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September 02, 2009, 01:30 PM ET
'U.S. News & Hiring Report'
The advent of the fall semester means it's time for the annual U.S. News & World Report rankings of colleges and universities. Certainly, there are controversies about rankings in general and the ways that the data can be interpreted, but I hope that job seekers know the wealth of information available within the rankings. Most libraries will have copies of the full report; the complete set of statistics is accessible for a fee (about $15), which includes a ton of helpful data for job seekers.
Beyond the first-tier through four-tier labels, there is information on finances, faculty profiles, student profiles, university services, alumni placements, and many other factors. This kind of information can help job seekers figure out if the college is really a good fit for their interests, how to shape the citation of teaching experiences in the CV and cover letter, and many other subtle considerations that can set an applicant apart from the masses. The more "customized" an application is, the better chances for success.
Have you ever used reports like the U.S. News rankings to inform your job search?
Categories: General-interest, Faculty-hiring
Comments
1. 11893310 - September 02, 2009 at 04:58 pm
I have used it extensively. Another useful set of tools are the institution's 990 IRS reports, the lastest available online for a fee ($100/month for short term research) from guidestar.org. Earlier ones are free. They list the organization's five highest paid non-board and non-officer employees, plus a wealth of other financial data. A separate section lists the trustees and officers and the officers salaries. Also worth pursuing are bond rating agencies reports on institutions issuing bonds. They typically discuss the reasons they rate as they do. This can be the only place where one can learn about the institution's debt, enrollment conditions, etc. and what the school is doing and cannot do about negative conditions. Let the prospective employee be wary.
2. davidriese - September 02, 2009 at 05:48 pm
Professional organizations are other sources of information. For example, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) collects and publishes data for each of the schools of pharmacy in the United States. AACP also publishes a very useful pharmacy faculty salary report.
3. bjhosch - September 03, 2009 at 09:15 am
Another useful tool for job seekers is the IPEDS Peer Executive Tool, which among other things, provides metrics like instructional expenditures per FTE enrolled student and the average faculty salary by rank at the institution (and peer institutions).
http://nces.ed.gov/ipedspas/Expt/
4. 22286593 - September 03, 2009 at 11:57 am
Thank you to bjhosch for directing us to the IPEDS Peer Executive Tool from the National Center for Educational Statistics. It is really an incredible site with a wealth of information on American colleges and universities. I've been doing research on how my university's graduation rates in various departments compare with other institutions and the Website was absolutely perfect for finding out.
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