Academic rankings (for those interested)

[utisdabomb12]

A bunch of publications have updated their academic rankings in recent weeks. Here's the rankings of schools of interest. 

Times World Rankings: UT #28, Rice #69, A&M #141,  UT Dallas #201-225, OU #301-350 

CWUR: UT #29, Rice #108, A&M #105, UT Dallas #143, UTSA #256, Texas Tech #480, UTA #681, Oklahoma #235, Baylor #473

ARWU: UT #39, Rice #82, A&M #96, OU #401-500, UT Dallas 301-400, Baylor college of Medicine 101-150

 

[Worster1]

A bunch of publications have updated their academic rankings in recent weeks. Here's the rankings of schools of interest. 

Times World Rankings: UT #28, Rice #69, A&M #141,  UT Dallas #201-225, OU #301-350 

CWUR: UT #29, Rice #108, A&M #105, UT Dallas #143, UTSA #256, Texas Tech #480, UTA #681, Oklahoma #235, Baylor #473

ARWU: UT #39, Rice #82, A&M #96, OU #401-500, UT Dallas 301-400, Baylor college of Medicine 101-150

Pretty impressive results for The University 

I am a little surprised at the rankings for Rice

ou rankings are way out beyond the former planet Pluto

I smell a boycott of these publications coming from aggy

 

[duqu]

A bunch of publications have updated their academic rankings in recent weeks. Here's the rankings of schools of interest.

Times World Rankings: UT #28, Rice #69, A&M #141, UT Dallas #201-225, OU #301-350

CWUR: UT #29, Rice #108, A&M #105, UT Dallas #143, UTSA #256, Texas Tech #480, UTA #681, Oklahoma #235, Baylor #473

ARWU: UT #39, Rice #82, A&M #96, OU #401-500, UT Dallas 301-400, Baylor college of Medicine 101-150

ARWU has UT SW Med ranked 8th in the world. That's damn impressive. Have a few friends who graduated from UT SW.

I'm surprised Rice has fallen so much. The value of my undergrad degree is crap now. Dang.

 

[echeese]

NM,

thanks for sharing and I posted to OB  . ..but gave you credit.

 

[Juan]

Do you also have the academic rankings for those not interested?

 

[Etex Horn]

Do you also have the academic rankings for those not interested?

OU is clearly not "interested" in academics.

 

[Worster1]

OU is clearly not "interested" in academics.

ou has it's priorities - football first, then academics somewhere after that.

 

[Epictetus]

There is something I've learned from my daughter who will be applying for college end of this year...

It's call grade inflation. If I could ask her right now I could tell you the difference between, say, Harvard and Rice.

But she's in class.

An A at one institution may not be the same GPA number as at another.

An A might be 4.0 or it might be 4.33.

Could have this bass-ackwards, but believe she said A's come easier at Harvard than at Rice.

And may also be a GPA system, or both.

Here's a quote from an article on Rice dealing with the issue, from 2014.

"Additionally, we do not want Rice to become an overly-standardized academic community; while, for example, grading on a strict system in which only 25 percent of students in any given class may receive an A works for other schools, we believe it would not foster the kind of collaborative and supportive community that Rice promotes. "

Not sure if the resaerch this thread is about (haven't time to read it now) takes grade inflation into account in creating a kind of index for comparing institutions. But would think it should.

Here's the link to that quote

http://www.ricethresher.org/opinion/grade-inflation-motions-constructive-despite-implementation-concerns/article_93c022b2-cc11-11e3-88ae-0017a43b2370.html?mode=jqm

Somebody helpe me out on this topic if you have a good handle on it.

 

[streettopeschel]

Personally I suffered from grade deflation.

 

[Worster1]

Personally I suffered from grade deflation.

Funny Street, I had the same problem! 

 

[utisdabomb12]

Do you also have the academic rankings for those not interested?

 

[duqu]

Personally I suffered from grade deflation.

there's a few of us out there...

 

[Matt Cotcher]

Can anyone explain the OU program for National Merit Scholars? How do they attract so many when their overall academic reputation is poor?

 

[Worster1]

Can anyone explain the OU program for National Merit Scholars? How do they attract so many when their overall academic reputation is poor?

I wondered about that too.  ou likes to brag about this statistic.  Maybe they hope perception will outweigh reality or maybe they can attract better faculty if they get some smarter students enrolled than just Bubba and Betty.

Can we call in a lifeline on this one?

 

[utisdabomb12]

Can anyone explain the OU program for National Merit Scholars? How do they attract so many when their overall academic reputation is poor?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/12/education/some-question-merit-aid-at-university-of-oklahoma.html?_r=0

"Oklahoma’s program touches on a long-running argument within higher education, about the role of “merit aid†— scholarships that schools give on the basis of credentials like grades, test scores or musical skills — versus the aid that nearly all schools give on the basis of a student’s financial need. Most colleges give some academic merit aid (though some of the wealthiest and most selective schools do not), and the amount has increased over the years as competition for top students grows more fierce. Oklahoma’s honors program is an extreme example."

"Oklahoma specifically targets National Merit scholars for recruitment, seeing them as a way to raise the university’s quality and profile. And while some academic administrators dislike the practice, many of Oklahoma’s peers do the same, though not with the same fervor or favors. At Oklahoma, National Merit scholars are given scholarships based on academic credentials, money to study abroad, housing primarily for high-achieving students, research opportunities, a writing center, priority in choosing some classes, and an Honors College â€” a school within a school — with smaller, more challenging classes."

 

[utisdabomb12]

I wondered about that too.  ou likes to brag about this statistic.  Maybe they hope perception will outweigh reality or maybe they can attract better faculty if they get some smarter students enrolled than just Bubba and Betty.

Can we call in a lifeline on this one?

They give crazy incentives and spend tons of resources on recruiting National Merit Scholars. 

It raises their academic profile, but in terms of actual academic rankings it has little to no impact. OU goes all in on a small group of students. 

Texas could attract the same amount of National Merit Scholars if it wanted too. 

 

[Matt Cotcher]

Thanks, 'bomb