Kanoa Ikeda-Flynn
contributing writer
Dominican improved its standing this year in the annual U.S. News & World Report college rankings – jumping to the 19th spot out of 165 Midwestern comprehensive Universities.
Although this seems like a great accomplishment, current students aren’t necessarily that impressed.
With new rankings coming out every September, this year’s results saw Dominican ranked as number five in the “Great Schools, Great Prices” category, according to Jessica Mackinnon, Dominican Director of Public Information.
“Rankings are important when potential students and families are shopping, or looking at their options in schools. Not all people pay attention to the ranking, but if they do, it’s important to be a measure up in any prestigious ranking system that comes to our door,” said Mackinnon.
So, what exactly improved Dominican’s ranking? Specifically, factors such as institutional peer assessment, graduation rate, retention, and financial resources all promote higher spots. This year’s data shows Dominican’s overall institutional quality has greatly improved. Graduation and percentage of full time faculty has risen and academically talented students also attend the school with a rise in ACT scoring.
Due to the immense number of college variations, some comparisons simply do not make sense if compared to others. Ranking every college based off of the same methodology would be perfectly fine if the rankings were based off of a single aspect of the college. In other words, comparing an ivy-league to a community college in all aspects is pointless.
Nonetheless, the rankings have proven very effective in pitching to students that Dominican is a reliable and well-regarded institution. Factors such as athletics, various fields of study, and housing options, are equally important for reviews.
While Dominican is a great school as is, it is inevitable that improvement in areas should be made. Mackinnon went on to express the importance of these rankings. For example, she understands that feedback from faculty, students, and organizations alike are critical for improvement.
Freshman Ryan Fitzgerald recalled how college rankings played a factor into his decision stating, “The schools I looked for came down to a few specific reasons. I started broad using rankings to establish well pronounced schools, and I slowly worked my way down to specific targets like money and location”.
While still important, some may argue that schools become more so successful for already being successful. Notoriety in schools only raise once the threshold has been broken. Once that reputation has been established, it’s not too difficult for schools to maintain and build off this success with easier results in annual rankings.
ikedkano@my.dom.edu