Goodwin, iSchool improve rankings
Naomi Parikh
Issue date: 6/5/09 Section: News
Several Drexel University graduate programs and schools improved their rank in the U.S. News and World Report's "America's Best Graduate Schools."
The report ranked the iSchool programs in information systems and digital librarianship third and sixth, respectively. The two are specialties from the College of Information Science and Technology, which also had its library and information studies program ranked fifth in the report's rankings for health librarianship.
"We appreciate being highly regarded by our peer institutions, [and] the credit for this achievement goes to the iSchool faculty and staff," David Fenske, dean of the iSchool, said. "We can, however, do better - and will."
Fenske said the iSchool's focus on quality in research and teaching, along with the large size of the program, have brought a good balance to the school's programs.
Teck-Kah Lim, associate vice provost for graduate studies, said the rankings were not surprising and provided more information than simply a number.
"From the rankings, we can see what other schools we were grouped with, and whether that's where we want to be or not," Lim said. "It also gives us an indication of our progress."
The School of Education, part of the Goodwin College of Professional Studies, rose 11 spots to rank 54 in the report, while the College of Engineering ranked 53. Lim said the two colleges should not be compared by the numbers.
"There are few schools with a school of education, so Drexel is competing against fewer universities, like Northeastern [University], which doesn't have a school of education," Lim said. "But they do have an engineering school, and so does Drexel, so there is more competition. We shouldn't look at the absolute numbers."
Drexel's LeBow College of Business was ranked 89 in the report. Lim said, excluding Master of Business Administration programs, the graduate programs were ranked based on peer assessment and not backed up by data.
"There are no quantitative measurements, like graduation rate or student enrollment. [The rankings] are based exclusively on peer assessments," Lim said.
Lim said these are "gut feelings," which makes the rankings harder to accept.
The U.S. News and World Report Web site states the MBA program rankings are based on several factors in addition to peer assessment, including student selectivity and mean starting salary.
The report ranked the iSchool programs in information systems and digital librarianship third and sixth, respectively. The two are specialties from the College of Information Science and Technology, which also had its library and information studies program ranked fifth in the report's rankings for health librarianship.
"We appreciate being highly regarded by our peer institutions, [and] the credit for this achievement goes to the iSchool faculty and staff," David Fenske, dean of the iSchool, said. "We can, however, do better - and will."
Fenske said the iSchool's focus on quality in research and teaching, along with the large size of the program, have brought a good balance to the school's programs.
Teck-Kah Lim, associate vice provost for graduate studies, said the rankings were not surprising and provided more information than simply a number.
"From the rankings, we can see what other schools we were grouped with, and whether that's where we want to be or not," Lim said. "It also gives us an indication of our progress."
The School of Education, part of the Goodwin College of Professional Studies, rose 11 spots to rank 54 in the report, while the College of Engineering ranked 53. Lim said the two colleges should not be compared by the numbers.
"There are few schools with a school of education, so Drexel is competing against fewer universities, like Northeastern [University], which doesn't have a school of education," Lim said. "But they do have an engineering school, and so does Drexel, so there is more competition. We shouldn't look at the absolute numbers."
Drexel's LeBow College of Business was ranked 89 in the report. Lim said, excluding Master of Business Administration programs, the graduate programs were ranked based on peer assessment and not backed up by data.
"There are no quantitative measurements, like graduation rate or student enrollment. [The rankings] are based exclusively on peer assessments," Lim said.
Lim said these are "gut feelings," which makes the rankings harder to accept.
The U.S. News and World Report Web site states the MBA program rankings are based on several factors in addition to peer assessment, including student selectivity and mean starting salary.
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