Make Sense of College Rankings

Do you ever wonder what college rankings mean for your high school student?

Randy Stiles, associate vice president for analytics and institutional research at Grinnell College, will present a free public presentation on “Making Sense of College Rating Systems” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6, in the Grinnell High School Auditorium.

All are invited to attend the free public event.

College choice is one of the most important and potentially complex decisions faced by those who want to pursue some form of higher education, Stiles notes. There are many different sources of data and information — but each source has its own built-in biases and some have methodological flaws, he says. This session will provide students and parents with helpful background information on several ranking systems, as well as suggestions about how to make best use of the data and information the rankings provide.

Stiles came to Grinnell College in 2013, after serving as vice president for information management and special adviser for the president, analytics, at Colorado College. He has also been a tenured faculty member at the U.S. Air Force Academy, where he taught aeronautical engineering. A fellow of the American Council of Education, Stiles is an experienced peer reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission, the agency that accredits colleges and universities in this region of the United States.

This event is sponsored by the Grinnell College/Grinnell High School Partners in Education Program. For more information about this presentation, e-mail Dan Keller or Jill Allen.