Raking in the rankings Midd's high marks

Author: Ben Salkowe

Middlebury hit the jackpot this summer in rankings city, hopping three spaces to number eight on the U.S. News and World Report's "America's Best Colleges" rankings, beating out Yale for "overall academic experience" in The Princeton Review's "The Best 361 Colleges," taking the title of "hottest college for International Studies" in Newsweek, placing top in the country for golf programs in Golf Digest and scoring a prominent feature in The New York Times for the use of local ingredients in College dining halls.

After last year when the College fell in the lists of many of those same publications, College administrators were cautious to embrace the good news.

"If you live by the rankings, you die by the rankings," said Vice President for College Advancement Mike Schoenfeld. He explained that the College chooses not to highlight or advertise its rank in any particular publication because the same dozen schools tend to shuffle positions every year. "We've varied in the rankings from fifth to eleventh, and each year they change the ranking criteria," Schoenfeld noted, referring specifically to the U.S. News & World Report's publications.

Associate Director of Public Affairs Sarah Ray said her office does not publicize Middlebury's place in top lists even when they are good because celebrating the College's rank on a high year only emphasizes the drop on low years.

"It's great to be included and we should be, but it's not a good way to judge Middlebury," Ray said. "We're the same institution that we were when we ranked eleventh [last year]."



How Midd Sized Up



Despite a wary group of administrators, nobody was complaining about where the College ranked this year. U.S. News & World Report's popular "America's Best Colleges" ranked Middlebury eighth among all American liberal arts colleges. The national rankings are determined by a spread of criteria - including schools' faculty-student ratios, admissions selectivity and alumni giving rate.

Similarly, Middlebury was featured on over a half-dozen of The Princeton Review's "The Best 361 Colleges" Rankings for 2006. Most notably the College ranked number six on the guide's "Best Overall Academic Experience for Undergraduates" list, beating out both Yale and Amherst. By the guide's own description, "The Princeton Review asks college students (more than 110,000 of them) what their schools are really like, and reports the most revealing answers in this book."

Interestingly, while The Princeton Review ranked Middlebury number nine in the category for "Their Students Never Stop Studying," they quote one student complaining of grade inflation and the ease of acing classes. Referring to a laid-back "Club Midd" atmosphere, the guide's authors write: "[It] might be the result of a bit of grade inflation (some kids complain that 'if you're smart, you can get A's and B's hardly doing any work')."

The guide also ranks Middlebury among the best for its top-notch professors, smooth-running administration, incredibly selective admissions, great campus food and excellent quality of life.

While college administrators across the country have cast doubt on both U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review's ever-changing, in some cases downright vague, ranking criteria, admissions offices nonetheless recognize the role the list plays in at least introducing prospective students to their options, and potentially drawing larger and ever more talented applicant pools.

"In terms of how important these rankings are, we are obviously always happy to have positive publicity that reinforces our own perception of Middlebury as one of the top liberal arts and sciences colleges in the nation," wrote Robert Clagett, dean of admissions, in an e-mail. "Certainly that can also have an impact on the number and quality of our prospective applicants, and that's a good thing."

Clagett added that the Admissions Office strategy in recruiting applicants would not change to promote the good press. "My main concern with ratings such as these is that they attempt to reduce educational institutions to a series of statistics, as if they were cars or toaster ovens being compared in Consumer Reports," he said.

"As always, what is most effective in attracting the strongest applicants to Middlebury is making clear what we do best: providing a first-class liberal arts and sciences education in a beautiful setting and in a close-knit community that puts people first," Clagett said.



Recognition Beyond the Rankings



It was not only in the mainstream rankings that Middlebury performed this summer. A host of new magazine reviews and features also identified the College at or among the best in a number of arenas.

Over the summer Newsweek named Middlebury College the "Hottest for International Studies" in the country in its Aug. 22 issue. Newsweek writer Jay Matthews explained the basis for the choices of Middlebury and other "hot" colleges: "All the colleges on the Hot List for 2006 have one attribute in common: they're creating buzz among students, school officials and longtime observers of the admissions process. Our choices, and corresponding categories, are inherently subjective: there are no equations for assessing the magic that makes a school sparkle."

For the administration at Middlebury all the good reviews and rankings have been fine and dandy, but what they claim to be most proud of is an Aug. 24 feature article in The Times that spotlighted the College's commitment to using fresh, locally grown and raised produce, dairy, meat and poultry in its dining halls. The article quoted and pictured College students and staff preparing, serving and enjoying dining hall meals made from fresh Vermont ingredients.

"To me that's fantastic media coverage," said Schoenfeld. "It accurately portrayed a real strength for Middlebury. Some [prospective] student would look at that and say, 'I really learned something about this school.'"

Dining Services was no less ecstatic over the prominent feature. "No question we're all smiles," said Matthew Biette, director of dining services.

According to Schoenfeld and Biette, the Times reporter first went to a conference of schools using local ingredients in their dining halls held at Kenyon College. In speaking with participants at the conference, the reporter tracked down Middlebury which, rather than having recently begun to use local ingredients, has made it a hallmark tradition since its founding.

"We're a very quiet leader in the purchasing of local products," said Biette. "Among other institutions and peers it's rare what we do. We do it without a lot of fanfare."

Biette said he was excited to see a "niche" of Middlebury recognized outside the context of a top 10 list or ranking.

"The country is wild about rankings, and editors have found a way to sell more magazines," said Schoenfeld. "[But] the guides and rankings have Middlebury in the top 10 and I think that's right."