采訪問答：U.S.News數(shù)據(jù)總監(jiān)解析排名

最新的2012USnews美國大學排名已經(jīng)新鮮出爐，哈佛與普林斯頓并列第一，5所大學并列第5的結果有些出乎人們的預期。借這個機會，美國最大的升學網(wǎng)站Zinch向中國學生征集了一些關于USnews排名的問題，并將這些問題提給了被《時代》稱為“The man behind the rankings”的《美國新聞與世界報道》數(shù)據(jù)研究總監(jiān)Bob Morse。Bob非常細致耐心地解答了每一個中國學生的提問，相信看過了這個Q&A之后，大家都能對傳說中的USnews排名又一個更加深入的 了解。

Bob Morse自1976年起就開始為《美國新聞與世界報道》工作，現(xiàn)在的職位為數(shù)據(jù)分析總監(jiān)（director of data research）。他開發(fā)了年度美國最佳大學與最佳研究生院排名的方法論和調查問卷，并始終關注美國高等教育的發(fā)展趨勢，確保為學生們擇校提供最好的數(shù) 據(jù)分析支持。他本人的博客，摩斯電碼（ Morse Code ），對排名所采用的方法論提供了更加深入的分析，同時也為關注USnews排名的人提供了一個可以互動交流的平臺。Bob本人在辛辛那提大學修得經(jīng)濟學學士學位，隨后在密歇根州立大學拿到了金融MBA。

I’m thrilled to hear from our friends in China who hadquestions about the U.S.News & WorldReport college rankings. We want our rankings to be helpful to folks across theworld, so I’ll sit down and try to answer your questions the best that I can.If I missed something, or if you just want to say hi, talk to us through our Weibo page!

能收到中國朋友關于《美國新聞與世界報道》美國大學排名的提問我非常激動。我們一直希望我們的排名能夠為來自世界各地的朋友們提供幫助，所以，我會認真地回答下面的每一個問題。如果我漏掉了一些內(nèi)容，或者你希望來和我們打個招呼，歡迎到我們的微博逛逛。

Zincher: Whendid U.S. News start to do the rankings? Who started it? And Why?

U.S.News 是從什么時候開始做大學排名的？誰發(fā)起的？初衷是什么？

Bob: We started doing the rankings in 1983. They used a muchsimpler methodology than today. A group of editors and researchers startedthem. I am the only one who is still working on them from those early days. Wedo the rankings now for the same reasons we did them the first time: to provideprospective college students and their parents comparative information on collegesso they can choose the best school for them.

我們是從1983年開始做美國大學排名的。當時使用的排名方法和現(xiàn)在相比可簡單多了。當時參與排名制作的是一些編輯和研究人員，我是其中唯一一個一 直為排名工作至今的人。二十多年來，我們制作排名的目的始終沒有變過：為準備上大學的學生和他們的父母提供可供比較的大學信息，來幫助他們更好的選擇申請 院校。

Zincher: Howmany people are working behind these rankings? Will they visit these collegesthemselves or just read data on the computer?

有多少人是專門負責排名這項工作的？他們會親自走訪這些大學嗎？還是只是對著電腦屏幕研究數(shù)據(jù)？

Bob: Here in the office, there are about 20 people who create andpublish the rankings. We are a team, with some folks collecting data, someworking on the IT side, others writing and editing the editorial content, and afew publicizing the rankings so you and your friends know about them. We workon the rankings throughout the entire year, though admittedly, we get a littlemore frantic between June and September, right before we launch the next editionof the rankings.

在我們的辦公室里，大概有20人負責制作和發(fā)布這些排名。我們是一個團隊，其中一些人負責數(shù)據(jù)收集，另一些人負責IT方面的工作，還有一些負責撰寫和編輯排名的內(nèi)容，當然，正因為有了那幾位負責宣傳工作的同事，你和你的朋友才能了解到關于排名的信息。

The cool thing is that even when meetings run long and ourto-do lists get longer, we still manage to have a ton of fun in the process.

