Journey to the Edge of the Earth: USNews 2006 Edition in my Possession - USM Forum -- Message Board

Date: Aug 18, 2005

Journey to the Edge of the Earth: USNews 2006 Edition in my Possession

Date: Aug 18, 2005

$9.95 plus tax USD wrote:

I can confirm that USM remains in the 4th tier. There are 18 schools in the 4th tier that are rated lower than USM. USM is tied with two 4th tier schools for the 19th from the bottom spot. Ole Miss and Mississippi State remain in the 3rd tier. That's as far as I've read thusfar. Does any one think we might possibly see a wholesale resignation of the IHL? When a pig flies.

We are higher than I thought we would be.

The IHL has succeeded in once and for all separating USM for the other two. They will be celebrating tonight. This is a major signal to prospective students, USM is second rate in the great state of MS. Shall we revise the USM "To The Top" slogan?

Date: Aug 18, 2005

Bad news: USM's "peer assessment" score in the 2006 Edition of USNews dropped from 2.2 to 2.1 since last year.

Date: Aug 18, 2005

$9.95 plus tax USD wrote:

Bad news: USM's "peer assessment" score in the 2006 Edition of USNews dropped from 2.2 to 2.1 since last year.

Can anyone discuss the statistical significance of this change? Is it major or minor? Wish Robert Campbell were still with us to discuss this.

Date: Aug 18, 2005

USM Sympathizer wrote:

$9.95 plus tax USD wrote:
Bad news: USM's "peer assessment" score in the 2006 Edition of USNews dropped from 2.2 to 2.1 since last year.
Can anyone discuss the statistical significance of this change? Is it major or minor? Wish Robert Campbell were still with us to discuss this.

RC still reads the message board and is probably aware of the drop, but he wouldn't necessarily be the best person to assess statistical significance. Any of the statistician wizards within our own CoB could knock out that chore with ease.

Date: Aug 18, 2005

USNews 2006 peer evaluation ratings of the 13 colleges in Mississipi in their respective categories (5.0 = Highest)

3.3 Mississippi University for Women

3.0 Belhaven College, Mississippi College (tie)

2.9 Millsaps College

2.7 University of Mississippi

2.5 Delta State University

2.4. Mississippi State, Mississippi Valley State , Alcorn State, Blue Mountain College (tie)

2.3 William Carey College

2.1 University of Southern Mississippi

1.8 Jackson State University

Date: Aug 18, 2005

Don't they know about our WORLD CLASS POLYMER SCIENCE PROGRAM! Look under programs in materials science. Our program should appear in the top three.

Date: Aug 18, 2005

Mr. Wizard wrote:

Don't they know about our WORLD CLASS POLYMER SCIENCE PROGRAM! Look under programs in materials science. Our program should appear in the top three.

Good buddy, that would be in their graduate program edition that came out some time ago. I didn't see any of our graduate programs rated there, but all disciplines or sub- disciplines were not listed. Some of the ones that have been touted the most at USM were surprisingly absent.

Date: Aug 18, 2005

Insomniac wrote:

Good buddy, that would be in their graduate program edition that came out some time ago.

Copies of that are still on the magazine racks and book stores.

Date: Aug 18, 2005

Top 100 B-School Prof wrote:

Shall we revise the USM "To The Top" slogan?

Hmmm, how about "USM Going to Pot"?

Date: Aug 18, 2005

$9.95 plus tax USD wrote:

USNews 2006 peer evaluation ratings of the 13 colleges in Mississipi in their respective categories (5.0 = Highest)
3.3 Mississippi University for Women
3.0 Belhaven College, Mississippi College (tie)
2.9 Millsaps College
2.7 University of Mississippi
2.5   Delta State University
2.4. Mississippi State, Mississippi Valley State , Alcorn State, Blue Mountain College (tie)
2.3   William Carey College
2.1   University of Southern Mississippi
1.8   Jackson State University

This saddens me beyond words. I'm glad my Dad, Mississippi Southern College '44, isn't privy to this information. It would break his heart.

AE

Date: Aug 19, 2005

Insomniac wrote:

Good buddy, that would be in their graduate program edition that came out some time ago. I didn't see any of our graduate programs rated there, but all disciplines or sub- disciplines were not listed. Some of the ones that have been touted the most at USM were surprisingly absent.

Dear (Fellow) Insomniac,

I just looked at the USN&WR website and it appears they do have the following category in the 2006 edition:

Undergraduate engineering specialties:
Materials
(At schools whose highest degree is a doctorate)

I do believe that USM offers a BS in polymer sciences and high performance materials, or some such thing. Of course USN&WR listed only the top few schools online, so I guess I must wait to see a copy of the new issue to see where we fit in.

However, your point that the USM polymer science program failed to make the list in the last graduate program edition is what is really of importance here.

Date: Aug 19, 2005

$9.95 plus tax USD wrote:

USNews 2006 peer evaluation ratings of the 13 colleges in Mississipi in their respective categories (5.0 = Highest) 3.3 Mississippi University for Women 3.0 Belhaven College, Mississippi College (tie) 2.9 Millsaps College 2.7 University of Mississippi 2.5 Delta State University 2.4. Mississippi State, Mississippi Valley State , Alcorn State, Blue Mountain College (tie) 2.3 William Carey College 2.1 University of Southern Mississippi 1.8 Jackson State University

Austin Eagle and others viewing these numbers, be sure to remember that USNews initially put the 1,400 schools into various "mission categories" (some are national universities, others are liberal arts colleges, etc.). You cannot compre the ranks of different schools if the schools are in different mission categories. The colleges in each category are ranked against their peers. They are not ranked against colleges in the other categories. It is not possible to compare Mississippi State's 2.4 score with the 2.4 scores of Alcorn or Mississippi Valey; or the 3.0 of Belhaven with the 2.7 of Ole Miss; or the 2.7 of Ole Miss with the 3.3 of Mississippi University for Women. I used this format only as a convenient way of presenting the peer assessment scores themselves. It would have probably been best if I had listed the 13 schools alphabetically so that viewers would not tend to interpret the scores on a comparative basis. The peer assessment scores can be compared only if the schools are in the same mission category.

