Clarkson's Statement on Rankings
Benchmarking and reviewing quantitative and qualitative data analyses are helpful to businesses and individuals alike and among the best practices we encourage every day at Clarkson. To be truly effective and reflective of what matters in pursuing a college education, we recognize that students and their families have many different factors that are important to them and they may rank how different metrics align to their individual goals and professional objectives. Higher education institutions also honor their missions and support their students based on how and what factors they prioritize.
While Clarkson’s unparalleled career placements, graduate salaries and alumni leadership in industry speak for themselves as factors we embrace, multiple media outlets run rankings that often stack different factors as a means to build reader perspectives and ultimately support broader sales.
In the U.S. News & World Report 2024 rankings that came out in Fall 2023, Clarkson remains in good company to be named among the top 50 Best Value schools which fits with many of our educational priorities, commitment to affordable access and emphasis on lifetime ROI for students. While we remain in the top tier as a unique institution in their National Universities ranking, U.S. News chose this year to eliminate or change 17 of 19 past indicators, now favoring large public institutions: the average ranking change across all private institutions declined 16.2 points, where the average ranking across all publics improved 7.7. Gone are past factors that rewarded our smaller class sizes that supported personalized advising and learning, the percentage of faculty with terminal degrees needed for credentialed degree programs, alumni engagement and participation (Princeton Review puts us in top 50 here), and high school standings for student recruits.
One has to wonder how endorsing larger class sizes and fewer faculty with proper credentials benefits learning. It is as if the U.S. News metrics were changed to value cheap, large-scale education over the sound investment in personalized learning like Clarkson delivers, in addition to the lifetime career outcomes we strive to support our graduates in achieving. "
Marc P. Christensen, Ph.D., P.E.
President, Clarkson University
In March 2023, The New York Times released a new tool for college-bound students and families to use as they weigh their options called "Build Your Own College Rankings." The tool allows individuals to decide what matters most to them when choosing a college, and shows them top schools that meet their personally selected and weighted criteria. If you place a high value on future earnings and ROI, superlative academics, and personalized learning, Clarkson is #1. And Clarkson remains in the top tier on many things that also matter to our students including low net price after alumni and scholarship aid, regardless of size or location.
Faculty and academic leadership at Clarkson regularly engage with seasoned and emerging leaders in industry and government agencies to ensure we deliver relevant technological education, research and innovation that matter to American competitiveness and global solutions. The results of these engagements for our students lead us to advocate for future ranking metrics that reflect industry opinions on how colleges and universities are meeting their needs.
Just as companies decide where they are going to actively recruit their future workforce and the skills and attributes they value, finding the right college is the student’s choice based on their goals and aspirations. Our students are not just our customers; ultimately they become our products and companies have clearly praised the quality of our graduates. If you are choosing a college to please the periodical industry, follow U.S. News. But if you are seeking an education that sets you on an incredible trajectory for a lifelong career, choose Clarkson.