Dive Brief:
- The New York Times is apparently getting into the college rankings game.
- At the newspaper’s Schools for Tomorrow conference next week, the Times will reveal its rankings, which will be based on how well colleges and universities attract underprivileged students.
- The rankings aren’t an attempt at a comprehensive listing, but a targeted look at specific data slices, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Dive Insight:
The Times listing, due to come out the day before the U.S. News & World Report ranking is unveiled, will have a “powerful shaming effect” on colleges that don’t have students from diverse economic backgrounds, the Century Foundation’s Richard Kahlenberg told the Chronicle. If so, it would help counter the influence of the all-powerful U.S. News listing, which critics say incentivizes higher ed institutions to cater to more affluent students to move up in the rankings.