College rankings under scrutiny

A forum, The Use and Abuse of College Rankings, on Thursday, Nov. 20, will explore how the importance of college rankings publications can tempt universities to alter admissions systems.

MaryBeth Walpole, assistant professor of educational leadership at Rowan University in Glasboro, N.J., will outline how students and their families use rankings. Robert J. Morse of U.S. News and World Report, and Robert Seltzer, director of admissions at UW–Madison, will respond. The session starts at 10 a.m. in the On Wisconsin Room, Red Gym.

Ronald Ehrenberg, director of the Cornell Higher Education Research Institute, will discuss rankings and their effects from noon-1:30 p.m. in Tripp Commons in Memorial Union. Morse and former UW–Madison Vice Chancellor for Administration John Torphy will respond.

The forum is organized by the Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education. Information: 265-6342; http://www.wiscape.wisc.edu.