Letter to Dickinson Community | Patriot-News Article

TO: Students, Alumni, Parents, Faculty and Staff
FROM: Robert J. Massa, Vice President
DATE: September 16, 2002

US News has again declared Dickinson to be the 44th best college in the country-the same rank we received last year. We are pleased that the college continues to place among the top 50 liberal arts colleges in the country, and we are particularly delighted that US News recognized our excellence in study abroad and international education by ranking us, along with Middlebury College, number 5 in the country!

To put this review in context, it is helpful to know the relative positions of our peers. Bowdoin and Middlebury are tied in the rankings for #7. Colby is at #18. So is Hamilton, our top "overlap" competitor in admissions this year. Bates is at #22. Bucknell, Connecticut, Kenyon and Lafayette share #29, Bard and F&M are at #36, Union is #38, and Gettysburg has come up to tie us at #44.

We continue to have significant concerns about the validity of the weight assigned to various components used in the rankings. Our many recent advances are not reflected in the US News analysis. Why is this? A closer look at the components of the ranking score provides us with some insight.

First of all, it is important to understand that the data upon which these rankings are based are over a year old. Admissions data, for example, reflects the current sophomore class when our acceptance rate was 64%, not this year's freshmen with a larger number of applications and hence a lower acceptance rate of 51%.

"Academic reputation" accounts for 25% of the ranking score and is addressed in the op-ed piece that was recently published in the Harrisburg Patriot News. Dickinson ranks #39 in reputation—lower than we deserve given our innovative programs, but higher than some of those ranked at our level or above. The score is given based on how presidents, provosts and chief enrollment officers rate peer institutions—a very, very subjective measure. This "perception" takes years to influence. We are actively working on this through the promotion of our top programs in the press and through our involvement in national associations.

Retention and graduation rates account for 20% of the total score, and Dickinson is less competitive than some other top schools with an 89% freshman to sophomore retention and an 80% 4-year graduation rate. Our 5-year goals in the Strategic Plan call for a 93% freshman to sophomore retention and an 85% graduation rate. We are taking active steps to achieve these. We have, for example, already conducted a comprehensive study of the core components of retention. And this year, we are examining our advising system and expect to have recommendations to enhance it by the beginning of next semester.

Faculty resources account for 20% of the score. This represents the average class size, faculty salary and student/faculty ratio. We rank #76 in this category out of 215 national liberal arts colleges. We have not matched many of our peers in faculty salaries—something we are working actively to correct by increasing the number of endowed chairs. Last year, for example, six new endowed chairs were created, but this is not included in the data for the current ranking. Also, as our enrollment has increased, so has our faculty/student ratio. At 12:1, we are among the highest ratios in the top 50 colleges (though, in part because our faculty teach more classes than many at our peer institutions, our average class size is among the lowest).

Admissions selectivity accounts for 15% of the score. The data used here are from last year when we admitted 64% of the applicants. This past year, with a significant increase in early decision and regular applications, 51% were admitted, so it is clear that Dickinson is becoming stronger with respect to student demand. This should be factored into next year's ranking formula.

Financial resources (per student spending on instruction, research and student services) account for 10% of the total score. Here again, as a consequence of our relatively small endowment, our rank is lower than our overall rating at #61.

At 5% of the total score, alumni giving has improved from #90 last year to #57-a great gain. We have improved significantly in this area (43% participation last year) and will continue to step up our efforts to reach out to alumni.

Clearly, we still have much work to do—promoting academic programs, increasing faculty salaries, increasing the endowment, increasing alumni participation in giving, increasing our application numbers and thereby decreasing our acceptance rate. We are making progress and are doing all we can to accomplish our mutual objectives.

Our alumni, students, parents and friends have a significant role to play in helping us spread the word about Dickinson's outstanding academic programs. They also are critically important in helping us build the financial resources essential for excellence and, given the USNews criteria, to rise in the rankings.

While recognizing the influence rankings can have on public perception, our ultimate objective is not simply to improve our national standing. Our purpose is to serve our students, alumni and the communities we touch well, realizing the full potential and ambition that have characterized Dickinson since it was founded in the late 18th century.

I welcome any feedback on this short summary or on the op-ed piece attached. Many thanks.