即使現(xiàn)在的工作會議時間越來越長，待辦工作清單上的內(nèi)容越來越多，我們依然能夠在工作中找到很多樂趣，為此我們很驕傲。

Sometimes our team members get a chance to visit auniversity, but that’s not always possible. Our rankings are based on a surveyof about 600 questions that ask college officials about SAT scores, graduation rates,and pretty much everything else we could possibly think of. We don’t useeverything from the survey to formulate our rankings, but almost all of thatinformation is available on our website.

某些時候，我們的同事的確會有機會親身訪問某個大學，但這種機會并不是一直都有。我們的排名是基于向大學官員提供的含有600個問題的調查問卷而來。這些問題涵蓋了SAT分數(shù)，畢業(yè)率和幾乎所有大家能想到的東西。當然，最終的排名并不是對所有600個問題答案的總結。不過幾乎所有調查中所涉及到的方面，你都可以在我們的網(wǎng)站上找到相應的內(nèi)容。

Zincher: Whatfactors do you consider when you rank a college? How long will it take toevaluate one college?

你們評估一所大學的時候所考量的方面都有哪些 ? 評估一所大學要用多長時間？  

Bob: Awesome question. We’ve been creating these rankings since1983, and over time, we’ve developed a consistent methodology. We take manyfactors into consideration when we use this methodology. We ask schools aboutSAT and ACT scores, graduation rates, student to faculty ratios, high school classstandings, acceptance rates, and hundreds of other questions. We want to knowas much as possible about each school so we can create a well-rounded rankingand publish much of the information online for you to see for yourself.

好問題。從1983年第一個排名問世至今，我們已經(jīng)開發(fā)出了一套穩(wěn)定的評估方法。這其中涵蓋了非常多的考量因素。比如說學校錄取時的SAT和ACT 分數(shù)，畢業(yè)率，師生比，高中排名，錄取率和數(shù)百個其它方面的問題。我們希望能夠盡可能多的了解每一個大學，從而做出一個最全面的排名，然后把這些信息都公布在網(wǎng)上供你們參考。

Because we’ve been ranking colleges for more than 20 years,we’ve developed a pretty consistent methodology. However, we sometimes need tomake small adjustments to our process. We make sure to publish whatever changeswe make to the methodology page, where you can also see exactly what goes into ourrankings.

雖然說20多年的時間讓我們的評估體系已經(jīng)足夠穩(wěn)定。但我們也會與時俱進，偶爾做出一些小調整。不過，我們會確保每一次調整都會公布在網(wǎng)站的排名方法頁面，這樣你們就能清楚地知道我們的排名做出了哪些改進。

Zincher: Iwent to your website and found that I have to pay for the complete collegerankings data. So what is missing on the free rankings published on yourwebsite?

我上了 USnews 的網(wǎng)站，但是發(fā)現(xiàn)想看完整的排名是需要付費的。我想知道相對而言，你們公布的免費排名信息里面少了哪些內(nèi)容？

Bob: Great question. Our College Compass product provides muchmore detailed information on the schools. You pay for information aboutgraduation and retention rates, specific majors, career opportunities, computerresources, and much more. Look at the free version of the rankings, and you’llsee that some information is “locked” with a tiny image of a padlock. Afterbuying College Compass, you can access all that locked information.

非常好的問題。我們付費的College Compass 產(chǎn)品里提供了更多更為詳細的學校信息。你支付的費用能為你帶來學校的畢業(yè)及留校率，具體專業(yè)的情況，就業(yè)情況，校內(nèi)的計算機資源等等。仔細看看網(wǎng)站上的免費排名，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)有一些信息被一個鎖型的圖片給“鎖定”了。而一旦你成為了付費用戶，你就能夠查看所有之前鎖定的信息。

When you purchase Compass, youcan also use our cool new My Fit tool. This product is like a very customizedcollege search engine. Enteryour information, such as SAT and ACT scores, location, and intended major.Then you can customize your search even more by specifying which aspects areparticularly important to you, such as religious affiliation and distance fromhome. You’ll then see a list of schools that should be a perfect fit based onwhat criteria you entered.

當你購買了Compass，你還可以使用我們最新最酷的My Fit工具。它就像是一個深度定制的大學搜索引擎。你可以輸入你的信息，比方說，SAT或者ACT分數(shù)，所在位置和意向專業(yè)。你還可以更加人性化地設置某 一個因素對你而言最為重要，比如：教派屬性，和居住地的距離等等。之后，就會有一個完全匹配你喜好的院校名單出現(xiàn)在你面前。

We’ve been working on My Fit for months, and we’re excitedfor you to check it out! Our friends in China can order Compass (and My Fit) onan offerpage that we’vetranslated into Chinese.