Date: Aug 19, 2005

I found the presentation easy to interpret because I know the schools' mission catgegories The "big three" doctoral universities are Ole Miss, MS State, and USM. They are in the same mission category. Their peer evaluation scores are 2.7, 2.4, and 2.1 respectively. Those scores can be directly compared. There's no ambiguity there.

Date: Aug 19, 2005

It appears to me that all three stink.

Early Riser wrote:

I found the presentation easy to interpret because I know the schools' mission catgegories The "big three" doctoral universities are Ole Miss, MS State, and USM. They are in the same mission category. Their peer evaluation scores are 2.7, 2.4, and 2.1 respectively. Those scores can be directly compared. There's no ambiguity there.

Date: Aug 19, 2005

Stink wrote:

It appears to me that all three stink.

Even all perfumes don't smell the same.

Date: Aug 19, 2005

Chanel #5 wrote:

Stink wrote:
It appears to me that all three stink.
Even all perfumes don't smell the same.

This is true. There's nothing anyone in Mississippi can be proud of. Abysmal funding is compounded by a society deeply hostile to the free thought and tolerance that are the foundation of elite universities.. Compare it to North Carolina, which has raided our faculty so successfully. Its leading private university--Duke-- is #5 overall; UNC-CH is #5 among publics; Davidson and Wake Forest are top liberal arts colleges; NCSU, UNCG and UNC-Asheville are also highly ranked in their catagories.

Date: Aug 19, 2005

I remind you once more: Fleming warned us this was happening. An IHL core that wanted to see USM put in its place, or should I say Mississippi Southern put back in its place. To that formula, add a bunch of ignorant car dealers, and IHL's little cabal got their way. Shame on them. Shame on us for not listening to what we were being warned about.

Date: Aug 19, 2005

Just remember that USM became a tier one Carnegie school in 2000, one of the objectives we had set for ourselves. Now, we may not even be able to hold on to that category. Anybody know if we got demoted or if we are still in that class?

Date: Aug 19, 2005

$9.95 plus tax USD wrote:

Austin Eagle and others viewing these numbers, be sure to remember that USNews initially put the 1,400 schools into various "mission categories" (some are national universities, others are liberal arts colleges, etc.). You cannot compre the ranks of different schools if the schools are in different mission categories. The colleges in each category are ranked against their peers. They are not ranked against colleges in the other categories. It is not possible to compare Mississippi State's 2.4 score with the 2.4 scores of Alcorn or Mississippi Valey; or the 3.0 of Belhaven with the 2.7 of Ole Miss; or the 2.7 of Ole Miss with the 3.3 of Mississippi University for Women. I used this format only as a convenient way of presenting the peer assessment scores themselves. It would have probably been best if I had listed the 13 schools alphabetically so that viewers would not tend to interpret the scores on a comparative basis. The peer assessment scores can be compared only if the schools are in the same mission category.

Thanks for the tutorial, but I did understand the nature of the rankings when I made my earlier comment. You made it clear with your original post. I was lamenting the generally low peer ranking of USM, not their apparent place in the state's pecking order. I do believe that if one were to poll Mississippi residents for their perception of the "quality" of the state's public and private institutions, USM would likely rank below Ole Miss, MSU, MUW, Millsaps, Mississippi College, and Bellhaven. At least that's the impression I've formed after many conversations with Mississipians over the course of the past year. I find it more than sad, tragic isn't even too strong a word, that an institution with such energy and promise only two years ago has fallen so quickly.

AE

Date: Aug 19, 2005

we are still in that carnegie category, but carnegie is completely changing its ranking system for the next go around. different criteria, etc. go to its website and you can get a sense (but not much detail) of where the new system is heading.

Date: Aug 19, 2005

it will be interesting to see if any of the local and/or state media report any of this and if so, what "spin" they put on this. given the paucity of coverage on state act scores, i'm not expecting much.

Date: Aug 19, 2005

Wonder if the newspapers are interviewing the car dealers, or Giannini for that matter, for quotes on this.

Date: Aug 19, 2005

Music Patron wrote:

Wonder if the newspapers are interviewing the car dealers, or Giannini for that matter, for quotes on this.

Surely the HA or The Student Printz should carry an article on this news. I would be particularly interested to know how the administration will explain the continued Tier 4 status, since last year that status was blamed on a mistake. Presumably the mistake was corrected this year (i.e., all relevant data were submitted), yet USM has actually slipped a bit from the year in which NO information was submitted!

Date: Aug 19, 2005

The link to the 2006 4th tier schools.

Date: Aug 19, 2005

More data from the 2006 USNews study --

ACT scores (25th-75 percentile) for incoming '04 Freshmen:

Mississippi State . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 20-27

University of Mississippi . . . . . . . . . 20-26

University of Southern Mississippi . . . 18-24

Date: Aug 22, 2005

$9.95 plus tax USD wrote:
You cannot compre the ranks of different schools if the schools are in different mission categories.

This is true. However, when comparing apples to oranges, it is possible to do so consistently to make a semantic (if not statistical) point.

In that vein, "as Millsaps is to the University of Mississippi, so William Carey is to USM."