University rankings have gained prominence in tandem with the global race towards excellence and as part of the growing expectation of rational, scientific evaluation of performance across a range of institutional sectors and human activity. While their omnipresence is acknowledged, empirically we know less about whether and how rankings matter in…

College rankings present challenges and opportunities for higher education marketers. Statistical analysis of data on the national universities reveals which measures are associated with peer assessment scores, whether it is possible to influence the score, and what underlying factors are present. Marketers can use the findings to counsel senior…

In this article, the author argues that American higher education is allowing itself to be held hostage by the rankings industry, which can lead institutions to consider actions harmful to the public interest and encourage the public's infatuation with celebrity at the expense of substance. Instead of sitting quietly by during the upcoming ratings…

Perceptions of Yale and sixteen of its major competitors were obtained from high school students offered admission to Yale and from undergraduate students attending Yale. Ratings of similarity between colleges were obtained in one study, and the semantic differential technique was used in a second study to corroborate the findings. (SW)

The Chronicle of Higher Education recently reported on a conference of scholars and senior administrators at Harvard discussing "The Future of Religious Colleges" (McMurtrie, 2000). The irony of the meeting's venue is readily apparent. Having been founded by Puritan Christians in 1636 and soon given the motto, Christo et Ecclesiae, the beginning…