制作My Fit工具耗時數(shù)月，我們非常期待你們能來嘗試一下！中國的朋友們可以在我們精心準備的中文購買頁面上進行訂購。

Zincher: Someof the student reviews are really takes time to read…Can you make it simpler byjust asking them telling what is good and what is bad?

一些學生評價寫的太長了 … 能不能讓這部分變的簡單些，說清楚什么不錯什么不行就行了。

Bob: That’s a great idea. I know those reviews can sometimes geta little lengthy; I think it’s because students have a lot to say about theirschools. I like the idea of shortening the reviews by asking students morespecific questions, and I’ll pass that suggestion along to my team.

這個主意很不錯。我也看到了有些評價寫的的確不短。本人覺得是因為這些學生對于他們學校的確有很多話要說。我覺得用讓學生回答具體的問題來取代現(xiàn)有的評論方式是個很好的注意，我會讓我們的團隊來考慮這件事兒。

We’re always looking for new ideas that can help studentsand parents better understand and evaluate a school. It’s especially great toget a suggestion from across the world from our friends in China! If you haveany other ideas or feedback, we want to hear it. Check out the U.S. News rankings page on Weibo and let us know what you think!

對于能讓學生和家長更好的理解和評估學校有建設性作用的意見，我們一直都非常歡迎。尤其是能得到來自中國朋友的建議！如果還有類似的想法，請務必告訴我們。你可以到我們的網(wǎng)站和微博上給我們留言。

Zincher: For those factors that you use in the evaluationprocess, will they change frequently? How many adjustments did you make onthat for the past 10 years?

在排名評估方法中所考量的那些因素會一直變嗎？過去 10 年里，你們對于這些因素做出了多少調整？

Bob: Awesome question. We’ve been creating these rankings since1983, and over time, we’ve developed a methodology that’s stayed pretty muchthe same over the past 10 years. Our goal is to keep the methodology asconsistent as possible so that the process is fair and even for both theschools and the people who use the rankings. The methodology is always based onmany factors, such as ACT scores, graduation rates, and student to facultyratios. For a better look at exactly what goes into our evaluation process,check out the methodology page.

非常好的問題。自1983年排名創(chuàng)立以來，我們所使用的評估系統(tǒng)可以說是非常穩(wěn)定的，尤其是在過去10年里。我們希望能將這個體系盡可能穩(wěn)定地沿用下去，從而做到無論是對于它的使用者還是學校來說，這個排名都是一個相對公平的方案。

To keep up with the times, we do adjust our methodology nowand then. When we change something, we make sure to let everyone know so that theycan use it as one more consideration when exploring the rankings. We publishthe changes on our methodology page.

為了做到與時俱進，我們的確時不時的對于評估體系做出一些調整。每一次調整，我們都會讓大家看到。讓大家知道他們又多了一個考量學校的因素。這些調整都會公布在我們的評估體系頁面。

Zincher: Just curious, what is the lowest ranking of Harvardin the U.S. News rankings history?

純好奇，哈佛大學在 USnews 排名中最低的排名是多少？

Bob: Well, Harvard has always landed in our ranking’s top fivenational universities, but I believe that in 1989 it dropped to number four. Tomy memory, that’s the lowest ranking that Harvard has seen from us.

呵呵，哈佛大學一直都是我們排名中最頂尖的5所大學之一。不過我記得在1989年，他曾經(jīng)僅僅排名第四。這是我記憶中，這是哈佛在USnews排名中排名最低的一次。

We want you to remember that rankings aren’t everything. Ofcourse, we put a lot of work into these rankings, but they are one of manyfactors you should consider when choosing the school that’s best for you. Thinkabout the size of the school, the programs they offer, the academic setting,and many other factors. Do you want to study alongside nearly 70,000 classmatesat Arizona State, or would you feel more comfortable at a school of onlyabout 750 students, such as Sweet Briar College? Do you want to explore the city life of a school in NewYork, or are you more interested in the yearlong warm weather at a Californiacampus?

