US News & World Report has released its annual list of the "best" law school dispute resolution programs and Pepperdine University remains in the first position. The balance of the top ten are the same as last year, with some minor adjustments (Harvard drops from third to fourth, Hamline jumps from fourth to tied for second, etc.).
Here are the top fifteen:
Here are the top fifteen:
1. Pepperdine
2. Hamline / Missouri (tie)
4. Harvard
5. Ohio State
6. Marquette
7. Oregon
8. Fordham / Cardozo (tie)
10. UNLV
11. Penn State
12. Northwestern / UC Hastings (tie)
14. Columbia
15. Arizona State / South Texas (tie)
I am extremely sympathetic to the many criticism of educational ranking systems. It's a terrible way for a student to choose a school and an equally terrible way for an employer to choose an employee. At the end of the day, the value of an education depends most on how the student engages with faculty and the campus. Nonetheless, many people do take these rankings seriously and, as Ombuds know, perception becomes reality.
I'm sure you have seen this already, but I have found Washington Monthly's efforts to rank national universities in a way that measures impact on society interesting and more compelling, especially as an ombudsman. Of course, a lot of their passion seems to come from their hate of U.S. News and World Report rankings. And, no matter what ranking system it is, universities that rank up will instantly grab their 15 minutes by citing its rank. http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide/rankings/national_university_rank.php
ReplyDeletePeace,
Indu