Spring Break
UA can do better than 125th place
The Traveler Editorial Board
Issue date: 8/29/08 Section: Opinion
For the second year in a row, the UA was named in the top tier of national universities, according to U.S. News and World Report.
With 262 universities considered across the nation, the UA was given the 125th spot, putting it in the top-tier status. But only seven other schools are listed below the UA in the top tier, said Kathy Van Laningham, the vice provost for planning and the director of the office of institutional research.
Learning that our school is in the top-tier of universities certainly comes off as appealing. Anything to add some measure of prestige to a school in the ever-made-fun-of state of Arkansas is welcomed with open arms.
However, as students, we know that our university has the potential to be much more than it is today.
If you look at UA ranking as a percentage, it means 52 percent of the other national universities are better than ours.
We have the financial resources, an award-winning faculty and some incredible students. So what's holding us down at 125th place? Why aren't we at least in the top 50 percent of universities?
Yes, the UA is in the top tier, and we're thankful for it, but we also have a lot of room to improve, and every individual needs to do his or her part to bring this university up to its potential.
It is up to the administrators to make decisions that will improve our academics and encourage the expansion of research and faculty, and we students have to fulfill our parts in maintaining respectable GPAs and by leading the way in research and thesis.
We hope Chancellor G. David Gearhart continues to improve our university, perhaps eventually moving us up the ladder in the top tier.
With 262 universities considered across the nation, the UA was given the 125th spot, putting it in the top-tier status. But only seven other schools are listed below the UA in the top tier, said Kathy Van Laningham, the vice provost for planning and the director of the office of institutional research.
Learning that our school is in the top-tier of universities certainly comes off as appealing. Anything to add some measure of prestige to a school in the ever-made-fun-of state of Arkansas is welcomed with open arms.
However, as students, we know that our university has the potential to be much more than it is today.
If you look at UA ranking as a percentage, it means 52 percent of the other national universities are better than ours.
We have the financial resources, an award-winning faculty and some incredible students. So what's holding us down at 125th place? Why aren't we at least in the top 50 percent of universities?
Yes, the UA is in the top tier, and we're thankful for it, but we also have a lot of room to improve, and every individual needs to do his or her part to bring this university up to its potential.
It is up to the administrators to make decisions that will improve our academics and encourage the expansion of research and faculty, and we students have to fulfill our parts in maintaining respectable GPAs and by leading the way in research and thesis.
We hope Chancellor G. David Gearhart continues to improve our university, perhaps eventually moving us up the ladder in the top tier.
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