College Rankings and Changes at Stanford
* Surely even opinion pieces must be factually accurate to appear in The Times. Alas, not only did The Times not bother to check the facts of undergraduate Nick Thompson’s Oct. 25 column, but it chose to write its headline (“Colleges Flunk the Trendy Ratings Game”) on the erroneous part of the piece. I agree with Thompson that the U.S. News & World Report college rankings are misleading. However, his suppositions on how decisions are made at Stanford are just as misleading.
He states that “a cynical new grading policy has been implemented, nontraditional departments have been cut and a new early admissions program has been created partly in an attempt to subtly improve our ‘academic reputation’ ” for the U.S. News rankings. That is simply false; Stanford takes education far too seriously for that to be the case.
The grading policy, which came from a faculty committee, reinstated the failing grade and ended the option of dropping courses just before the final, which students occasionally used to avoid getting anything lower than an A. Is that change cynicism or improving standards? The only program thus far slated for elimination--in an action by a different source, a school dean--involved the fact that the university was teaching economics in five different places, and not necessarily making the best of it. The program’s offerings will be absorbed into other units.
Our early decision program--which came from a third separate source, the dean of admissions--was instituted for a simple reason: In the past, some top students whose first choice was Stanford got earlier offers from our Eastern competitors (which already had early admission programs) and, too anxious to wait and take a chance on being admitted to Stanford, accepted one of those other offers. So, the dean instituted our program to ensure that outstanding students whom Stanford wants, and who want Stanford, end up at Stanford.
Finally, Thompson makes much of the Stanford Fund, for which a fourth source, I myself, provided the impetus. Every dollar of this annual giving fund goes to undergraduate education--60% of it to undergraduate financial aid. That important need, not a magazine, is the reason we promote the Stanford Fund.
GERHARD CASPER, President
Stanford University
* I would like to compliment Thompson for his excellent article questioning the value of the ranking system by U.S. News and World Report’s guide.
These subjective rankings can be very misleading and very misunderstood by students and their parents. The best way to know if a school is right is to visit the campus and get a sense of the students’ personalities and see if the quality of teaching, the atmosphere and the various activities match your style and intellectual interests. Happiness or success in life does not depend upon where your college is measured on a list, but your visit will be worth a thousand words.
PEGGY OGDEN
Independent Counselor
Costa Mesa
