Provost Weissman Responds to Samuelson Column
In a letter to the editors of The Washington Post, Provost and Dean Neil Weissman responded to a column by Robert Samuelson defending college rankings.
College Rankings Are 'Lame Science'
Saturday, June 30, 2007; Page A20
When Dickinson College chose not to participate in the U.S. News & World Report rankings of colleges, I imagined the decision would evoke some criticism, but never the charge Robert J. Samuelson made of "anti-intellectualism" [op-ed, June 27]. "Intellectual" to me means thoughtful. The problem with the U.S. News rankings is that they are not "intellectual." They are, as some higher education experts label them, lame science.
Mr. Samuelson also missed the point in suggesting nonparticipating colleges are trying to censor U.S. News. The magazine is of course free to continue its rankings, as are others. We are simply saying that we will not participate in an exercise that, in our view, misleads prospective students more than it helps and drives up college costs by encouraging spending in pursuit of rankings on a fictional prestige ladder invented by U.S. News.
Mr. Samuelson is right, however, in insisting that colleges and universities provide full, accurate and comparable information on their programs. That, rather than artificial rankings, is the kind of assistance prospective students and their parents need in college searches.
NEIL B. WEISSMAN
Provost and Dean
Dickinson College
Carlisle, Pa.
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