College rankings explained and compared

For those of you who are fascinated by college rankings there is an interesting new article put out by the Institute for Higher Education Policy. The article, entitled College and University Ranking Systems, Global Perspectives and American Challenges, first examines the historical background of the US News ratings and then looks at university rankings from countries around the world. Finally, there is a review of the impact these rating systems have had on student’s choices of colleges particularly in the United States.

The article puts a more global view on ratings and their impact on students around the world than is normally seen in articles discussing college rankings. While there is not much disclosed that hasn’t already been known, the synthesis of all of this information into one source provides a good overview of the college ranking systems.