Abstract
Annual rankings provide easily consumable quantitative information that prospective students and their families use to make decisions about applications and admissions offers. One popular ranking is Princeton Review’s Party Schools, which receives national attention and condemnation by institutional leaders. We analyzed IPEDS and Clery Act data using Generalized Estimating Equations to examine institutional effects and changes in student behaviors associated with appearing in this ranking. We found that appearing in the Party School rankings is associated with several important changes in applications, admissions, and student behaviors. We offer explanations for institutional leaders to consider before taking actions they believe will help ensure their institution no longer appears in the Party Schools rankings.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alter, M., & Reback, R. (2014). True for your school? How changing reputations alter demand for selective U.S. colleges. Educational and Policy Analysis, 36, 346–370. https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373713517934.
Ballinger, G. A. (2004). Using generalized estimating equations for longitudinal data analysis. Organizational Research Methods, 7(2), 127–150. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428104263672.
Bastedo, M. N., & Bowman, N. A. (2010). The U.S. News and World Report college rankings: modeling institutional effects on organizational reputation. American Journal of Education, 116, 163–183. https://doi.org/10.1086/649437.
Bowman, N. A., & Bastedo, M. N. (2009). Getting on the front page: organizational reputation, status signals, and the impact of U.S. News and World Report on student decisions. Research in Higher Education, 50(5), 415–436. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-009-9129-8.
Eagan, K., Stolzenberg, E. B., Ramirez, J. J., Aragon, M. C., Suchard, M. R., & Rios-Aguilar, C. (2016). The american freshman: fifty-year trends, 1966–2015. Los Angeles, CA: Higher Education Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles.
Ehrenberg, R. (2003). Reaching for the brass ring: the U.S. News & World Report rankings and competition. The Review of Higher Education, 26(2), 145–162. https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2002.0032.
Elster, J. (Ed.). (1986). Rational choice. New York University Press.
Griffith, A., & Rask, K. (2007). The influence of the U.S. News and World Report collegiate rankings on the matriculation decision of high-ability students: 1995–2004. Economics of Education Review, 26(2), 244–255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2005.11.002.
Hazelkorn, E. (2011). Globalization and the reputation race in rankings and the reshaping of higher education: the battle for world class excellence. Palgrave MacMillan.
Hossler, D., & Foley, E. M. (1995). Reducing the noise in the college choice process: the use of college guidebooks and ratings. In R. D. Walleri, & M. K. Moss (Eds.), Evaluating and responding to college guidebooks and rankings (pp. 21–30). Jossey-Bass. (New Directions for Institutional Research Series No. 88.
Janosik, S. M., & Gehring, D. D. (2003). The impact of the Clery Campus Crime Disclosure Act on student behavior. Journal of College Student Development, 44(1), 81–91. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2003.0005.
Kim, J. (2018). The functions and dysfunctions of college rankings: an analysis of institutional expenditure. Research in Higher Education, 59, 54–87. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-017-9455-1.
Luca, M., & Smith, J. (2013). Salience in quality disclosure: evidence from the U.S. News college rankings. Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, 22(1), 58–77. https://doi.org/10.1111/jems.12003.
MacGowan, B. R. (2000). Those magazine rankings: let’s beg them to stop. Professional School Counseling, 3(4), 287.
Machung, A. (1998). Playing the ranking game. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 30(4), 12–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/00091389809602626.
McCormick, R. E., & Tinsley, M. (1987). Athletics versus academics? Evidence from SAT scores. Journal of Political Economy, 95(5), 1103–1116. https://doi.org/10.1086/261505.
Meredith, M. (2004). Why do universities compete in the ratings game? An empirical analysis of the effects of the “U.S. News and World Report” college rankings. Research in Higher Education, 45(5), 443–461. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:RIHE.0000032324.46716.f4.
Michael, S. O. (2005). The cost of excellence: the financial implications of institutional rankings. International Journal of Educational Management, 19(5), 365–382. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513540510607716.
Monks, J., & Ehrenberg, R. G. (1999). US News & World Report’s college rankings: why they do matter. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 31(6), 42–51. https://doi.org/10.1080/00091389909604232.
Murphy, R., & Trandell, G. (1994). The relation between a university’s football record and the size of its applicant pool. Economics of Education Review, 13(3), 265–270.
Nora, A. (2004). The role of habitus and cultural capital in choosing a college, transitioning from high school to higher education, and persisting in college among minority and nonminority students. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 3(2), 180–208. https://doi.org/10.1177/1538192704263189.
Pekár, S., & Brabec, M. (2016). Marginal models via GLS: a convenient yet neglected tool for the analysis of correlated data in the behavioural sciences. Ethology, 122(8), 621–631. https://doi.org/10.1111/eth.12713.
Princeton Review (2020). About The Princeton Review. https://www.princetonreview.com/corporate/about-us
Sauder, M., & Espeland, W. N. (2009). The discipline of rankings: tight coupling and organizational change. American Sociological Review, 74(1), 63–82. https://doi.org/10.1177/000312240907400104.
Saxon, A. H. (1989). PT Barnum: the legend and the man. Columbia University Press.
Smith, D. R. (2019). The lure of academic and social reputations versus athletic success: influences on enrollment yield at NCAA Division I institutions. Research in Higher Education, 60(6), 870–904. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-018-9537-8.
Sponsler, B. (2009). The role and relevance of rankings in higher education policymaking. Washington, DC: Institute for Higher Education Policy.
Thompson, N. (2003). The best, the top, the most. The New York Times Education section. August 3, 2003.
Tucker, I. B. (2005). Big-time pigskin success: is there an advertising effect? Journal of Sports Economics, 6(2), 222–229. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527002504263398.
Tucker, I., & Amato, L. (1993). Does big-time success in football or basketball affect SAT scores? Economics of Education Review, 12(2), 177–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/0272-7757(93)90029-G.
Webster, D. S. (1992a). Rankings of undergraduate education in US. News & World Report and Money: are they any good? Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 24(2), 18–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/00091383.1992.9937104.
Webster, D. S. (1992b). Academic rankings: first on a list of one. Academe, 78(5), 19–22.
Wittek, R. (2013). Rational choice theory. In R. L. Warms, & J. R. McGee (Eds.), Theory in social and cultural anthropology: an encyclopedia (pp. 688–690). Sage.
Zorn, C. J. (2001). Generalized estimating equation models for correlated data: A review with applications. American Journal of Political Science, 470–490. https://doi.org/10.2307/2669353
Acknowledgements
We wish to acknowledge Alicia Sepulveda and Seth Reder for their contributions to the study.
Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Birnbaum, M., LeLonde, T. & Paris, J.H. Party school rankings: do we have anything to worry about?. Tert Educ Manag 28, 317–334 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11233-022-09109-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11233-022-09109-4