Editorial | Flawed, but still valuable

With the start of a new academic year comes an annual tradition - the release of the U.S. News and World Report college rankings. And with that inevitably comes an angry response from higher-ed officials disgruntled with the rankings system.

One particular component that seems to provoke outrage is the peer-assessment section, which comprises roughly 25 percent of the rankings. To assess the standing of colleges, U.S. News sends surveys to head administrators at each college, asking them to rate their peer institutions. An increasing number of colleges have chosen to opt out of this process, refusing to rate other schools.

That's unfortunate, because college administrators are uniquely qualified to provide opinions about the quality of their peer institutions. Many university presidents spend years teaching or doing research at other schools before being hired to lead a college. These administrators become experts in higher education.

And while it's subjective, the peer-assessment portion gives weight to an unfortunate but important factor in the college world: reputation.

Of course, most prospective students know to take these rankings with a grain - or even a heap - of salt. It's impossible to develop a superior ranking system simply because different colleges will appeal to different students.

But the peer-assessment component, for all its flaws, simply provides more information for students searching through hundreds of college brochures. We hope Penn continues to participate.

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