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[B1071]Business School And Rankings

by Patricia Hawke, Pat

School Rankings are considered by many different groups. Parents and students use the data provided in a report of School Rankings to determine which school the students should attend. Most parents don't want to send their kid to a school that has a low-performance level. Looking at these reports can help them see which schools are doing well and which ones are not. Administrators of schools and their districts can use School Rankings in order to see how their school measures up to others around them, or to other schools that have the same demographics, characteristics, ethnic groups, or socioeconomic backgrounds. State boards of education look at School Rankings to compare how the schools throughout their states are doing, and then look at how they measure up against other states? schools.

Other groups that may look at School Rankings are community organizations or business leaders. These groups may want to make a cash donation or award a grant to a particular school, and examining School Rankings is a good, easy way to determine which school needs the monetary support these groups can give.

Oftentimes, schools that are high in School Rankings gather the most attention from these outside agencies. High-performing schools and those with innovative, successful programs often benefit from their high placement in School Rankings; they can receive cash rewards for their high achievements and dedication to excellence in education. It is of great interest to these schools to keep their place at the top of the School Rankings, as they will benefit from extra money in their coffers. Extra money means they can hire better-qualified teachers, purchase additional supplies from printers to pianos, and that money also ensures the continuation of the programs that have helped them achieve such a high placement in the School Rankings.

But what about the schools who fall to the bottom end of School Rankings? How can their ranking help them? While I'm not suggesting that schools should try to fail, receiving a low spot on the list can help them out. Their struggles just may draw the attention of various community organizations (such as churches or rotary-type clubs) and business leaders (from small business owners to multi-million dollar corporations). Schools that find themselves at the bottom of School Rankings find themselves in desperate need for assistance; not just in new program implementation and student support, but financially as well. In fact, in order for either of these steps to be undertaken with any amount of success, money is necessary. Groups that are interested in helping out schools that sit low on School Rankings can find out which schools they are, and help them as they are able and see fit.

Rankings for nursing schools are usually based on various factors. In the United States, there are officially two sets of rankings for nursing schools, the NIH Research Funding and the U.S. News and World Report. Rankings are done to determine what the best programs and nursing schools are in the country.

Some considerations before choosing

Not just because a school is on the top rank doesn't necessarily mean it is the right school for you. Most students consider the geographical location of the school, urbane scrubs free shipping, as well as the programs offered in the school. Even if a school is higher in rank than another, the school that has a lower rank may be offering a better program or faculty in a specific field. Rankings are just a guideline to give students a general idea of what the best nursing schools are out there. It is still best to choose a nursing school that best fits your needs and interests. You should investigate your top three preferred schools and understand their strengths and weaknesses according to your requirements.

How rankings are determined

Rankings are based on both objective and subjective information gathered from academic experts, advisors, professors, school administrators, students, alumni, executives, and recruiters. The system can vary with each guide and the data are usually collected from a survey. Objective or factual information collected include the average GPA of incoming students for a given school year, the number of students who passed the national certification examination, and the job placement rate of students after graduation. Subjective information are usually gathered from survey questions such as "rate the effectiveness" of a particular program. After all the data are gathered, a formula is used to allow some factors to carry more significance or less and then tallied. Other organizations simply gather statistical information to evaluate the ranking of a school.

Ranking Master's Programs

In the US News & World Report, only nursing schools with master's programs and specialties that have received NLNAC accreditation are ranked. All nursing programs are reassessed every three years; the last assessment was done in 2007. 269 schools were surveyed. US News and World Report uses a peer-review process, surveying two or three representatives from each institution.

Potential problems with rankings

If you do not already have a shortlist of nursing schools, nursing school rankings can help you determine a shortlist or help you reassess your preferences. However, there are potential problems in rankings. One is that rankings usually emphasize statistics and numbers are not a real indication of subjective experience. Also, ranking formulas may have standards that are biased or subjective; some things that the ranking body find significant may be unimportant or negligible to you. There are also a lot of aspects of nursing schools that cannot be rated by ranking guides. Some examples include professor instruction, student life, and campus activities. Thus, while ranking guides provide a general perspective, it is still best to actually visit the campuses on your shortlist. If that's impossible, going online and checking the schools' websites can prove to be invaluable.

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Both Patricia Hawke & Brent Mcnutt are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Patricia Hawke has sinced written about articles on various topics from Education, Food And Drink and Education Toys. Patricia Hawke is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. For more information please visit