CASE Statement on U.S. News & World Report Shift on College Ranking Methodology
We are pleased to see that U.S. News & World Report has updated its 2024 Best Colleges methodology and removed alumni giving as a ranking indicator. We have long held that the percentage of undergraduate alumni who donate does not capture the depth and breadth of the relationships between all alumni and their alma mater, and have engaged with U.S. News in important dialogues on this issue throughout the years.
Advancement professionals treasure their relationships with alumni and engage with them in creative, strategic ways. Alumni are engaged through volunteerism, experiences and events, communications, and philanthropic support. Recognizing the need for a more comprehensive tool to track alumni activity, we created the Alumni Engagement Metrics framework in 2018 (now called CASE Insights on Alumni Engagement) to better capture the breadth of alumni engagement. In addition to engaging in philanthropy, which encompasses 19% of engagement between institutions and their alumni, the vast majority of engagements (81%) take other forms. Indeed, it is more likely that alumni will engage philanthropically if they engage in at least one other mode as well. All these modes of engagement reflect the rich commitment alumni have to their institutions.
Deciding to attend college and then selecting the institution are among the most life-changing choices a person can make, with remarkable impacts on their career paths, finances, social connections, and ongoing relationship with their alma mater. We look forward to learning more about U.S. News & World Report's new methodology and its goal of placing a greater emphasis on outcomes-focused measures."
About CASE
CASE—the Council for Advancement and Support of Education—is a global, not-for-profit membership association with a vision to advance education to transform lives and society.
CASE is the home for advancement professionals, inspiring, challenging, and equipping them to act effectively and with integrity to champion the success of their institutions. CASE defines the competencies and standards for the profession of advancement, leading, and championing their dissemination and application with more than 97,000 advancement professionals at 3,100 member institutions in 80 countries.
Broad and growing communities of professionals gather under the global CASE umbrella. Currently these include alumni relations, development services, communications, fundraising, government relations, and marketing. These professionals are at all stages of their careers and may be working in universities, schools, colleges, cultural institutions, or other not-for-profits. CASE uses the intellectual capital and professional talents of a community of international volunteers to advance its work, and its membership includes many educational partners who work closely with the educational sector.
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., CASE works across all continents from its regional offices in London, Singapore, and Mexico City to achieve a seamless experience for all its stakeholders, particularly its members, volunteers, and staff.