US News Ranking

ISUBird

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Aug 25, 2017
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The 2020 US News and World Report college rankings came out. ISU is now 197. Last year we were 171 and a few years before that we were in the 140s. We have dropped 50-55 spots in 5 years. What is causing this? Are they adding more schools to the National Rankings or has the formula for ranking changed? This isn't a good look.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/illinois-state-university-1692
 

Jon99

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Sep 9, 2017
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They have added a lot more schools, we are still slotted about the same when compared to schools like Oklahoma St, Kansas St and Louisville.. What I don't get is what classifies a national university? Are Valpo and St Francis really National Universities like they are now classified?.
 

ChiRedbirdfan

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ISUBird said:
The 2020 US News and World Report college rankings came out. ISU is now 197. Last year we were 171 and a few years before that we were in the 140s. We have dropped 50-55 spots in 5 years. What is causing this? Are they adding more schools to the National Rankings or has the formula for ranking changed? This isn't a good look.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/illinois-state-university-1692

I looked closely at the list yesterday and there are many many more universities that were added to this annual ranking of national universities that were previously ranked as regional universities. Many of the new national universities are ranked ahead of ISU so that is clearly the major reason for the big drop. ISU did drop in their national ranking over the last 5 years which some have spun as being solely due to adding more universities to the national ranking. Though that was a minor part of it in the past that was not the main driver as to why ISU was falling. Unfortunately the main driver was due to the fact that ISU was being bypassed by previously rated national universities. Again that is not the case this year. ISU needs to add some more quantitative degrees (ie engineering) for many good reasons which would help ISU long term in many ways.

btw...how about the Chicago area having 2 of the top 9 national universities (UC and NU)...the only metro area that could make that claim is Boston (Harvard, MIT). NYC could too (Columbia, Princeton) if one believes Princeton is part of the NYC metro area which is debatable. I read an article recently where Goldman Sachs did a study about expanding the Ivy League membership and the recommendation was to add UC however UC would have to move athletics to D1. Last comment...the University of Florida has been and continues to fly up the national rankings. They were 10 spots behind universities such as UofI/Wisconsin 5 years ago and now are 10 spots ahead of them. U of F leadership made the statement 15 years ago that U of F would become a top national university and leadership has backed up that talk by going out and routinely hiring some of the top professors.
...
 

Sanantoniobird

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Jul 18, 2017
Messages
911
ChiRedbirdfan said:
ISUBird said:
The 2020 US News and World Report college rankings came out. ISU is now 197. Last year we were 171 and a few years before that we were in the 140s. We have dropped 50-55 spots in 5 years. What is causing this? Are they adding more schools to the National Rankings or has the formula for ranking changed? This isn't a good look.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/illinois-state-university-1692
Last comment...the University of Florida has been and continues to fly up the national rankings. They were 10 spots behind universities such as UofI/Wisconsin 5 years ago and now are 10 spots ahead of them. U of F leadership made the statement 15 years ago that U of F would become a top national university and leadership has backed up that talk by going out and routinely hiring some of the top professors.
...
Florida has put in the work, continue to communicate and always reach out to all areas to have someone be a POC for news, get togethers and fundraising. They have a Mormon-like commitment to their alumni. It’s amazing. I finished my doctorate there.
 

ChiRedbirdfan

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 17, 2017
Messages
6,543
Sanantoniobird said:
ChiRedbirdfan said:
ISUBird said:
The 2020 US News and World Report college rankings came out. ISU is now 197. Last year we were 171 and a few years before that we were in the 140s. We have dropped 50-55 spots in 5 years. What is causing this? Are they adding more schools to the National Rankings or has the formula for ranking changed? This isn't a good look.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/illinois-state-university-1692
Last comment...the University of Florida has been and continues to fly up the national rankings. They were 10 spots behind universities such as UofI/Wisconsin 5 years ago and now are 10 spots ahead of them. U of F leadership made the statement 15 years ago that U of F would become a top national university and leadership has backed up that talk by going out and routinely hiring some of the top professors.
...
Florida has put in the work, continue to communicate and always reach out to all areas to have someone be a POC for news, get togethers and fundraising. They have a Mormon-like commitment to their alumni. It’s amazing. I finished my doctorate there.
Congrats! All alumni, past/present/future, share in the extra prestige and enhanced credibility associated with having a degree from a university with a higher ranking.
 

ISUBird

Active member
Joined
Aug 25, 2017
Messages
392
ChiRedbirdfan said:
ISUBird said:
The 2020 US News and World Report college rankings came out. ISU is now 197. Last year we were 171 and a few years before that we were in the 140s. We have dropped 50-55 spots in 5 years. What is causing this? Are they adding more schools to the National Rankings or has the formula for ranking changed? This isn't a good look.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/illinois-state-university-1692

I looked closely at the list yesterday and there are many many more universities that were added to this annual ranking of national universities that were previously ranked as regional universities. Many of the new national universities are ranked ahead of ISU so that is clearly the major reason for the big drop. ISU did drop in their national ranking over the last 5 years which some have spun as being solely due to adding more universities to the national ranking. Though that was a minor part of it in the past that was not the main driver as to why ISU was falling. Unfortunately the main driver was due to the fact that ISU was being bypassed by previously rated national universities. Again that is not the case this year. ISU needs to add some more quantitative degrees (ie engineering) for many good reasons which would help ISU long term in many ways.

btw...how about the Chicago area having 2 of the top 9 national universities (UC and NU)...the only metro area that could make that claim is Boston (Harvard, MIT). NYC could too (Columbia, Princeton) if one believes Princeton is part of the NYC metro area which is debatable. I read an article recently where Goldman Sachs did a study about expanding the Ivy League membership and the recommendation was to add UC however UC would have to move athletics to D1. Last comment...the University of Florida has been and continues to fly up the national rankings. They were 10 spots behind universities such as UofI/Wisconsin 5 years ago and now are 10 spots ahead of them. U of F leadership made the statement 15 years ago that U of F would become a top national university and leadership has backed up that talk by going out and routinely hiring some of the top professors.
...

I would welcome engineering, expanding our nursing school, and even adding law despite it being saturated because the could help our rankings.

We are also closing our Chicago branch.

I'm glad for Chicagoland. The schools are very good. It would be nice to have an option in the 50-100 range though.

Chicago will never join the Ivy League. They don't want them and they are physically very far away compared to the schools now.
 
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