List of colleges and universities which have signed the Presidents Letter
Encyclopedia
The following List of colleges and universities which have signed the Presidents Letter refers to a 2007 movement criticizing the practice of college rankings
which developed among faculty and administrators in American Institutions of Higher Education. It follows previous movements in the U.S. and Canada
(by schools in the 1990s such as Reed College
, Stanford University
, Alma College
, as well as a number of universities in Canada in 2006) which have criticized the practice of college rankings.
, was sent to college and university presidents in the United States
in May 2007 concerning the U.S. News and World Report college rankings. The letter does not ask for a full boycott but rather:
Instead, it asks presidents not to participate in the "reputational survey" portion of the overall survey (this section accounts for 25% of the total rank and asks college presidents to give their subjective opinion of other colleges). The letter also asks presidents not to use the rankings as a form of publicity:
The letter currently has sixty-one signatures.
Criticism of college and university rankings (2007 United States)
Criticism of college and university rankings refers to a 2007 movement which developed among faculty and administrators in American Institutions of Higher Education. It follows previous movements in the U.S...
which developed among faculty and administrators in American Institutions of Higher Education. It follows previous movements in the U.S. and Canada
Criticism of college and university rankings (North America)
Criticism of college and university rankings refers to movements which developed among faculty and administrators in American Institutions of Higher Education as well as in Canada.-Reed College:...
(by schools in the 1990s such as Reed College
Reed College
Reed College is a private, independent, liberal arts college located in southeast Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus located in Portland's Eastmoreland neighborhood, featuring architecture based on the Tudor-Gothic style, and a forested canyon wilderness...
, Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, Alma College
Alma College
Alma College is a private, liberal arts college located in Alma, Michigan. The enrollment is approximately 1,400 students, and the college is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The college's 13th President, Dr...
, as well as a number of universities in Canada in 2006) which have criticized the practice of college rankings.
Presidents Letter
The Presidents Letter (dated May 10, 2007), developed by Lloyd Thacker of the Education ConservancyEducation Conservancy
The Education Conservancy is an American educational non-profit organization headed by director Lloyd Thacker. It describes its goal as being "committed to improving college admission processes for students, colleges and high schools."...
, was sent to college and university presidents in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in May 2007 concerning the U.S. News and World Report college rankings. The letter does not ask for a full boycott but rather:
- while we believe colleges and universities may want to cooperate in providing data to publications for the purposes of rankings, we believe such data provision should be limited to data which is collected in accord with clear, shared professional standards (not the idiosyncratic standards of any single publication), and to data which is required to be reported to state or federal officials or which the institution believes (in accord with good accountability) should routinely be made available to any member of the public who seeks it.
Instead, it asks presidents not to participate in the "reputational survey" portion of the overall survey (this section accounts for 25% of the total rank and asks college presidents to give their subjective opinion of other colleges). The letter also asks presidents not to use the rankings as a form of publicity:
- Among other reasons, we believe [...] rankings: imply a false precision and authority that is not warranted by the data they use; obscure important differences in educational mission in aligning institutions on a single scale; say nothing or very little about whether students are actually learning at particular colleges or universities; encourage wasteful spending and gamesmanship in institutions' pursuing improved rankings; overlook the importance of a student in making education happen and overweight the importance of a university's prestige in that process; and degrade for students the educational value of the college search process. We ask you to make the following two commitments: 1. Refuse to fill out the U.S. News and World Report reputational survey. 2. Refuse to use the rankings in any promotional efforts on behalf of your college or university, and more generally, refuse to refer to the rankings as an indication of the quality of your college or university."
The letter currently has sixty-one signatures.
Original 12 schools
Twelve college and university presidents originally signed the letter in early May, 2007.- Bethany CollegeBethany College (West Virginia)Bethany College is a private liberal arts college located in Bethany, West Virginia, United States. Founded in 1840, Bethany is the oldest institution of Higher Education in West Virginia.-Location:...
