For the fifth consecutive year, The University of Memphis ranked relatively low among national universities in the 2001 U.S. News and World Report's college rankings.
According to the U.S. News report, The U of M ranked 214 out of the 228 national universities that were scored, placing it below most universities of comparable size in the Mid-South.
Students and faculty expressed mixed feelings about the poor ranking.
"It's pretty sad," said Jennifer Houck, a graphic design major. "People pay good money to be here, and that report makes it seem like we are buying damaged goods," Houck said.
While The University has never done well in the rankings, members of administration have raised questions regarding the validity of the ranking system.
"There are many intangibles that make it very difficult to accurately and fairly depict a school statistically," said Dr. Ivan Legg, provost at The University.
Legg adds that the ranking system should be divided into more categories in order to accurately rank schools.
"We are a school placed in a major urban environment with relatively low funding from the state, and being compared to schools that do not necessarily meet those criteria," said Legg.
The methodology that is used to rank schools by the U.S. News is based on seven factors, which are weighted by importance -- assigned by U.S. News. The factors are as follows: academic reputation, retention of students, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, alumni donations and the percentage of students who are expected to graduate and do so.
Then universities are grouped according to certain similar traits.
For example, The U of M is categorized as a national university, which, according to the U.S. News, is a school that offers a full range of majors as well as masters and doctoral degrees.
The national universities are then subdivided into four tier groups, with the top ranked schools in the first tier, and the remaining schools placed in tiers two, three or four in descending rank.
The U of M lingers near the bottom of the fourth tier.
Although the rankings are widely used in assisting possible applicants in selecting a university to attend, there has been no variation in the steady flow of incoming freshmen to The U of M.
"I looked at the rankings when I was a senior in high school, but I wanted to attend the University of Memphis. It's as simple as that. I don't think you can make a decisive judgment of a school until you actually check it out for yourself," said Josh Gwatney, a U of M student.
In contrast to the low placement of The University as a whole, the Fogelman College of Business and Economics ranked in the top 150 of best business programs and departments in the U.S. In addition, the University of Memphis' law school has a higher percentage of students who pass the Tennessee Bar Exam than other, more prestigious schools in the state -- such as Vanderbilt -- according to the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners.
"It just proves that we are a great school with great students," said Ralph Faudree, interim president of The University. "Rankings have little bearing on the quality of this University."
