Bowdoin may not be quite ready to break ranks with the rankings.
In a TIME Magazine article titled "The College Rankings Revolt" published March 21, college administrators around the country commented on the value of college rankings, most notably those compiled by U.S. News and World Report.
Overwhelmingly, the administrators were quoted in the article as speaking unfavorably about college rankings, and even called for colleges to stop complying with organizations that compile these rankings.
The TIME article stated that a small number of private colleges are currently drafting a letter to send out to their counterparts across the country inquiring whether they would stop participating in the U.S. News survey.
Bowdoin Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs Scott Hood said that, as of yet, Bowdoin has not received the letter. It seems unlikely, however, that Bowdoin would be willing to participate in the "rankings revolt."
"Rankings are a reality," said Hood.
"We are a society that likes top-10 lists," he said, and the truth is that "college is expensive and an important decision. It's not unreasonable for students and their families to want helpful quantitative information."
Another reality is that U.S. News and World Report will continue to rank and publish information about colleges even if a college does decide to boycott the survey.
"They will obtain their information through second or third parties," said Hood. "If they can't get the information, they will give you the lowest possible score and you will still be ranked, but you will have dropped from maybe seventh to 50th."
"You may feel good about boycotting, but the students sitting at home trying to make decisions won't know you boycotted and will wonder what happened," he said.
Revolting colleges "won't accomplish much of anything unless everyone participates," said Hood. "Until a better version of the U.S. News rankings is available for students and their families, anxious about questions and hard decisions to be made about college, this is the best we've got."
Bill Shain, dean of admissions and financial aid, said that while he believes that the most critical aspects of education aren't quantifiable, rankings "are here to stay."
"There is a public need for them, and the fact that that public need can't be met in a more valid way doesn't make them go away," he added.
Shain said that the rankings may only have the most impact on prospective students when they are making their initial college lists.
Hood agreed, saying that "most frequently [rankings] are a starting point for students. They give them a place to start and get a sense of the prestige of the college."
But, said Hood, "people don't make decisions simply on how colleges are ranked in U.S. News. They make decisions based on a lot of other factors like environment and how it feels to them. Students ask when they walk out onto the quad, 'do I see myself here?'"