(West Virginia) - Dickinson CollegeDickinson CollegeDickinson College is a private, residential liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Originally established as a Grammar School in 1773, Dickinson was chartered September 9, 1783, five days after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, making it the first college to be founded in the newly...
(Pennsylvania) - Drew UniversityDrew UniversityDrew University is a private university located in Madison, New Jersey.Originally established as the Drew Theological Seminary in 1867, the university later expanded to include an undergraduate liberal arts college in 1928 and commenced a program of graduate studies in 1955...
(New Jersey) - Earlham CollegeEarlham CollegeEarlham College is a liberal arts college in Richmond, Indiana. It was founded in 1847 by Quakers and has approximately 1,200 students.The president is John David Dawson...
(Indiana) - Heritage UniversityHeritage UniversityHeritage University, located in Toppenish, Washington on the Yakama Indian Reservation, offers associate's, bachelor's, and master's degrees in a number of academic disciplines, including:*English*business administration*mathematics*computer science...
(Washington) - Lafayette CollegeLafayette CollegeLafayette College is a private coeducational liberal arts and engineering college located in Easton, Pennsylvania, USA. The school, founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter,son of General Andrew Porter of Norristown and citizens of Easton, first began holding classes in 1832...
(Pennsylvania) - Marlboro CollegeMarlboro CollegeMarlboro College is a small, coeducational, alternative liberal-arts college in Marlboro, Vermont, USA.-History:Marlboro College was founded in 1946 by Walter Hendricks for returning World War II veterans on Potash Hill in Marlboro, Vermont. The school's operation was initially financed using money...
(Vermont) - Southwestern UniversitySouthwestern UniversitySouthwestern University is a private, four-year, undergraduate, liberal arts college located in Georgetown, Texas, USA. Founded in 1840, Southwestern is the oldest university in Texas. The school is affiliated with the United Methodist Church although the curriculum is nonsectarian...
(Texas) - St. John's CollegeSt. John's College, U.S.St. John's College is a liberal arts college with two U.S. campuses: one in Annapolis, Maryland and one in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Founded in 1696 as a preparatory school, King William's School, the school received a collegiate charter in 1784, making it one of the oldest institutions of higher...
(Maryland) - St. John's CollegeSt. John's College, U.S.St. John's College is a liberal arts college with two U.S. campuses: one in Annapolis, Maryland and one in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Founded in 1696 as a preparatory school, King William's School, the school received a collegiate charter in 1784, making it one of the oldest institutions of higher...
(New Mexico) - Trinity Washington UniversityTrinity Washington UniversityTrinity Washington University, founded in 1897 by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, is a Roman Catholic university located in Washington, D.C. across from Catholic University of America and the Dominican House of Studies...
(Washington D.C.) - Wheelock CollegeWheelock CollegeWheelock College is a private, coeducational college located in Boston, Massachusetts. The school was founded in 1888 by Lucy Wheelock. The mission of Wheelock College is to primarily improve the lives of children and families...
(Massachusetts)
Current list of additional schools
A number of signatures have been added to the original twelve. Others may be added at a later date.- Albright CollegeAlbright CollegeAlbright College is a private, co-ed, liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1856 and is located in Reading, Pennsylvania, United States.-Overview:...
(Pennsylvania) - Alma CollegeAlma CollegeAlma College is a private, liberal arts college located in Alma, Michigan. The enrollment is approximately 1,400 students, and the college is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The college's 13th President, Dr...
(Michigan) - Augusta State UniversityAugusta State UniversityAugusta State University is a public university located in Augusta, Georgia, United States and is the oldest institution in the state of Georgia ....
(Georgia) - Aurora UniversityAurora UniversityAurora University is a private, not-for-profit, co-educational liberal arts college located in Aurora, Illinois, 40 miles west of Chicago, Illinois. Additional university locations include the George Williams College campus in Williams Bay, Wisconsin and the Woodstock Center in Woodstock, Illinois...
