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Every year, various organizations compile rankings of colleges and
universities based on a variety of criteria. Most of these
organizations post the criteria on which they make their rankings.

Because the rankings seem to have a strong influence on students'
applications, alumni support and fund-raising efforts to improve
everything from curriculum to new buildings, some institutions pay
particular attention to shoring up the areas that are heavily weighted
in these rankings.


While many of the categories are areas that simply make sense for a
college to pay attention to (class size, expenditures per student,
student-to-faculty ratio), others seem more subjective (assessments
from professionals at other institutions).


Given that the financial health of the institution may be heavily
affected by such rankings, is it right for a college or university to
tailor its decisions so it can improve its rank, even if that means
diverting resources from areas not generally measured by various
rankings?


Send your thoughts to: rightthing(at)nytimes.com. Please include your
name, hometown and the name of the newspaper in which you read this
column. Readers' comments may appear in an upcoming column.


If you have ethical questions that you need answered, send them to
rightth...@nytimes.com -- or The Right Thing, New York Times
Syndicate,
609 Greenwich St., 6th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10014-3610.