A school’s reputation can be impacted by many factors, including the happiness and performance of its students and return on investment. Ranking systems like the ones seen in the College Pulse Survey and Wall Street Journal (WSJ) exist to give the public an idea of how well universities compare to each other either in terms of experience and the quality and rigor of the programs offered. Where a school ranks in systems like these has a major impact on the lives of those attending, as well as those willing to attend or invest in the school moving forward. Kristen Daily of the Division of University Relations spoke to The Stute on the importance of school rankings and why they should be taken seriously.
Stevens is encouraging current students and recent alumni to participate in the College Pulse survey and give their perspectives on their experiences. This is highly encouraged, as Daily explains, because, “the survey results, along with publicly available data on student outcomes, determine the WSJ/College Pulse ranking, due to be published in September.” Other well-known universities do not allow their students’ input to factor into their ranking, only using statistics about outcomes, standardized test scores, and existing reputation to determine their ranking. By allowing the experiences and opinions of students and alumni to factor into the ranking, Stevens’ survey enables the voice of the community to directly impact its ranking among other institutions. Daily states that since these surveys play such a large role in the ranking of the school, “it is important to have a wide variety of students and alumni participate. The more students and alumni participate, the greater student experience will factor into Stevens’ rank in the WSJ/College Pulse rankings.” These rankings impact how people view and interact with the school, which has the potential to have a major impact on the lives of prospective students.
There are many direct and indirect impacts that the ranking of the university will impact both the students and those affiliated. “Rankings play a crucial role in shaping a university’s visibility, perceived quality, and competitive advantage, influencing factors like recruitment, funding, employer perception, and international standing,” Daily said. Participation in the survey allows students’ voices to be heard and taken into account when understanding what works well within the school and what things need to be improved upon to make the lives and the academic experience better for future students. While statistics and outcomes are valuable, some insight is much better obtained from personal, qualitative reports from those attending the university. This new methodology for determining ranks looks beyond the numbers and aims its focus on you, the students.
The WSJ has been ranking school rankings since 2016, but last year was the first year that WSJ and College Pulse rankings employed its new methodology for ranking schools. By this metric, Steven Institute of Technology ranked 36 on the list of best US colleges. This puts it among some of the best colleges in the US, a feat the school and many students have celebrated. The new ranking methodology means that this ranking is not based solely on the performance of the students but also on their personal experiences and their lives outside of school. This ranking gives the school much prestige, and it is important that students be involved in determining them.
This ranking shows that Stevens does a good job of preparing students for their careers and providing them with a happy, well-rounded student experience. This school not only fosters the minds of bright students but also allows them to build a strong community and expand their horizons as they gear up for the world they hope to impact. If you have not already done so, take the time to fill out the College Pulse survey.
