U.S. News & World Report released a report in 2020 ranking The University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy 43rd out of 130 pharmacy schools in the country, but Dean Donald A. Godwin, PhD, points to a different ranking system that places the college much higher.
“U.S. News & World Report uses a completely subjective rating – no objective data are used,” Godwin said. “This has driven a lot of deans crazy over the years.”
According to U.S. News, the list of pharmacy institutions reflects responses to a one-question survey completed by academics and peer institutions that rates each institution on a scale from one to five.
Therefore, Godwin said, these types of college rankings are often circular in nature. The top-ranked colleges have top rankings because they have strong reputations. They have a strong reputation, in part, because they had a high rank the previous year.
To combat the subjective nature of the rankings, an independent scholarly article was published this month by five scholars from different pharmacy colleges. The study featured a peer-reviewed objective ranking system that assessed pharmacy colleges across the country on education and research criteria.
When weighing education at 60% and research 40%, the study ranked the UNM College of Pharmacy 18th – which is 25 slots higher than the U.S. News & World Report ranking.
“If you look at the objective data, we’re in the top 20,” Godwin said.
He suggested that there might be a correlation between lower rankings and schools that are situated in rural Western states.
U.S. News & World Report uses pure opinion polls to compile their rankings. When those academics are subjectively rating our school on a scale from one to five, they may not necessarily know that our research rankings or our education rankings are high
“Western states, particularly New Mexico, are repeatedly underrated,” he said. “U.S. News & World Report uses pure opinion polls to compile their rankings. When those academics are subjectively rating our school on a scale from one to five, they may not necessarily know that our research rankings or our education rankings are high.”
For example, the University of Montana College of Health Professions and Biomedical Sciences Skaggs School of Pharmacy was ranked 57th by U.S. News & World Report but ranked 32nd in the objective study – a difference of 25, and South Dakota State University College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions ranked 59th on the U.S. News & World Report, but 35th in the objective study – a difference of 24.
Many students look to these types of rankings, specifically U.S. News & World Report rankings, when choosing a college.
“It’s just one of the pieces of the decision-making process for many potential students because it’s publicly available and easily accessible,” Godwin said.
He added that the U.S. News & World Report college ranking system favors Ivy League-plus schools with top rankings through a methodology that rewards large endowments and resources that most schools, including UNM, don’t have.
“New Mexico and UNM are severely underestimated as a whole,” Godwin said. “This is absolutely another indication of that.”