The ranking game in higher education is a primary factor in determing branding, quality of applications, fundraising, prestige of faculty, research grants, alunni support, career paths of new graduates and, of course, tution revenue. Also, obviously, it can result in the loss of jobs by the leadership. That is, if the ranking is disappointing.
Law schools are brutally aware of the consequences of a low ranking.
They might learn plenty from the approach Northeastern University applied singlemindedly and over the long term to catapult it into the top 100 of undergraduate institutions. Boston Magazine describes in detail how former NU President Richard Freeland designed and implemented that initiative.
The first step was to focus on one ranking system, not try to improve status in all of them. Freeland chose U.S. News & World Report.
Next, the focus was on "cracking the cold." That was to analyze what U.S. News & World Report accually factored into assessing the rankings. Not all variables are equal, of course.
Freeland then made it the university's business to improve performance in those categories. It was the approach of extreme focus on a small number of what influenced those doing the measuring. In fact, the university adopted its mantra as "Smaller but Better."
This mode of operation mirrors that of many successful startups. Founders ignore expert advice and the usual must-dos, zeroing in on what will both yield the eventual service or product and attract funding. The heck with everything else.
NU accomplished what Freeland set out to do. It broke into the 100. Its ranking became 98.
Law schools, where the leadership is willing to be one-dimensional in its goal, can also pull that off. There's no telling what they achieve in a ranking-change.
That goes back to the fundamental that focus is everything. Dan Goleman, famous for bringing mainstream how critical Emotional Intelligence is, published a book on that. It's "Focus," which you can order here from Amazon.
Small changes can trigger big success in your career and your business communications. Swing by for a complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)
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