(Illinois) - Austin CollegeAustin CollegeAustin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated by covenant relationship with the Presbyterian Church and located in Sherman, Texas, about 60 miles North of Dallas....
(Texas) - Berea CollegeBerea CollegeBerea College is a liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky , founded in 1855. Current full-time enrollment is 1,514 students...
(Kentucky) - Birmingham-Southern CollegeBirmingham-Southern CollegeBirmingham–Southern College is a 4-year, private liberal arts college located three miles northwest of downtown Birmingham. Founded in 1856, it is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Approximately 1400 students from 30 states and 23 foreign countries attend the college...
(Alabama) - Coe CollegeCoe CollegeCoe College is a private, four-year, liberal arts college in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Founded in 1851, the institution is historically affiliated with the Presbyterian Church . Its current president is James R. Phifer. It is one of the smaller universities to have a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa...
(Iowa) - College of Santa FeCollege of Santa FeSanta Fe University of Art and Design is an institution of creative and performing arts based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The university offers programs in creative writing, theatre, art, graphic design, moving image arts , music, and photography, based on a liberal arts core curriculum...
(New Mexico) - College of the Holy CrossCollege of the Holy CrossThe College of the Holy Cross is an undergraduate Roman Catholic liberal arts college located in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA...
(Massachusetts) - College of the SouthwestCollege of the SouthwestUniversity of the Southwest is a private inter-denominational four-year educational institution located in Hobbs, New Mexico. It was incorporated under its current name in 1962, although the college existed several years prior to that as a two-year Baptist institution.The college offers...
(New Mexico) - Davidson CollegeDavidson CollegeDavidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. The college has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars and is consistently ranked in the top ten liberal arts colleges in the country by U.S. News and World Report magazine, although it has recently dropped to 11th in U.S. News...
(North Carolina - Denison UniversityDenison UniversityDenison University is private, coeducational, and residential college of liberal arts and sciences founded in 1831. It is located in Granville, Ohio, United States, approximately 30 miles east of Columbus, the state capital...
(Ohio) - Eckerd CollegeEckerd CollegeEckerd College is a private 4-year coeducational liberal arts college at the southernmost tip of St. Petersburg, Florida, in the Tampa Bay metropolitan area. The college is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.- Campus :...
(Florida) - Franklin Pierce University (New Hampshire)
- Furman UniversityFurman UniversityFurman University is a selective, private, coeducational, liberal arts college in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. Furman is one of the oldest, and more selective private institutions in South Carolina...
(South Carolina) - Gordon College (Massachusetts)Gordon College (Massachusetts)Gordon College is a liberal arts college located on the former Princemere estate in Wenham, Massachusetts, northeast of Beverly. Founded by Baptist minister A. J...
- Goucher CollegeGoucher CollegeGoucher College is a private, co-educational, liberal arts college located in the northern Baltimore suburb of Towson in unincorporated Baltimore County, Maryland, on a 287 acre campus. The school has approximately 1,475 undergraduate students studying in 31 majors and six interdisciplinary...
(Maryland) - Hamilton College (New York)
- Hampden-Sydney CollegeHampden-Sydney CollegeHampden–Sydney College is a liberal arts college for men located in Hampden Sydney, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1775, Hampden–Sydney is the oldest private charter college in the Southern U.S., the last college founded before the American Revolution, and one of only three four-year,...
(Virginia) - Hampshire CollegeHampshire CollegeHampshire College is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1965 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges in the Pioneer Valley: Amherst College, Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, and the University of Massachusetts...
(Massachusetts) - Hiram CollegeHiram CollegeHiram College is a private liberal arts college located in Hiram, Ohio. Founded by Amos Sutton Hayden of the Disciples of Christ Church in 1850, the institution has, since its first days, been nonsectarian and coeducational, and throughout its existence Hiram College has sustained this egalitarian...
