OUR VIEWS Consensus Opinion

Tech continued its steady rise up the U.S. News and World Report rankings, climbing to No. 35 overall and earning its highest positions ever in a number of other categories. Most notable among these, the publication listed Tech as the No. 7 public university in the United States.

The Institute's yearly progress is encouraging, and an indicator that the administration's initiatives such as the International Plan and the Honors Program are having a positive effect on Tech's external perception. The College of Management's continued gains in the charts also show that Tech's efforts to expand beyond "just" an elite engineering school are making progress.

Despite the progress that has already been made and the associated benefits Tech attains, the administration must not rest on its laurels. While the actual methodology U.S. News and World Report uses is unknown, the data presented in the statistics show several reasons for concern.

Tech has one of the lowest rankings for graduation and retention, with Tulane (No. 50) the only school in the top 50 to score lower. This is demonstrated in part by the fact that Tech's graduation rate was 77 percent in 2006, six percent lower than the predicted rate.

The percentage of classes that have 50 or more students is also high at 20 percent. That number may actually seem low to many engineering students, since the overall numbers receive a significant boost from smaller, discussion-based LCC and International Affairs classes. The student-to-faculty ratio, at 14:1, could also stand to improve.

The administration should therefore use the ratings as an opportunity to re-evaluate the successes and failures of the past year, and strive to address the areas of weakness highlighted in the results. This step is critical to ensuring the Institute continues its climb up the ranking ladder.

At the same time, while there is no doubt that the rankings are important, it's crucial to remember they only measure a small component of what makes a university great. A campus's social atmosphere, opportunities to get involved and post-graduation employment prospects are all important aspects of students' enjoyment of their collegiate experience that are not measured by the U.S. News and World Report rankings.

As such, while students can be proud of Tech's achievements in the charts, we should keep in mind that it is up to each of us individually to make our experience here worthwhile. No matter how highly rated the school, one gains from college only what he or she puts in.