Interview: Elizabeth Coleman on college rankings

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Whether it’s David Letterman’s Top Ten, a music channel’s countdown of the top 100 rock songs or a spirited bar-room debate about the 50 best power hitters in baseball history, there’s something irresistible about a ranking system that appears to carry an authenticity based on assigned numerical value.

But when it comes to something as important as choosing a college or University, a growing number of schools say a simple ranking list does a disservice to both parents and students.

That’s why a majority of the 80 college Presidents attending a recent meeting of the Annapolis Group, an association of liberal arts colleges said they will not to participate in one of the most widely read college rankings that appears annually in the publication US News and World Report.

Elizabeth Coleman is President of Bennington College, which is part of the Annapolis Group. She spoke with VPR’s Mitch Wertlieb about whether the college will opt out of the US News and World Report rankings.

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