我們想借這個機會提醒大家，排名并不能說明一切。雖然這個排名花費了我們大量的心血，但它也不過是你擇校過程中眾多的考量因素之一。你還需要考慮學 校的大小，具體專業(yè)的情況，學術結構等很多東西。你是想成為亞利桑那州立大學70000在校生的一員，還是更傾向于在一個只有750人的斯威特布萊爾學院 里舒適地進修？你想體驗紐約大都會的生活節(jié)奏還是對加州四季如春的氣候更感興趣？

Zincher: Whatshould I do if I found my intended college ranked top20 in U.S. News but out oftop50 at Princeton Review?

如果我想去的學校在 USnews 里排名前 20 ，但是到了普林斯頓評論那邊連前 50 都進不了，我該怎么辦？

Bob: There are many college rankings out there, and each is aresult of a specific evaluation process. Some of the criteria that the variousranking publications use may be similar to others, and some may be different.We recommend that you consider any ranking, be it ours or anotherpublication’s, as just one factor in your college decision.

現(xiàn)在有很多大學的排名，每一個都是有它獨特的評估體系。彼此間有些考量因素可能是類似的，有些則完全不同。我們建議你們可以考慮任何一個排名，無論是我們的還是其他人的，前提是記住看排名只是你擇校過程中的一小部分。

In addition to the rankings, consider class sizes, acceptancerates, and career centers. Does the school offer the specific major you want tostudy, and are there opportunities to study abroad? Think about life outsidethe classroom, too. How important are competitive sports, volunteeropportunities, or location? Rankings are good to use as a guide, but take astep further to determine which schools fit your specific interests.

除了參考排名，你還要考慮班級人數(shù)，錄取率，有沒有職業(yè)規(guī)劃中心，這個學校提供的專業(yè)與你感興趣的方向是否吻合，有沒有到國外做交換生的機會。當 然，不要忘了考察一下學習之余的生活，這個學校重不重視體育，有沒有志愿者項目，以及它所在的地理位置如何。排名可以用來當做一個擇校的向導，但你自己需 要更深入地考慮某個學校與你的個性化要求是否匹配。

Zincher: Iheard that there are some colleges, good colleges, in the US never letthemselves be put on rankings. What is your opinion on this? And how can Icompare those colleges with one that is within the ranking?

我聽說美國的一些學校，而且是好學校，從不參與大學排名。您對此是何看法？我又該如何去拿這些學校與排名內(nèi)的學校去做比較？

Bob：　You’re right—we don’t rank or evaluate every school in theU.S. I wish we could, and maybe someday we will. It’s important to know that anunranked school can still be a very good fit for you. Don’t let schools with alow rank or no rank at all scare you away from learning more about what thoseschools have to offer. One of these schools may not have the perfect ranking,but it may be in a great location, with affordable tuition, and the specialprogram and extracurricular activities that you seek.

你說的沒錯—我們的排名并沒有涵蓋美國所有的大學。我們希望能夠做到覆蓋所有院校，也許不久的將來它就能夠實現(xiàn)。不參與排名的學校一樣能夠成為最適合你的學校，記住這點很重要。千萬不要一看到某個學校沒有排名或者不在排名內(nèi)，就不去深入地了解它們。可能沒有好看的排名，但它們也許地理位置很好，學費 特別便宜，某個專業(yè)或某些業(yè)余活動跟你的意愿非常搭配。

Use these rankings as a guide. They’re just one factor toconsider. I didn’t go to Harvard or Yale. I received my degree from the University of Cincinnati, which is ranked in the 150s among national universities.Although it’s helpful to know that it ranks lower than some schools and higherthan others, it’s also the other stuff—the special programs, location, and cost—thatmade it the right school for me.

我本人并沒有去哈佛或者耶魯上學。我的本科是在辛辛那提大學完成的，這個學校只排到了150位左右。雖然，了解它排在了XX大學后面，又比XX學院排名靠前對我來說很有幫助，但恰恰是一些其他方面的因素—特別的專業(yè)課程，地理位置和花費，讓它成為了最適合我的大學。

Zincher: Whichcollege do you rank No. 1 by your own standard?

