Of the more than 100 graduate programs which
the University offers, 23 have been rated as among
the most highly regarded in the country.
However, the rating, which was released
earlier this week, has recently drawn strong
criticism from nationally recognized scholars.
Rating was done by Kenneth Roose and Charles
Andersen for the American Council on Education
(ACE), and is essentially a follow-up to a similar
study (known as the Cartter report), results of
that it never presyjned to be anything more than a
“reputational” study—one that rates programs on
the basis of what outstanding members of the
discipline think to be the case.
Francis Boddy, associate dean of the graduate
school at the University of Minnesota, commented
that subjective evaluations of graduate education
have always been made by potential graduate
students, government agencies, and legislators.
While the new survey is admittedly subjective, he
Graduate program study
slammed, supported
(From local and Chronicle of Higher Education reports)
which were released in 1966.
It involved 130 institutions of higher learning in
36 different disciplines in the country. The study
covered both the quality of graduate faculty and
effectiveness of doctoral programs.
Officials in the University graduate school have
not spoken out against the report, although others in
the nation have, according to Associate Dean of the
University graduate school Robert Mazo.
Mazo told the Emerald Wednesday the study
“had merit,” although it was a “very highly sub
jective report” and was “not based on any quan
titative methods.” He likened the report to an
opinion poll, in that it was conducted by asking for
opinions of national scholars and gathering that
information together.
Results of the report, Mazo continued, are
“somewhat useful” to prospective graduate
students and University administrators.
Although Mazo was not highly critical of the
study, others in the nation were.
“Having made an incredible blooper in 1964, the
ACE is now going to make the same blooper all over
again,” said Trevor Colboum, dean of the graduate
school at the University of New Hampshire.
As a whole, the study “can be regarded at best
as interesting and refined gossip,” he said. “The
result is a publication which is taken with disarming
seriousness by people who don’t know any better.”
Defenders of the study pointed out, however,
said, it is based on broader information and on
information from significant numbers of
established scholars.
“These kinds of things have been circulated and
are being circulated in Washington with far less
evidence than we have here,” Boddy said.
“I think it is a very well done job of a very
difficult problem,' he added.
While the graduate deans differed over the
value of publishing the ratings, most of them agreed
that the ratings could be misapplied to entire in
stitutions rather than to 36 specific departments.
Boddy noted that Ph.D.’s were offered by 78
departments at the University of Minnesota. It
would be dangerous to generalize about the quality
of those not rated, he said.
Other deans noted that both the original survey
by Cartter and the second one by Roose tended to
focus more heavily on the humanities and
traditional sciences, rather than on new fields like
computer science. Institutions concentrating much
of their graduate work in new, technical areas
therefore appeared to be undervalued, the deans
said.
Beyond those specific criticisms were some
general fears that, at a time of dwindling support
for graduate education, the new ratings would be
used to justify eliminating some graduate programs
completely.
Kip Morgan to open own bookstore
Kip Morgan, last year’s ASUO
President, is in the process of
opening a bookstore in Port
land-just downstairs from the
Selective Service Induction
Center.
The materials featured by the
store may not be looked upon
with favor by the employees of
the Selective Service as they go
past the store’s windows and
upstairs to work. Morgan says he
will stock the store with books
which include his philosophies.
The former ASUO leader was
convicted of disrupting the
Selective Service in two separate
incidents last year.
During Christmas vacation,
Morgan, two friends and a dog
were applying the finishing
Kip Morgan
touches to the store, to be named
“The Looking Glass.” The
shelves were installed and the
store was pretty much ready for
business. Its interior had been
painted an almost flourescent
green and Morgan said he would
receive his first shipment of
books sometime around the
beginning of January.
Morgan was convicted of
disrupting the Selective Service
in connection with mock trials of
the Eugene and Roseburg draft
boards. Convicted along with
Morgan was Dave Gwyther, who
was also then a student. Gwyther
now runs Koobdooga, a bookstore
similar to Morgan’s, which is
located in Eugene.
t
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