Despite Ohio University's party school image and ratings in The Princeton Review, the university's Department of Institutional Research is making efforts to increase the positive academic rankings for next year, an OU administrator said.
In 2006, OU-Athens placed in Princeton's rankings of the Best 361 Colleges for three party lists, including the No. 6 party school, No. 4 for Lots of Beer and No. 7 for Lots of Liquor. OU only made the list for one academic ranking at No. 10 for Their Students (Almost) Never Study list. The Princeton Review also named OU as one of the 163 Best Midwestern colleges.
On Oct. 27, Mike Williford, associate provost for Institutional Research, sent a Princeton Review student survey, which includes both open-ended and closed questions, to a random sample of OU undergraduate students in hopes of reducing the party school ratings and increasing the positive academic rankings for next year, Williford said.
The Princeton Review surveys release invalid responses caused by their survey methods, Williford said. The Princeton Review will not release the number of students surveyed, their survey methods or results to universities, Williford said, adding that the same students can vote multiple times.
The year OU students did not participate in the survey; we moved up in the party school rankings
Williford said.
The annual Princeton Review released its 2006 statistics, rankings and other college information at the end of August, indicating OU's top rankings based on student votes from around the country, including OU students, Williford said.
Although the survey takes criticism, The Princeton Review tries to create a fair and valid online survey, which is open to any student to report on their campus experiences, said Robert Franek, author of Best 361 Colleges.
By using students' school e-mail addresses, the online survey system saves the student's information to make sure they only complete the survey once per academic year, Franek said
Princeton Review is usually forthcoming with information, Franek said. Student names from the anonymous survey are the only information they do not share with universities, he said.
We feel we have good visibility with our school administrators Franek said.
To achieve Princeton Review's focus on having the student voice heard, they receive about 300 student responses from each campus a year, Franek said.
Between fall 2005 and spring 2006, about 550 OU students, about 3.2 percent of OU's undergraduate population according to The Princeton Review, participated in the online survey, he said.
The Best of 361 Colleges only ranks the 13 percent of schools in the country. Despite OU having a high social status, the university also must have a great academic reputation if it appeared in the book, Franek said.
Despite OU's efforts to reduce the party school rankings, Williford and Institutional Research encourage students to complete the survey to give a true representation of OU instead of students from outside the university responding.
The Princeton Review guide gives a valid portrayal of OU's description, but they also try to get students to buy the guide with the rankings, Williford said.
The questions prompt students to make outrageous comments about the university with the promise they will get quoted in their book Williford said.
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