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For many years, publications have ranked and ranked higher education institutions, with the aim of better informing people about the value of their education. But after more schools began participating in U.S. News & World Report’s final round of law school rankings, many people began to question their methods.
In November, Yale and Harvard University Law Schools shared that they would no longer provide internal data for the US News and World Report rankings. The schools, which were quickly followed by several other top institutions, pointed out how the rankings helped boost graduate salaries, expand applicant pools and recruit students. It helped spark a conversation about where honors come from, how schools prepare graduates for success, and what the true value of education might be.
Similar conversations took place on 97.9 The Hill’s latest For ‘Em on The Hill panel, when leaders from UNC and Durham Technical Community College discussed the state of higher education in the area.
UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said that while his university is among the top-ranked schools on many counts, he believes a school’s success comes back to what its students do after they graduate. While UNC is exploring different ways to measure this, he said the immediate effect of earning a higher education degree is simple.
“There’s a new return-on-investment study to look at lifetime income,” Guskiewicz said. “I’m not sure that’s the best measure of success, but some suggest it is. But, for us, we’re making sure we’re bringing in a variety of students who can thrive at Carolina. [and] Who can graduate on time. And our graduation rates are among the best in the country.
One of UNC’s most recent priorities is diversity and inclusion in its student body. While admissions can’t directly fix the campus experience, the university’s various scholarship programs help bring in students from a variety of disciplines, he said.
The chancellor also said that the university’s emphasis on wide presence and direct connection with the areas it serves will improve the view of higher education as an option.
“Each institution can do a better job of going out and into communities [your] The applicant pool is more diverse,” said Guskiewicz. “Some of the programs that we have — Project Uplift, our Chancellor’s Scholars Program, the Carolina Promise Program — help us use competency as a key factor in that universal admissions process. But when you have a diverse applicant pool, the possibilities for all those great things to happen become real.
A bicyclist rides through the Old Well on the campus of the University of North Carolina in October 2021 in Chapel Hill. (Photo by Johnny Andrews/UNC-Chapel Hill).
Racial disparity among UNC’s incoming students recently made national headlines when the university defended its policies in the US Supreme Court. A group of Asian American applicants, represented by an organization aiming to overturn the Affirmative Action Act, first filed the lawsuit in 2014 — during oral arguments for the Justice Department last November.
Although not involved in the lawsuit, Durham Tech President JB Buxton said he believes UNC’s stance demonstrates its commitment to diversity. Because the community college has an affirmed-admissions program with Carolina, Buxton said Durham Tech has invested in how Chapel Hill University operates to be inclusive.
“In this latest case,” the president said, “it was a great reminder to us why we think this partnership is important because we think we have an institutional partner that does exactly that. They want this community-like student body.” [Our student body is] At Durham Tech, 70 percent are non-white. We want our students to go to a place that respects their life experiences, regardless of their background.
Durham Technical Community College President JB Buxton (Photo via Aspen Institute.)
Additionally, UNC Faculty Chair Mimi Chapman spoke about how critical diversity is to a college campus. She said that in an environment where college standards are low, the experience is meant to challenge, expand, or gain a deeper understanding of a student’s faith.
“Education is about finding your career path, but it’s more than that,” Chapman said. “It’s about how you think about competing viewpoints, how you understand the news when you read it, how you participate in civics, how you interact with your neighbors, and whether they can see things the way you do or see things differently.
“There are a lot of things that are very challenging for an institution to measure,” the UNC professor continued. But, as a faculty member, I think we know it when we see it and we know when to present it. We know when a part really gelled and grew together, supported each other, and [are] Achieving goals. Education is a living thing.”
Mimi Chapman After being named faculty chair in 2020, she stood on UNC’s campus in Old Well for seriousness. (Photo by John Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)
Many universities have additional internal sources for pursuing alumni: alumni associations and donors. While Durham Tech doesn’t have a formal group for its alumni, Buxton said the school is encouraged and motivated by the examples of recent graduates who give back after finding success in their fields.
“We had a woman. [endow a scholarship recently] Why did you decide to do this? She said, ‘It was the first year I started my IT company that I made money. That’s what someone did to me. [with a scholarship.]’
“We think we’re growing people who feel supported by the community when they come through community college,” Buxton added. “When you leave [they] They feel they need to find a way to make an impact and support people in the way they can. I’d say that’s a hard thing to measure, but it’s definitely the kind of graduate we want to produce.
Guskiewicz pointed to UNC’s GAA as one aspect of how his institution interacts with alumni. It offers programs and meetings for those who left the university years ago, but the chancellor pointed out how the program can also help recent graduates find stability.
“Throughout the pandemic, our soon-to-be graduates have played an important role in networking and helping students get in. [the workforce]” said Guskiewicz. “Whether it’s business, banking, healthcare or high-tech industries. We just have to continue to monitor them and [ensure] They are proud to have come to their dream,” he said.
The For’Em on The Hill series of higher education panels can be listened to here.
Photo by John Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill.
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