<p>Rather that bashing it's current methodology, what are some ways you think it can improve the way it measures "student satisfaction"? Hire a team to poll a representative sample from each school? I realize many are unhappy their beloved school that was ranked highly by US News is ranked way lower here, but how exactly can you prove that student happiness at say, Wofford College (#58) isn't better than at NYU (#173) or that it isn't better at Smith (#35) than at Brown (#45)? Ratemyprofessor is surely biased but if every school is subject to that bias, then they are equally advantaged/disadvantaged by that yardstick (though there are schools with private rating systems like Williams that might get an advantage). Same is true for payscale, Who's Who, etc. Also, Forbes is well-aware this ranking isn't a measure of selectivity, so those of you trying to criticize the ranking on that basis are missing the point. One major problem I see though is the lack of consistency from year to year. Some schools fluctuate wildly from year to year.</p>
<p>Forbes should get out of a field it has no business being in, with obviously no ability to do well in. Whoever made those rankings should be fired, quickly and without question. It’s like something from the Onion…but real.</p>
<p>I would state the question differently: could a credible news organization compile a serious rank ordering in this fashion, and stay in business.</p>
<p>I think the answer is no. I think you should be deeply skeptical of the publication’s motives and it’s potential to add value in this area. You should note that Forbes did not generate one shred of new data for this exercise. That should tell you all you need to know about that organization’s commitment to this topic.</p>
<p>The real question is: is there an opportunity to provide better objective and cost effective decision making information about colleges and college selection. The answer is, probably. We know there is a lot of descriptive data available on this topic, but there are significant gaps. </p>
<p>Someone, or some serious organization, can help fill these gaps. But it will take a different kind of organization to fill them.</p>