(Ohio) - Kenyon CollegeKenyon CollegeKenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, founded in 1824 by Bishop Philander Chase of The Episcopal Church, in parallel with the Bexley Hall seminary. It is the oldest private college in Ohio...
(Ohio) - Kutztown University of PennsylvaniaKutztown University of PennsylvaniaKutztown University of Pennsylvania , is an American public university located in rural Kutztown, Berks County, Pennsylvania and is one of fourteen schools that comprise the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary...
- Lake Forest CollegeLake Forest CollegeLake Forest College, founded in 1857, is a private liberal arts college in Lake Forest, Illinois. The college has 1,500 students representing 47 states and 78 countries....
(Illinois) - Lewis & Clark CollegeLewis & Clark CollegeLewis & Clark College is a private institution of higher learning located in Portland, Oregon. Made up of an undergraduate College of Arts and Sciences, a School of Law, and a Graduate School of Education and Counseling. Lewis & Clark is a member of the Annapolis Group of colleges with athletic...
(Oregon) - Luther College (Iowa)Luther College (Iowa)Luther College is a four-year, residential liberal arts institution of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, located in Decorah, Iowa, USA...
- McDaniel CollegeMcDaniel CollegeMcDaniel College is a private four-year liberal arts college in Westminster, Maryland, located 30 miles northwest of Baltimore. The college also has a satellite campus located in Budapest, Hungary. Until July 2002, it was known as Western Maryland College...
(Maryland) - Missouri Baptist UniversityMissouri Baptist UniversityMissouri Baptist University is a private evangelical Christian, coeducational university located in western St. Louis County in Creve Coeur Missouri. In August 2002, the Missouri Baptist College was officially renamed Missouri Baptist University...
(Missouri) - Moravian CollegeMoravian CollegeMoravian College a private liberal arts college, and the associated Moravian Theological Seminary are located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, in the Lehigh Valley region.-History:...
(Pennsylvania) - Muhlenberg CollegeMuhlenberg CollegeMuhlenberg College is a private liberal arts college located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is named for Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, the patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America.- History...
(Pennsylvania) - Naropa UniversityNaropa UniversityNaropa University is a private American liberal arts university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1974 by Tibetan Buddhist teacher and Oxford University scholar Chögyam Trungpa, it is named for the eleventh-century Indian Buddhist sage Naropa, an abbot of Nalanda.Naropa describes itself as...
(Colorado) - Norfolk State UniversityNorfolk State UniversityNorfolk State University is a four-year, state-supported, coed, liberal arts, historically black university located in Norfolk, Virginia. It is member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund and the Virginia High-Tech Partnership.-Academics:...
(Virginia) - Northwest Missouri State UniversityNorthwest Missouri State UniversityNorthwest Missouri State University is a state university in Maryville, Missouri. Founded in 1905 as a teachers college, it offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. The campus, based on the design for Forest Park at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, is the official Missouri State Arboretum....
- Northwestern College (Minnesota)Northwestern College (Minnesota)Northwestern College is a private Christian college located in Roseville, Minnesota, and is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Established in 1902 as Northwestern Bible and Missionary Training School by Dr...
- Ohio Wesleyan UniversityOhio Wesleyan UniversityOhio Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five — a consortium of Ohio liberal arts colleges...
- Paul Smith's CollegePaul Smith's CollegePaul Smith's College is a private college and is the only four year institution of higher education located within the boundary of the Adirondack State Park in Upstate New York...
(New York) - Philander Smith CollegePhilander Smith CollegePhilander Smith College is a private, historically black college that is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. It is located in Little Rock, Arkansas. The student body averages around 850 attendees, with around 30% of that figure attending part time. Although known historically as a school...
(Arkansas) - Presbyterian CollegePresbyterian CollegePresbyterian College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, South Carolina, USA. Presbyterian College, or PC, is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church USA. PC was founded in 1880 by William Plumer Jacobs, a prominent Presbyterian minister who also founded the nearby Thornwell Home and...
