DeSantis proposes measures aimed at ‘woke’ ideologies in education
Gov. Ron DeSantis has made a number of changes to K-12 schools and higher education in Florida. Here’s what to know.
Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
The annual U.S. News & World Report’s college rankings are out, and there’s been a shakeup.
The state schools rose. The private universities fell. The University of Florida is still the highest-ranked in the state overall, in a tie for 28th on the national universities list, although it dropped out of the top five public institutions. Florida State came up two spots to tie for #53.
Florida Gulf Coast University leaped up 80 spots to tie for 162nd. Florida Atlantic University jumped 53 spots to tie with six other universities for the 209 spot, while Florida Institute of Technology dropped 68 positions to 269th.
Meanwhile, the New College of Florida, currently undergoing a conservative transformation under Gov. Ron DeSantis-appointed trustees, dropped 24 points on the National Liberal Arts Colleges list to tie for 100th place.
Why the upsets? The U.S. News & World Report’s annual college and university rankings, an annual listing since 1983 and widely considered to be the premiere rankings for higher education, have been taking some hits lately. Multiple medical schools and over 40 law schools announced they were no longer providing information for the report because of perceived bias against less-prestigious schools, an emphasis on graduates heading into high-paying careers over public service, and the ongoing question of just what college and university rankings mean.
Other rankings systems, such as the annual rankings from the Wall Street Journal, Washington Monthly and education advisory site Niche, offer students, guidance counselors, parents and guardians more ways to decide if a particular school is a good fit. In response, U.S. News & World Report announced its first major methodology overhaul this year, placing more emphasis on social mobility and outcomes for graduating students, according to a release.
How did your school do? Here are the rankings for the Florida schools that made U.S. News & World Report’s top 300 for national universities, along with their change from last year and their rankings from Washington Monthly and Niche.
This year, the U.S. News & World Report revised its methodology to take a closer look at social mobility and graduation rates.
“More than 50% of an institution’s rank now comprises varying outcome measures related to success in enrolling and graduating students from all backgrounds with manageable debt and post-graduate success,” the release said. “In addition, five factors were removed: class size, faculty with terminal degrees, alumni giving, high school class standing and the proportion of graduates who borrow federal loans.”
The Wall Street Journal also revised its methodology this year to emphasize outcomes over prestige, adding more weight to graduation rates and graduate salaries while trying to measure the impact schools actually have on student success.
Washington Monthly rates colleges based on what they do for the students and for the country, with a look at Pell graduates, attendance prices for low-income families and social mobility rank.
Niche ranks on a variety of statistics as well as millions of student and alumni reviews.
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