED), a source for much of the information used, lists Northeastern as a four-year school rather than a five-year program. Some of the information came from IPED, among other public resources, said Jim Coleman, a research associate at CCAP.
The graduation component comprised of a total of 16 and two-thirds percent of the total rankings.
The study consisted of five main components, Coleman said. The CCAP, in conjunction with Forbes.com and Richard Vedder, an economist at Ohio University, took into account graduation rates, faculty and student awards, student debt, student feedback and student achievement past graduation.
Student evaluation or feedback accounted for 25 percent of the measured equation, in which Northeastern ranked at 530 out of 569 schools. This data was gathered from information posted on RateMyProfessors.com, according to an Aug. 13 posted article that accompanied the rankings.
Northeastern scored highest in the student and faculty awards category, 322 out of 569 schools. But the university fell toward the bottom of the barrel in categories like recognized achievements after graduation, which were compiled from the “Who’s Who in America Database,” and expected graduation rates, Coleman said.
Michael Noer, one of the editors of the article, said “there is a level of absurdity to all college rankings,” but the Forbes.com list attempts to measure student output and experience rather than input factors like SAT scores and reputation.
While Northeastern came in second to last in the published ratings, Ewalt said that being considered in the study shows a degree of excellence, for there are more than 4,000 undergraduate colleges in the country, most of which were not considered.
“You have to rank in the top 15 percent to even be considered,” Ewalt said about the study, which began being compiled in June.
And the schools considered were judged by the same measures, whether they were small liberal arts schools, public or private universities, he added.
“When a student is considering schools, they aren’t going to look at each category separately,” Ewalt said. “They’re not saying, ‘I’ll look at one liberal arts school and one research institution.”
According to the study, small liberal arts schools ranked highest in terms of student experience. Princeton University ranked first, but certain schools performed worse than expected, like Dartmouth, which ranked at No. 121.
“The ranking for Northeastern really does not mean that it is the second worst college in the nation,” Ewalt said.
Other rankings support this, Mantella said.
“When you look at the Forbes.com ranking, it really is an anomaly,” she said.
The recently released “Up-and-Coming National Universities” list crafted by U.S. News ‘ World Reports ranks Northeastern at No. 14. Reader’s Digest calls Northeastern’s campus the second safest in the nation, behind John Hopkins University in Maryland. As for internship placement, Northeastern files in at No. 1 according to Princeton Review’s “Best Career and Job Placement Services.”
Forbes.com created its list to give students an alternative to the list released by U.S. News ‘ World Reports, Ewalt said.
“The rankings are valid, but they’ve monopolized it to a large extent, we’re measuring something different,” Ewalt said.
This was the first year Forbes.com published the study.
When considering colleges, a student should not just consider one list, whether it is linked to Forbes.com or U.S. News ‘ World Reports, Mantella said.
“People are missing the boat if they look at just one rating,” she said.
