Quality rankings of undergraduate institutions and programs do exist although they are hard to find and often ignored. The accuracy of these ratings and how they can be improved are discussed. (MLW)

The five-volume Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States, the most authoritative academic quality ranking ever done, is discussed. The Assessment covers 2,699 programs in 32 disciplines and assesses a faculty's reputation for scholarly quality. Improvements in programs' reputations are also discussed. (MLW)

The reasons college and university administrators dislike institutional rankings and ratings of academic quality published in the popular press are examined, and college attributes commonly used in the ratings are discussed. Virtues and flaws of the assessments are noted, and variations in the evaluations over time are illustrated in charts. (MSE)

Ranking American colleges, universities, and individual departments according to their academic quality is discussed. Six types of methodology used are identified: reputational rankings; faculty awards, honors, and prizes; citations in citation indexes; alumni achievements; scores of entering students on standardized tests; and institutional…

The full data set on which the "U.S. News and World Report" rankings of doctoral programs were based is presented and discussed. Rankings are for economics, English, history, political science, psychology, and sociology programs. Discussion addresses the methodology used and makes comparisons with National Academy of Sciences 1982…