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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 5, 1998)
Faculty says rankings don’t tell whole story RANKINGS from page 1 Reputation data was gathered by a survey distributed to law school administrators around die country. The surveys asked administrators to rank each of the about 175 law schools in the United States. “I probably know as much about a number of law schools as anyone in Nebraska,” Perlman said, “yet I proba bly only know 10 or 12 schools well enough to say anything about them.” John Bernthal, chairman of the Special Education and Communication Disorders depart ments, said die rankings were nothing more than a “beauty contest” “Itfe very difficult to get any objec tive data in terms of why people rate institutions or programs higher than another,” he said. Audiology and speech and lan guage pathology master’s and doctor ate programs in Bernthal’s department were ranked 28th and 18th, respective ly uut or more man zmj similar pro grams in the country, Bemthal said it was difficult to judge what programs were better than others. But Bemthal said he was pleased with the rankings because his faculty was much smaller than that of other schools. Often, larger programs at better known schools are ranked higher than smaller programs, he said. Robert Egbert, UNL professor of educational curriculum and instruc tion, said universities that have impressive academic reputations tend to score well in programs where they might not be as good as universities with less-impressive credentials. UNL’s doctorate programs in ele mentary education ranked 16th in the survey, doctorate programs in educa tional psychology ranked 24th and doctorate programs in vocational and technical education ranked 24th. In comparison, Harvard University has a strong academic rep utation, Egbert said, so its elementary program was ranked third, although UNL prepares better teachers, he said. Richard Durst, dean of the college of fine and performing arts, said he knew of one survey in which profes sors around the nation ranked Princeton University’s law school among the top programs in the nation. The only problem, Durst said, was that Princeton doesn’t have a law school. This kind of anecdotal evidence proves that prospective students must examine reputation-based surveys with skepticism, he said. UNL’s master’s program of fine arts ranked 89th in the survey, and the drama master’s program ranked 48th. “I would hate to see people use these rankings as some kind of a qual itative indicator of an academic pro gram,” Durst said. “If people simply look at the rankings one to 100 without looking at the qualifiers - what made the ranking what it is - they’re selling themselves short” Durst said choosing a graduate school by using just the U.S. News rankings was like someone buying a car based solely on what’s written in Consumer Reports. “There’s no substitute for coming to campus and seeing what the envi ronment is for yourself,” Durst said. Students need to test-drive an academic program, much like a car buyer needs to take an automobile for a spin around the block, he said. It’s important for prospective stu dents to talk to faculty members and examine the curriculum and facilities at universities they’re interested in. “You can have the most highly ranked program, and it may not be the place you want to be,” Durst said. On the list of top-ranked programs is exactly where UNL’s physics pro grams should be, said Roger Kirby, chairman of the physics and astrono my department The program is 83rd out of 88 programs. “Of course everybody will com plain that there are some injustices,” Kilby said, “and indeed there are, but the schools at the top will be better at research than the schools at the bot tom.” r Kirby said anyone who looks at the U.S. News survey should use the rank ings only for a general guide. “You should just take them for what they are,” Kirby said. “They’re a list of some of the top schools in the country. “And I think we’re one of them, but you shouldn’t say number 72 is better than number 73. They’re just meant to be general guidelines. “You shouldn’t take them too seri ously.” Use your noon hour to RELAX** For more information, call Sue at 472-7450 Counseling ^Psychological Services • March 5 Magic Carpet & Restoring Equilibrium Thursdays 9 March 12 Breathing for Relaxation 8c 1 Health/Magic Ban Motive ’a TUbiaw I . 1644 P St ft# %i Sfewly Remodel ltjfte«i. tlie Size of tli© it - POOL/D J v * Food, music, cultures shared at union event BAZAAR from page 1 were cheap - about $ 1 per serving - for mouth-watering cuisine. Each student association paid $30 for a table at the bazaar and kept the profits from the items they sold. The Thailand booth was deter mined best by two of three judges because it included live music with its food and souvenirs. “It’s great. I’d come here every week if they had it,” said Darrel Harmon, a university visi tor. A long line of those wanting Mehndi, or temporary tattoos, formed near Mehndi artist r-1 t Archana Rathi. “There’s lots of new things, even for folks who’ve been around before,” said Judy Wendorff, an international affairs adviser, who was wearing one of Rathi’s temporary tattoos. Mehndi designs are made by applying henna - a dye extracted from the leaves of a henna plant - on the skin in intricate patterns. “We wanted to bring everyone together, no matter what their cul tural background,” said Amruta Kshatriya, vice president of pro grams and activities for ISO. “That’s what the bazaar is all about.” .... uwmmtttbm* I pfro^ttww*- I WCHUTTf^aiMt I TThSHH Serving America Twice 1-800-USA-NAVY www.navyjobs.com / *'
