The College Ranking You Probably Haven't Seen
Category: Society & Culture...
Posted Wednesday, August 24, 2005 at 03:55 PM [GMT-6]

The recently released ranking of the nation's "Top Party Schools" has gotten a lot of media attention (as it does every year), but here's another kind of ranking that I haven't seen much about: The Washington Monthly College Ranking that purports to show the relative contribution made by universities to America.

Here's the criteria, based on the answers to the question, what does America need from its universities?:

Universities should be engines of social mobility, they should produce the academic minds and scientific research that advance knowledge and drive economic growth, and they should inculcate and encourage an ethic of service.

Only two Texas universities made the list. A&M (whoop!) came in at #7 and UT squeaked in at #23.

You can argue all you want about the validity, reliability or even logic behind these rankings, but I hope there's no disputing the fact that as important as it may be for our youth to learn to binge-drink, there's probably even more value in developing an "ethic of service" or "advancing knowledge and driving economic growth."

OTOH, UT Austin did make both lists, so maybe you can have your keg and drink it, too!

Tip o'the biter to Dave over at Target Centermass, who wishes A&M's football team could achieve a similar ranking.

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Comments

Thank goodness that back in my day I had no interest in "partying", only scholarship. Thus I chose Trinity University.

Posted by: Wallace-Midland Texas at August 24, 2005 04:16 PM

And the Pearl brewery would continue to be grateful, if it wasn't now shuttered (and burned). ;-)

Posted by: Eric at August 24, 2005 04:33 PM

Dang! What's the matter with my Lobos? University of New Mexico didn't make either list!

Posted by: Jeff at August 26, 2005 12:43 PM
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