CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Ohio is supposed to be so firmly in the blue column that it has lost its status as the nation's key presidential election battleground. That's the word in a U.S. News Washington Whispers item that is out today. Can't say that I agree. And I imagine that few GOP and Dems who are familiar with Ohio politics would say the state is a slam dunk for the Democrats next year. Indeed, most polls show Republican Rudy Giuliani running extremely strong against whomever gets the Democratic nomination -- no sense linking to those polls because everybody who follows politics has seen them and studied the results.
Ohio is and will be a competitive state. It may be leaning blue right now because the Dems had a great year at the state level in 2006 when they elected a governor, U.S. Senator, attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer. No question the Dems are ascendant, but that does not translate into a sure thing in presidential politics.
Showing posts with label U.S. News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label U.S. News. Show all posts
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Forget U.S. News College Rankings: This Scholarly Rating Puts Ohio State U Atop Harvard And MIT
CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Washington Monthly magazine is out with its own ranking of U.S. colleges, a list that is meant to offer a serious challenge to the credibility of the almighty U.S. News and World Report college rankings. Both compilations try to measure the quality and academic performance of a campus. But Washington Monthly's is intended to smack down the newsweekly whose annual campus ratings are the bible but are growing increasingly controversial with some 60 schools refusing to participate.
This time around, Ohio State University comes out No. 12 in the nation overall (PDF). That spot places it one-notch ahead of MIT and betters academic bastions like Harvard, Penn, Johns Hopkins, Duke and the University of Chicago. Case Western Reserves holds 42d place, just behind Columbia. On the U.S. News list, OSU is No. 57 and Case 41, the highest rated campus in the state. That list has reinforced the concept the Ivy's are tops.
The monthly magazine's list is not quite as prominent as its newsweekly competitor's. It has only been around since 2004, but is growing in influence. The magazine looked at 242 national universities. Unfortunately, the University of Cincinnati is way down the list at 168. Cleveland State University fares even worse at No. 218, dead last among all the all the Ohio schools.
Liberal arts colleges are ranked separately, and Oberlin fills the 13 slot. Antioch was in 192nd place, the worst in the state and nearly the worst of its 201 peers across the nation. Antioch has financial troubles and plans to suspend operations next year. With such a poor ranking, its failings seemed fatal.
The editors at Washington Monthly explain they came up with their alternative to U.S. News in order to determine how well universities are delivering on their primary, public interest missions.
" . . . Rankings are meant to provide a guide not just to what colleges can do for you, but what colleges are doing for their country. For the third year in a row, we've sifted through reams of publicly available data to come up with what we think is a fair assessment of which colleges are living up to their public interest missions, and which aren't.
"We us three criteria that we believe best measure the impact schools have on the country. The first is social mobility: does the school do a good job recruiting and graduating poorer students? The second is research: is the school supporting the scientific and humanistic study that is key to our national strength by producing PhDs and winning research grants? And the third is service: how effectively does the school foster an ethic of giving back to the country, either through military or civilian service."
This time around, Ohio State University comes out No. 12 in the nation overall (PDF). That spot places it one-notch ahead of MIT and betters academic bastions like Harvard, Penn, Johns Hopkins, Duke and the University of Chicago. Case Western Reserves holds 42d place, just behind Columbia. On the U.S. News list, OSU is No. 57 and Case 41, the highest rated campus in the state. That list has reinforced the concept the Ivy's are tops.
The monthly magazine's list is not quite as prominent as its newsweekly competitor's. It has only been around since 2004, but is growing in influence. The magazine looked at 242 national universities. Unfortunately, the University of Cincinnati is way down the list at 168. Cleveland State University fares even worse at No. 218, dead last among all the all the Ohio schools.
Liberal arts colleges are ranked separately, and Oberlin fills the 13 slot. Antioch was in 192nd place, the worst in the state and nearly the worst of its 201 peers across the nation. Antioch has financial troubles and plans to suspend operations next year. With such a poor ranking, its failings seemed fatal.
The editors at Washington Monthly explain they came up with their alternative to U.S. News in order to determine how well universities are delivering on their primary, public interest missions.
" . . . Rankings are meant to provide a guide not just to what colleges can do for you, but what colleges are doing for their country. For the third year in a row, we've sifted through reams of publicly available data to come up with what we think is a fair assessment of which colleges are living up to their public interest missions, and which aren't.
"We us three criteria that we believe best measure the impact schools have on the country. The first is social mobility: does the school do a good job recruiting and graduating poorer students? The second is research: is the school supporting the scientific and humanistic study that is key to our national strength by producing PhDs and winning research grants? And the third is service: how effectively does the school foster an ethic of giving back to the country, either through military or civilian service."
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