So guess what? Now the White House, that ever-present, invasive, in-your-face group that seems to want to weigh in on virtually everything has gone off and decided to unveil a college rating system this month that the 7,000 colleges will be measured against.
Why does that bother me? Because there is no absolute rating system that is ever going to get close to measuring the worth of a college or university. Look at the way that football programs are rated. There have been arguments and all kinds of suggestions for YEARS about how to pit the best against the best at the end of the season. For a while it was the BCS, and now this year it was a 12-man panel that determined the top four. And there is griping galore on the new system already.
What rating systems can do is really harm an institution. It is also costly, because in order to provide the data by which to be rated, someone is going to have to pore through all sorts of materials to get what the rating system needs.
At the end of the day, a college is like a pair of shoes. For some a pair of loafers is just great. For others, they would prefer a more sturdy feel. For yet others, they would like New Balance sneakers. For others, they like spike heels. The student is ultimately the best judge of his or her own experience at college. And college, just like all of the rest of life, is what you make out of it.
If a student takes the minimalist approach and does ONLY that work that will get him or her the grade, and not one extra thing, then they shortchange themselves. The rating system just doesn't apply, does it?
I think the White House has enough to worry about right now and should stay out of the rating business. Let the private think tanks and other commercial services rate colleges and universities as they have. Prospective parents can find out a great deal about a possible choice by doing any of the things listed below:
- Talk to someone who went there recently. Ask them all kinds of questions.
- Get statistics about what graduates of the college are doing.
- Find out about internships and how those are handled. What percent of students get an internship? Who is offering them?
- Take a look at the faculty listing for the student's possible major and see what their credentials are.
- Look up faculty on one of those social media rating systems to see how they fare.
- Make a good campus visit. Do a little exploring of your own. Go off the beaten path.
- Find out about crime on campus and the police department on campus.
- Find out about the grading system. It is just letter grades, or do they provide plus and minus?
- Check out the library and see if it seems to be a good place to study and find related materials.
- Find out about computer labs, computer testing, and quiet places for doing homework.
- Ask about tutoring for the basic classes that are often stumbling blocks for new students.
- Gauge the friendliness and manners of current students while on a campus visit.
- See what the bookstore looks like; if you can, ask existing students if they like the bookstore or where they do buy books. (Books are a HUGE cost in getting higher education.)
- Is the campus clean. Are restrooms well cared for?
See what I mean? We don't need another rating system. There are better ways to handle this situation!!
Did you start your cookies? I baked Saturday and am pooped from it. The "killer brownies" from West Point Market that I tried turned out okay, but not as good as I'd expected. Somewhere along the line, something wasn't done properly. I take blame. But everything else turned out good and I'm nearly done with all of that stuff. Whew!!!
Take care.
No comments:
Post a Comment