UConn Nationally Ranked Again, As Some Question Preoccupation with Rankings in U.S.

The University of Connecticut proudly proclaimed its 10th straight year among the nation’s Top 25 public universities last month, “safeguarding and building on its strengths over the last decade as a pacesetter in student success and academic excellence,” the university pointed out.

U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings place UConn as No. 23 among the nation’s public institutions, the same ranking it held last year and a spot that it shares this year with two peer institutions.

UConn reported that the university first moved into the U.S. News top 25 rankings in 2011 and has remained there ever since. Before that, it had already been in the top 30 since 2004.

This year’s assessment, the University’s announcement explained, shows UConn continues to retain and graduate its students at strong rates, to have a strong academic reputation in the U.S. higher education landscape, ensure that low-income students have access and tools for success, and help keep graduates’ indebtedness below state and national averages.

This year’s U.S. News release of the nation’s leading universities raised concerns about the outsized importance that universities and colleges place on the ranking, to the detriment of the education provided, according to critics.

Writing in the nation’s preeminent higher ed publication, The Chronicle of Higher Education, senior reporters Francie Diep and Nell Gluckman noted that about a quarter of the nation’s 100 largest public four-year universities affirm the importance of rising in national rankings, and many of the institutions strategic plans specifically mention U.S. News by name.

“That prevalence is a striking testament to public higher ed’s continued pursuit of an accolade that many have said is antithetical to the mission of state-funded education,” the Chronicle reported.

“Everybody knows how to get graduation and retention rates up,” explained F. King Alexander, the former president of Louisiana State and Oregon State Universities.  “You turn down every academically challenged student.”

The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, according to the Chronicle article, notes “we live in a rankings-conscious world” while indicating that “we intentionally do not express our desire to transform the university as a quest to improve our rankings.”

UConn pointed out that ”many of the components that have driven UConn’s strong rankings align with the University’s academic mission and form the basis of its strategic plan, for which the Office of the Provost is leading a comprehensive update process.”  The website for that process notes that “we have solidified our place as a national top 25 public university.”

The University was one of 210 national public institutions that were part of this year’s U.S. News & World Report survey. In addition to the overall institutional ranking, UConn was named the No. 33 best institution for veterans, the No. 49 best for undergraduate business programs, and No. 58 for best undergraduate nursing programs. The undergraduate computer science and engineering programs also were recognized at numbers 71 and 72 in their academic fields, respectively, UConn announced.