If you only have five minutes to
catch up on the news today, I have your MUST READ article!! Doug Lederman of Inside Higher Ed covered a
presentation given by Catherine Watt, former institutional researcher for Clemson University, at the annual forum for
the Association for Institutional Research.
She discussed the steps Clemson
took to move from 38th
to 22nd in the public research university category of U.S. News
& World Report rankings.
Most of the steps are those we traditionally discuss including providing
the most up-to-date information in the data reported to U.S. News, increasing selectivity in the admissions process,
reducing class size and increasing faculty salaries.
Here is where she started to draw
ire from her peers... "Watt said
that Clemson officials, in filling out the reputational survey form for
presidents, 'rates all programs other than Clemson below average,' to make the
university look better. 'And I'm confident my president is not the only one who
does that,' Watt said."
In addition, she reported on Clemson's presentation of faculty compensation
data. The school is "altering the
way it relays the data to the magazine's editors" to include salary and benefits
based upon "several different definitions of faculty pay." In response to a
comment that Clemson "favored merit over access in a poor state" and other
criticisms, Watt replied, "We have walked the fine line between illegal,
unethical, and really interesting."
Interesting line to walk, huh?
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