A List
11/3/03

SLU CITED IN NEW BOOK THAT DEBUNKS COLLEGE RANKINGS

CANTON – St. Lawrence University has been cited as a college whose curriculum 
meets "the five criteria of a quality education" in a new book that seeks to 
provide students and parents with alternatives to popular magazine rankings 
for finding and selecting the right school.
      College Rankings: The Art of Getting a Quality Education in the 21st 
Century, by Paul Boyer, was published by Peterson's in September. The publisher 
states, "The popular college-ranking magazines and books may garner widespread 
appeal among college-bound students and their parents, but many question 
whether they are an objective measure of a quality education. In an effort 
to help students and parents gather valid, reliable information throughout 
the college selection and admissions process, author and education consultant 
Boyer draws upon the real-life expertise of college presidents and deans from 
a variety of institutions to highlight the weaknesses of existing college 
ranking systems."
	In the book, Boyer argues that instead of attempting to quantify the 
quality of an education by analyzing figures such as SAT scores, endowment 
sizes and average faculty salaries, institutions need to measure and track 
specific educational outcomes and student satisfaction. He explains how to 
use objective and unbiased information (rather than an arbitrary and subjective 
ranking system) to choose a college, describes what a quality education truly 
is and shows students how to find it. 
	Boyer's "Five Criteria of a Quality Education" are: a commitment to 
general education; a commitment to writing, speaking and critical-thinking 
skills; a commitment to active learning; opportunities to extend learning 
beyond the classroom; and a diverse, intellectually active and respectful 
community.
	St. Lawrence University Associate Dean of the First Year and Associate 
Professor of Economics Steven Horwitz is quoted in the book discussing 
the first two criteria, and several pages are devoted to detailing the 
University's First-Year Program as an example of a college with a commitment 
to general education.
	The author is a nationally recognized consultant to the higher 
education community and has written several books on the college selection 
process. In addition to College Rankings Exposed, Boyer is the author of 
Peterson's Smart Parents Guide to College, as well as Building Tribal 
Communities: Defining the Mission and Measuring the Outcomes of Tribal Colleges, 
and Native American Colleges: Progress and Prospects. Boyer is president 
of Boyer Associates, where he engages in consulting, writing, and strategic 
planning for a variety of colleges, universities, and foundations. 
	Publishers Weekly said of the book, "Boyer breaks the public 
silence around the college ranking system. Drawing upon the expertise of 
college presidents and admissions deans, he adroitly cuts through the hype 
of the college ranking game: the deceptive numbers, the distortions of truth 
and the misleading, often subjective information at their core. [He] provides 
useful strategies on how to sort through information on the hundreds of 
fine colleges and universities to find the right fit for a particular 
student."

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