Thursday, September 26, 2013

Hechinger report on ranking universities

The Hechinger Report on the challenges of ranking universities. 

The Rankings

U.S. News & World Report, national universities
  1. Princeton
  2. Harvard
  3. Yale
  4. Columbia
  5. Chicago, Stanford (tie)
Times Higher Education
  1. CalTech
  2. Oxford
  3. Stanford
  4. Harvard
  5. MIT
Shanghai World University Rankings
  1. Harvard
  2. Stanford
  3. Berkeley
  4. MIT
  5. Cambridge
QS World University Rankings
  1. MIT
  2. Harvard
  3. Cambridge
  4. University College London
  5. Imperial College London
Forbes, America’s Top Colleges (based on such results as graduation rates and student satisfaction)
  1. Stanford
  2. Pomona
  3. Princeton
  4. Yale
  5. Columbia
Washington Monthly, (based on social mobility, research, and service)
  1. UC San Diego
  2. UC Riverside
  3. Texas A&M
  4. Case Western Reserve
  5. Berkeley
Washington Monthly, (best value)
  1. Florida
  2. Georgia
  3. UNC Chapel Hill
  4. NC State
  5. Texas A&M
Princeton Review
Best-Run: Claremont McKenna
Best Food: Bowdoin
Best Dorms: Smith
LGBT-Friendly: Emerson
Top Party School: Iowa

Parchment electronic transcript service Student Choice College Rankings (based on admissions acceptances)
  1. Stanford
  2. MIT
  3. Harvard
  4. Princeton
  5. Duke
U.S. Department of Education (most expensive)
  1. Columbia
  2. Sarah Lawrence
  3. Vassar
  4. George Washington
  5. Trinity

Saturday, September 7, 2013

An Escher staircase masquerading as a career ladder

More good stuff from the Baffler: Ann Friedman discusses the uselessness of Linked-in in "All Linked-in with Nowhere to Go". Choice quote: It’s an Escher staircase masquerading as a career ladder.

Friday, September 6, 2013

What's the matter with higher ed

The Baffler's business is debunking (theme for the current issue is "A Carnival of Buncombe"), and Thomas Frank's  is not concerned with balanced argument in this screed on the state of US higher ed, Academy Fight Song. He makes good points though, and the article is a fine example of what the Guardian (describing the Baffler) calls "Beautifully discontented prose by people who'd rather be out scrapping."


Thursday, September 5, 2013

The Ylvis brothers

Norwegian duo the Ylvis brothers do a fine job of parodying the banality of pop music.....