Office of Planning & Budgeting

public opinion


July 19, 2019

UW Ranked #28 in the World for Second Straight Year by Times Higher Education (THE)

The University of Washington maintains its #28 rank for second year in a row in the Times Higher Education (THE) 2019 World Reputation Rankings, released Wednesday July 17th. This ranking is commonly used to measure a university’s global impact. The UW is one of only 11 of our US News top public research university peers…


October 30, 2014

UW Ranked 14th Best University in the World by U.S. News & World Report

The University of Washington was ranked the 14th best university in the world by U.S. News & World Report’s inaugural “Best Global Universities Ranking,” which was released on Tuesday. Unlike U.S. News’s national rankings, which focus on undergraduate admissions data and graduation rates, these new rankings were based on research-heavy factors such global research reputation,…


October 7, 2014

Kaplan’s New “Open College” May Not Be a Bargain for All Students

On Monday, Kaplan University launched “Open College” which is intended to help adult students earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Professional Studies by offering credit for a combination of competency-based course assessments, experiential learning, and external exams (AP, IB, CLEP, DSSTs, etc.). Open College will include free online courses and mentoring to help prospective…


May 7, 2014

Stanford Announces It Will Divest from Coal Companies

On Tuesday, Stanford’s Board of Trustees announced it “will not directly invest in approximately 100 publicly traded companies for which coal extraction is the primary business, and will divest of any current direct holdings in such companies.” Furthermore, Stanford stated it would encourage its external investment managers to avoid investments in such companies. The decision…


September 19, 2013

Higher Education and Career-Ready Graduates: New Surveys Offer Insight into America’s Opinions

The results of two new surveys released Tuesday reveal some of America’s views on both the future of higher education as well as its role in producing desirable outcomes, particularly career-ready graduates. Under Northeastern University’s sponsorship, FTI Consulting surveyed 263 hiring managers in July as well as 1,000 adult Americans in August.  Here are some…


December 3, 2012

Recent Higher Ed Headlines

Here is a quick look at some recent happenings in the world of higher education: The College Scorecard confuses students and lacks desired information, says a report released today by the Center for American Progress (CAP).  The College Scorecard, which President Obama proposed last February, is an online tool to help students compare colleges’ costs,…


November 8, 2012

Results of Higher Ed Ballot Initiatives Across the Country

On Tuesday, 11 states voted on ballot measures that could impact higher education. The following table (based on one from The Chronicle) summarizes how those measures fared. YES–the measure passed           NO—the measure failed CALIFORNIA YES Prop 30 Would temporarily increase sales and income taxes in order to raise approx. $6-billion in revenue and stave off $963-million worth…


October 29, 2012

California’s Prop 30 Loses Ground in the Polls

Last week, a Los Angeles Times/USC poll found that support for Proposition 30 is dwindling. Only 46 percent of registered voters now approve the California ballot initiative designed to deflect almost $1-billion in state higher-education cuts—a 9-point drop over last month’s poll by the same organizations. Meanwhile, 42 percent of respondents oppose the proposition. If…


April 16, 2012

Another Report on the Effect of Public Investment on Attainment

Demos, a research and advocacy organization, recently published a report entitled “The Great Cost Shift” discussing the effects of higher tuition and lower state investment on a growing and diverse college population. The report focuses on the Millennial generation, the group of students born in the 1980s and 90s and beginning to enter college in…


April 10, 2012

Faculty Salaries Remain Flat

AAUP released its annual academic salary information this week. The data show, once again, that faculty salaries have not kept up with inflation, that they have not increased significantly over many years, and that the pay gap between professors at public and private institutions continues to grow. Although these data do not address the rapidly…



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