University of Toledo College of Law and Judith Herb College of Education move up in rankings

When it comes time to decide upon a university, many students turn to national rankings, such as the one by U.S. News and World Report, a credited website that ranks colleges, to make a good choice.

Visitors of the credited site will now find that the University of Toledo’s Judith Herb College of Education ranks No. 172 out of 256 schools as part of its 2018 Best Graduate Schools. Last year, it was ranked 190.

“As we looked at the future and read the tea leaves, we thought that, for this college, because of the strength of our faculty, it would make sense to focus on graduate education,” said Virginia Keil, interim dean of the Judith Herb College of Education. “As a result of that, I think, when you pay attention to things, good things start to happen.

As stated in U.S. News and World Report’s methodology of calculation, the Best Graduate School rankings are based on two types of data: expert opinions about program excellence and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school’s faculty, research and students.

Associate Dean of the College of Education, Richard Welsh, alongside Keil, observed the significance of the recent statistical improvement.

“I think we’re are all competitive by nature. We all want to have good feedback and good reports,” Welsh said. “But I also think it’s this element about being proud of what we’re doing. This validates we are on the right track.”

Alongside the College of Education’s improvement, UT’s College of Law also recently rose in the ranks, jumping from No. 144 to No. 132 out of 196 schools.

Dean of the College of Law, Benjamin Barros, used a set of definitive factors to explain the recent jump.

“There are three main things that contributed to our rise,” Barros said, “One is an increase in our entry and our LSAT standards, another is an increase in our entry and undergraduate GPA and a third was an improvement in the job placement numbers.”

With numbers creating a competitive push for programs throughout the university, UT President Sharon Gaber set a reminder on what the figures mean.
“It is not about chasing rankings,” said Gaber. “It is about enhancing quality.”