New World University Rankings Put Big Ten Schools High Up

In new rankings released today by both QS and THE, Big Ten universities fared very well. In QS, Michigan did the best at number 15 in the world, followed by Northwestern and Wisconsin, and in THE, Michigan did the best, followed by Northwestern and Illinois.

Big Ten Divisions to be Announced Tonight at Seven

According to an article today on ESPN, Big Ten football divisions will be announced tonight at 7 PM on the Big Ten Network. The projected divisions are as follows:

1. Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan State, Northwestern, Minnesota

2. Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana, Illinois

Michigan and Ohio State will be in separate divisions, but will play every year in a protected crossover. It is also looking like they will continue playing the last game of the season.

Steps to Restore Ranking Greatness

Alright, we've heard the arguments on both sides about why rankings are or aren't important, but let's just pretend for a second they are. The fact of the matter is that most public schools, and therefore most schools in the Big Ten, have been declining in national rankings in the last few years. Here is my point by point plan on how to fix it.

1. Go more out of state. The school I attend, Michigan, is roughly 1/3 out of state. This is very high for a public school, but consider this: Wisconsin, another highly regarded school in the Big Ten, is roughly 35% out of state and growing, Penn State is roughly 30% out of state, and Illinois is roughly 20% out of state and growing rapidly every year. At my school, the state contributes about 20% of the operating cost every year, and 1/3 of the applicants come from within the state, but 2/3 of the eventual students do. Actual enrollments should more accurately reflect where applications come from. This will also provide more revenue to the school in terms of tuition, and encouraging more out-of-state students to apply will increase competitiveness in admissions.

2. Look overseas. There is a rapidly growing middle class in many third-world countries that would be extremely eager to send their children to an American university. These students often pay more than out-of-state students, and do a lot to increase the diversity of schools. This is also a good way to get students for schools that don't quite have the cachet to increase out-of-state students. Many Big Ten schools offer programs in which foreign students are extremely interested, such as engineering and business. Schools should be proactive in recruiting these students, because many countries are putting a lot of money into their own education system in order to keep their best students.

3. Less is more. Many public schools are either being forced to offer less educational opportunities or hold steady, but overall student enrollment is increasing. This is generally not a good thing. This probably means that universities should try to reduce the number of people enrolling by reducing the number of people they accept. For example, Michigan over accepted by 1,000 kids this year, and Iowa over accepted by roughly 400. This creates housing issues, as well as teaching issues. The main plan to deal with this is to hope that enough kids drop out that space is cleared for everyone else. This is generally bad news, because it is generally a bad idea to hope for someone's failure so everyone else can have enough. By reducing the number of kids a school accepts, acceptance rates, a key measure of institutional quality, will go down.

4. Offer better financial aid. By accepting fewer kids, a university will have the same amount of financial aid to spread out over fewer people, meaning everyone can get more, and the school will have more full-rides to give out to the most coveted students.

ARWU

Missed this from last week, but Shanghai Jiao Tong University put out its Academic Rankings of World Universities last week. Wisconsin is the highest ranked Big Ten school, followed by Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, and Northwestern.

Illinois Going more Out-of-State

A look into the statistics provided by the University of Illinois Student Enrollment Office shows that new Freshman were almost 90% in-state in Fall 2006, but in Fall 2009, they were just over 80%. This is broadly in line with what many state schools are doing, largely as an effort to increase prestige and tuition revenue.

Salaries at Big Ten Schools

This is from a little while ago, but a company called PayScale has put together the numbers of the highest paid recently graduated students for 2010. All in all, Big Ten schools acquit themselves well, with University of Illinois doing the best in mid-career, and the soon to be Big Ten member Nebraska faring the worst, with Iowa being the lowest current member.

U of Illinois Being Investigated in Search for President

The University of Illinois is being investigated in its search for a new President. The News-Gazette has submitted a FOIA request, but UI is fighting it, trying to suppress details that may point to specific candidates being interviewed.

Your Stinky Socks are Killing the Earth

Donald Wuebbles, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Illinois, comments on this odd story about how odor killing socks could possibly lead to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions and the depletion of the ozone layer.

Illinois Professor named Architecture Fellow

University of Illinois professor of architecture, Jeffrey Poss has been elected be a fellow at the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects. He is among only four percent of AIA member to receive such an honor.

Ways to Have Fun on the Cheap

There's an interesting article in the Daily Illini about cheap ways to have fun in college.