And critics of the rankings have long claimed that because the methodology is laid out for all to see, colleges can and do change their policies to inflate their numbers and boost their ranking. It's like the story of the alligator in the sewer pipes. Making improvements with an eye on the rankings can be laudable. And because U.S. News considers the graduation rate an indicator of student satisfaction, Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., is re-examining a policy that no longer makes sense. Since 1969, students a few credits short of graduation have been allowed to leave in good standing and make them up later.
Some students never do, depressing the graduation rate.
The harsher charge is that some colleges have altered policies in disregard of a stated commitment to excellence. For instance, one college administrator wondered darkly about the practice at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, of admitting students in January. Colby does admit 30 to 40 students midyear to fill places vacated by upperclassmen studying abroad and has been doing so for longer than U.S. News has been ranking colleges. So Colby has no incentive to try to keep the students out of the U.S. News tally, says Kopp. Unquestionably, college administrators are pressured by board members and alums to do something, anything, to move up in the rankings.