如果讓你用自己的標準來排名，誰是你心目中的 No.1 大學？

Bob: Well that’s a tough one. I’ve been ranking thousands ofcolleges since the 80s, and by now, I naturally think more like a professional statisticianthan a teenage prospective college student. Rankings and the methodology behindthem are important because they give you hard data that may otherwise be hardto find.

這個問題真是難到我了。自從80年代開始我就為數(shù)千所大學進行排位，到現(xiàn)在，我基本上會是自然而然地站在一個職業(yè)統(tǒng)計學家來看待學校，而不是像一個高中畢業(yè)生那樣去評價他們。我所考慮的都是那些評估體系所帶來的不為人知卻又非常重要的數(shù)據(jù)。

On the other hand, it’s up to you to weigh the importance ofa ranking with all the other factors that should go into your college decision,such as location, class sizes, and tuition. I graduated from University of Cincinnati (UC), which is a public school in Ohio.

不過話說回來，你在擇校過程中考慮的那些因素，孰輕孰重，完全取決于你自己。我只能說，我畢業(yè)于辛辛那提大學，一所俄亥俄州的公立學校。

Zincher: Isthere any foreign language edition of the ranking? When are you gonna publishthose rankings in Chinese?

USnews 的排名有外文版本嗎？我們什么時候可以看到中文版排名？  

Bob:That’s a great suggestion, and I’ll make sure the rankingsteam and I discuss this more! We want to reach out to students in everylanguage, but that will take some time.

非常好的建議，我保證我和我的團隊會好好的討論一下這個問題！我們希望任何國家的學生都能夠方便的看到我們的排名。但是這個的確需要時間。

We love to hear suggestions and feedback from students fromacross the globe. Our friends in China can let us know what they’re thinking byposting to our Weibopage, and we’ll make sure to respond.

我們也期待來自世界各地用不同的聲音不同的語言提出的各種建議。來自中國的朋友們，你們可以把你們的想法發(fā)到微博上，我們保證會及時給予回復。

We’ve also spent some time translating the offer page for ourCollege Compass product, which gives you more detailed information on each school.The Compass information is in English, but the offerpage and order form isin Chinese. We know this may be a small step toward Chinese rankings, but wethink it’s one in the right direction!

我們已經(jīng)把College Compass訂購頁面翻譯成了中文，它可以幫助你們了解學校的更多細節(jié)。這只是大家看到中文排名前的一小步，不過我們會沿著這個方向繼續(xù)走下去。

Zincher: What other factors do you suggest us to consider to make anapplication decision beside remember the college’s ranking?

Bob: There are too many factors to count! We encourage ourfriends in China to explore how their top American schools help international students. Does the college accept the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) in place of the SATs? Are there specialcenters or learning communities for international students?

We also encourage you think about campus location. Do youwant to go to a school in downtown New York, near the beaches of California, ormaybe in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado? Also think about size. At Arizona State, you would have nearly 70,000 classmates, as opposed toabout 750 at Sweet Briar College. Other factors to consider are academic programs offered, affordability,religious affiliation, and graduation rate.

Zincher: Howmany American students use U.S. News rankings?

有多少美國學生使用 U.S.News 的排名？

Bob: Each month, millions of American students and parents from all over the United States checkout the U.S. News rankings. Highschool counselors also use our rankings to advise their students on whichcollege to attend. We are proud to have visitors from all over the world.

每個月都會有來自美國各地數(shù)以百萬計的學生和家長來瀏覽我們的排名。高中的升學顧問也參考我們的排名來給即將升學的學生建議。能夠擁有來自世界各地的用戶，我們非常驕傲。

Everyone uses the rankings differently. Some agonize overthe top-ranked schools and memorize admissions dates. Others use the rankings tohelp discover schools that may not have been on their original list ofpotential schools. Use the rankings as a guide, and also factor in your specialinterests and preferences.

我們每個用戶對于排名的用法也各有不同。有些人更關注高排名的學校以及他們的申請截止日期。另一些則用它來發(fā)現(xiàn)一些沒有被自己列在擇校名單里的優(yōu)秀院校。

Thank you, everyone, for submitting your questions!最后，感謝所有提問的同學！

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