(South Carolina) - Ripon College (Wisconsin)Ripon College (Wisconsin)Ripon College is a liberal arts college in Ripon, Wisconsin, USA. It offers small class sizes and intensive mentoring to students. Ripon has a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa--one of the nation's most prestigious honor societies. Alumni have high rates of success in the workforce as well as acceptance...
- San Francisco State UniversitySan Francisco State UniversitySan Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
- Shimer CollegeShimer CollegeShimer College is a very small, private, undergraduate liberal arts college in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Founded by Frances Wood Shimer in 1853 in the frontier town of Mt. Carroll, Illinois, it was a women's school for most of its first century. It joined with the University of...
(Illinois) - Sweet Briar CollegeSweet Briar CollegeSweet Briar College is a liberal arts women's college in Sweet Briar, Virginia, about north of Lynchburg, Virginia. The school's Latin motto translates as: "She who has earned the rose may bear it."...
(Virginia) - Trinity College (Connecticut)Trinity College (Connecticut)Trinity College is a private, liberal arts college in Hartford, Connecticut. Founded in 1823, it is the second-oldest college in the state of Connecticut after Yale University. The college enrolls 2,300 students and has been coeducational since 1969. Trinity offers 38 majors and 26 minors, and has...
- Unity College (Maine)Unity College (Maine)Unity College is a private, liberal arts college in Unity, Waldo County, Maine. It is located southwest of Bangor, Maine and from the Maine coast. The college offers an undergraduate education that emphasizes the environment and natural resources throughout the academic program. In 2007 the...
- University of Illinois at ChicagoUniversity of Illinois at ChicagoThe University of Illinois at Chicago, or UIC, is a state-funded public research university located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, near the Chicago Loop...
- University of Wisconsin–SuperiorUniversity of Wisconsin–SuperiorThe University of Wisconsin–Superior is a public university located in Superior, Wisconsin. UW–Superior grants bachelor's, master's, and specialist's degrees...
- Ursinus CollegeUrsinus CollegeUrsinus College is a liberal arts college in Collegeville, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.-History:1867Members of the German Reformed Church begin plans to establish a college where "young men could be liberally educated under the benign influence of Christianity." These founders were hoping to...
(Pennsylvania) - Washington & Jefferson CollegeWashington & Jefferson CollegeWashington & Jefferson College, also known as W & J College or W&J, is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania, in the United States, which is south of Pittsburgh...
(Pennsylvania) - Washington CollegeWashington CollegeWashington College is a private, independent liberal arts college located on a campus in Chestertown, Maryland, on the Eastern Shore. Maryland granted Washington College its charter in 1782...
(Maryland) - Wesleyan CollegeWesleyan CollegeWesleyan College is a private, liberal arts women's college located in Macon, Georgia, United States.-History:The school was chartered on December 23, 1836 as the Georgia Female College, and opened its doors to students on January 7, 1839. The school was renamed Wesleyan Female College in 1843...
(Georgia) - Wittenberg UniversityWittenberg UniversityWittenberg University is a private four-year liberal arts college in Springfield, Ohio serving 2,000 full-time students representing 37 states and approximately 30 foreign countries...
(Ohio)
See also
- Annapolis GroupAnnapolis GroupThe Annapolis Group is an American organization that describes itself as "a nonprofit alliance of the nation’s leading independent liberal arts colleges." It represents approximately 130 liberal arts colleges in the United States...
- Criticism of college and university rankings (2007 United States)Criticism of college and university rankings (2007 United States)Criticism of college and university rankings refers to a 2007 movement which developed among faculty and administrators in American Institutions of Higher Education. It follows previous movements in the U.S...
- Education ConservancyEducation ConservancyThe Education Conservancy is an American educational non-profit organization headed by director Lloyd Thacker. It describes its goal as being "committed to improving college admission processes for students, colleges and high schools."...