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<p>That intimates that presidents and provosts actually spend their time filling the survey as opposed to let some junior official copy and paste the previous entries. It also intimates that the responders have the ability to evaluate the other institutions for faculty and ancillary resources. Where do they find that information? Reading the older USNews or do they go spend some time on the other 200 or so LACs in the country? The idea that the president of Rhodes College could “evaluate” correctly the resources (or the areas of academic excellence) of Reed or Wesleyan is simply preposterous. The PA is a beauty and popularity contest. And nothing more than that!</p>
<p>Fwiw, this issue has been debated ad nauseam, and it seems that many simply prefer to refuse to accept what the presidents have admitted themselves, namely that they are unable to offer a VALID opinion on other schools and that some do engage in abject gamesmanship. </p>
<p>The survey is a reputational index, and accordingly represents what school officials do PERCEIVE. However, it takes a giant leap of faith to accept or pretend that the opinion is based on anything else than a distant and vague perception of what happens on hundreds of campus through the nation. </p>
<p>And, by the way, your position that Wellesley pretty much dominate the other peer colleges in terms of faculty and resources seems to be a matter of opinion. While it is obvious that a highly prestigious college such as Wellesley must possess great resources and faculty, it is less clear that it “dominates” other schools in general terms, or that it is even competitive in all areas, especially with LACs that have developed areas of specialization.</p>