College and university rankings are lists of institutions in higher education, ordered by combinations of factors. In addition to entire institutions, specific programs, departments, and schools are ranked. Rankings are conducted by magazines, newspapers, governments and academics.
Various rankings consider measures of research excellence and/or influence, student choices, eventual success and/or demographics, on surveys, and others. Some rankings evaluate institutions within a single country, while others assess institutions worldwide. The subject has produced much debate about rankings' usefulness and accuracy. The expanding diversity in rating methodologies and accompanying criticisms of each indicate the lack of consensus in the field.
Rankings are often consulted by prospective students in the university and college admissions process.
Read more about College And University Rankings: Regional and National Rankings
Famous quotes containing the words college and/or university:
“I had a classmate who fitted for college by the lamps of a lighthouse, which was more light, we think, than the University afforded.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The exquisite art of idleness, one of the most important things that any University can teach.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)