Much of the talk at Thursday's Arizona Board of Regents meeting centered on why Arizona's universities rank so low in national college rankings.
But the discussion seemed to focus too much on why the rankings are skewed toward private universities rather than on their value when it comes to attracting potential students, and on what can be done to solve the problem.
And it is a problem.
Administrators and regents can't dismiss the low rankings as reflective of a bias in the ranking system. Though the bias may be real, those rankings serve a powerful persuasive purpose when it comes to attracting top high school students.
Sure, as President Peter Likins says, the UA ranks more highly in industry-conducted surveys.
We should be proud that our peers see us as successful, and proud that students here seem to be learning well. But bolstering our perception among the general public is arguably equally important, especially as the UA tries to transform itself into a cutting-edge institution that serves the best students.
As the university moves in a new direction under Focused Excellence, policy-makers need to shape changes in a way that will improve the university's status in the rankings.
That they're biased toward private universities makes the UA's job even harder. But it's an admirable task to take up, and not an insurmountable one, especially in light of policy changes that will allow the UA, beginning in 2006, to accept fewer students who might not be prepared for the academic rigors of a university.
At the same time, the UA must continue in its efforts to encourage the best and brightest students to apply here. That too, will improve its status in the rankings, by driving up average SAT scores of incoming students and raising the number of National Merit Scholars who attend.
The efforts being made are admirable, but it's disturbing that they aren't being made with national rankings in mind. Biased as they may be, they matter to students deciding where to attend school, and if the UA isn't consciously trying to make itself marketable to the best people, it's going to lose out on those potential students.
OPINIONS BOARD
Opinions are determined by the Wildcat opinions board and written by one of its members. They are Shane Dale, Kristina Dunham, Brett Fera, Caitlin Hall and Jeff Sklar.