纽时赏析／歪曲高等教育？为了注册率 美院校砸钱宣传大学排名 2024-01-23 07:40 联合报／纽时赏析 Colleges Deride the Rankings, But Some Pay to Flaunt Them 为了注册率 美院校砸钱宣传大学排名 Jonathan Henry, a vice president at the University of Maine at Augusta, is hoping that an email will arrive this month. He is also sort of dreading it. 奥古斯塔缅因大学副校长乔纳森．亨利希望本月会收到一封电邮，他对此也有些战战兢兢 。 The message, if it comes, will tell him that U.S. News & World Report has again ranked his university’s online programs among the nation’s best. History suggests the email will also prod the university toward paying U.S. News, through a licensing agent, thousands of dollars for the right to advertise its rankings. 这封信如果寄来，将会通知他：美国新闻与世界报导（下称美国新闻）再度将他这间大学 的线上课程评为全国顶尖之流。以往经验透露，这封电邮也会鼓励该大学透过一家授权代 理商，支付数千美元给美国新闻，换取宣传其排名的权利。 For more than a year, U.S. News has been embroiled in another caustic dispute about the worthiness of college rankings — this time with dozens of law and medical schools vowing not to supply data to the publisher, saying that rankings sometimes unduly influence the priorities of universities. 过去一年多，美国新闻卷入又一场关於大学排名价值的尖刻论战。这次，有数十间法学、 医学院校矢言不提供资料给该出版机构，声称排名有时会对大学的优先事项影响过甚。 But school records and interviews show that colleges nevertheless feed the rankings industry, collectively pouring millions of dollars into it. 但校方的纪录和访谈显示，多家院校依然养活排名产业，共同向其倾注数百万美元。 Many lower-profile colleges are straining to curb enrollment declines and counter shrinking budgets. And any endorsement that might attract students, administrators say, is enticing. 许多知名度较低的院校正极力阻止注册人数下滑，并应对预算缩水，而校方主管说，一切 可能吸引学生的认可都很诱人。 Maine at Augusta spent $15,225 last year for the right to market U.S. News “ badges” — handsome seals with U.S. News’ logo — commemorating three honors: the 61st-ranked online bachelor’s program for veterans, the 79th-ranked online bachelor’s in business and the 104th-ranked online bachelor’s. 奥古斯塔缅因大学去年支付15225美元，取得授权以便行销美国新闻的「标章」，即有着 「美国新闻」标志的华丽图章，表彰着3项荣誉：在提供给退役军人的线上学士课程中名 列第61、线上商学学士课程名列第79、线上学士课程名列第104。 The money flows from schools large and small. 给钱学校大大小小都有。 Critics believe that the payments enable and incentivize a ranking system they see as harmful. 批评者认为，这些付款催生且鼓励了排名系统，造成危害。 “I still cannot believe that higher education has collectively paid them to skew what we do in higher education,” said Heather Gerken, dean of Yale Law School, who helped lead the uprising among law and medical schools. The money “devoted to this unserious enterprise,” she said, could have been used to “ transform lives,” perhaps through financial aid or the recruitment of low-income students. 耶鲁大学法学院院长希瑟．格肯说，「我依然无法相信，高等教育界向来集体付钱给他们 ，来歪曲我们在高等教育的志业」，她协助领导多间法学院、医学院的反抗运动。她说， 那些「贡献给这家不入流企业」的款项，本来可以用来「改变人生」，或许是透过补助金 或招收低收入学生。 U.S. News said its business of licensing its logo reflects its reputation. The rankings, U.S. News leaders said, help students and parents find clarity in a crowded, confusing college marketplace, and let quality schools break through more easily with prospects. 美国新闻表示，授权标志业务反映其声望。美国新闻的领导阶层说，这些排名有助学生和 家长在百家争鸣、眼花撩乱的大学市场里寻得明灯，并让优质学校更容易在潜在学生间取 得斩获。 Eric Gertler, executive chair of U.S. News, acknowledged in an interview that the publisher pulls in millions from universities looking to share in the allure of U.S. News’ credibility. 美国新闻执行主席格特勒在访谈中承认，许多大学希望从美国新闻公信力的魅力里分一杯 羹，让该出版机构进帐数百万美元。 文／Alan Blinder 译／高诣轩 https://udn.com/news/story/6904/7721933?from=udn-catebreaknews_ch2 --

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