U.S. News & World report has released its 2018 Best Colleges rankings, and several Rhode Island institutions make its lists — some rather high up.
There are a few different rankings schools could end up on: National Universities, Liberal Arts Colleges and regional rankings. U.S. News' particular methodology for weighing these institutions "focuses on academic excellence, with schools evaluated on hundreds of data points and up to 15 measures of academic quality," it reports. "Overall, the rankings emphasize student outcomes — such as graduation and freshman retention rates — which carry the most weight at 30 percent."
Brown University got the fourteenth spot out of 233 on the National Universities list, with an 86 out of 100 score; it tied with Cornell University (Ithaca, New York), Rice University (Houston, Texas), and Vanderbilt University (Nashville, Tennessee).
The University of Rhode Island also ranked, grabbing the 156th spot along with the University of Massachusetts - Lowell and Oklahoma State University (Stillwater, Oklahoma).
While no Ocean State schools made the Liberal Arts Colleges ranking, it had four schools appear on the Regional Universities North list, with Providence College taking the top spot. Bryant University ranked number 10, with Roger Williams University and Salve Regina University tying for the 37th spot (along with Wagner College of Staten Island, New York, and Ramapo College of New Jersey in Mahwah). Johnson & Wales University tied for the 64th rank along with six other schools, like the University of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania.
While the U.S. News rankings prove enduringly popular with readers and high-ranking school alumnae alike, some criticize the list, like The Washington Post writer Valerie Strauss in a recent op-ed. She examined and ultimately questioned the quality of the school-supplied data used to help determine rankings. "The success of a data-based ranking is, obviously, the quality of the data," Strauss wrote. "If you put junk in, you get junk out."
So, take this rankings with a grain, or don't. Regardless, Rhode Island institutions are showing up.
