Editor’s Note
|Absolute Value|
Frank Shushok, Jr.
“I have a love–hate relationship with college rankings. I celebrate rankings that tout the insti-tutions I love—just check my Twitter and Facebook feeds for confirmation. I ’ m equally quick to bemoan the value of rankings that underestimate the col-leges and universities that have helped me find my way in the world. My reactions mirror those of our institutions: the press releases are ready to roll when we make upward progress in the prestige food chain. Conversely, our ranking no-shows ensure pub-lic silence—unless we issue value-laden insistences that we do not subscribe to such a silly, unauthorized barometer.”
Featured Articles
Executive Editor, Frank Shushok, Jr. Sits Down with Peter Felten and Charles C. Schroeder to Discover What Matters Most for a Meaningful Undergraduate Experience
Charles Schroeder, Peter Felten, & Frank Shushok, Jr.
Peter Felten and Charles C. Schroeder argue that we need a broadly oriented idea of the “quality undergraduate experience” that crosses organizational boundaries and focuses on the entire student experience. What is important is what students do, how they spend their time, what they are engaged in.
Alexis Redding
While many families rely on published rankings of top colleges to choose where to apply, Alexis Brooke Redding argues that it is much more important to fi nd the right college for each student than the highest ranked. She shares the stories of three undergraduates who were on trajectories to attend very different schools and how they found their place at the nontraditional Hampshire College.
Shifting to Curricular Approaches to Learning beyond the Classroom
Kathleen G. Kerr, James Tweedy, Keith E. Edwards, and Dillon Kimmel
Kathleen G. Kerr and James Tweedy published an article about a cur-ricular approach to student affairs in About Campus 10 years ago. Now they, along with Keith E. Edwards and Dillon Kimmel, report on the seismic shifts in their thinking and programming since then.