The fact that student evaluations from RateMyProfessors.com and alumni listings from Who’s Who in America make up 50% of the ranking methodology is absurd.
Only college ranking that matter is either one your like or one that will influence your future (i.e. recuriter, hiring manager, grad school admissions, etc).
What do you think is a fair ranking methodology?
I don't think it's possible to create a completely fair ranking methodology, but I do think using student evaluations and alumni listings to make up half the ranking methodology is extremely unfair. At some schools students/alumni have a lot more pride in their school than others. For example, students/alumni at the University of Alabama are probably a lot more proud and passionate about their school than students at Bryant University. Students/alumni that are proud of their school are probably going to give their school good, biased evaluations/listings while students/alumni that are not very proud of their school are less likely to give their school a good, biased evaluations/listings.
Here are some of the factors that I think should make up the bulk of a fair ranking methodology:
Average student debt following graduation
Average early career income of graduates
Average mid career income of graduates
Average late career income of graduates
Average unemployment rate of graduates
Number of students/graduates earning notable awards
Selectivity level of the college
Number of notable alumni
Class size
Percentage of students graduating in 4 years or less
Percentage of students graduating in 6 years or less
Resources the school has to offer
Percentage of faculty that works full time
Student to faculty ratio
Availability of financial aid
Retention rate
Percentage of students that go on to graduate school
Percentage of students that go on to finish graduate school
Percentage of students that graduate with no debt
Availability of extracurricular activities