After much anticipation, U.S. News and World Report has released its college rankings for 2013. Emory students, faculty and alumni can breathe a collective sigh of relief as the university once again claimed the number 20 spot. This is especially good news in light of the recent data-reporting incident that called Emory's true ranking into question.
We at the Wheel are as relieved as the rest of the Emory community with this year's outcome. However, we would also like to express some minor disappointment that Emory has not improved its ranking over the course of the past several years. We acknowledge that, given the circumstances, this year was not the year to expect an improvement, but we also believe that the University must begin taking steps to improve its ranking and remain competitive amongst its peers.
Emory was fortunate enough to have retained its Top 20 status this year, but we urge the administration to begin taking the steps necessary to ensure the University's continued growth and improvement. If Emory is to remain competitive with its peer institutions, it must continue to grow.
We would also like to encourage Emory's administration to expand its recruiting efforts at high schools across the country and to undertake an improved advertising campaign to raise awareness of our institution. Much of our success as a university depends on our ability to draw an ever-increasing pool of applicants. We are aware of the fact that Emory has recently been increasing and revamping its marketing efforts. They have made attempts to target not only high school students, but also the general public in order to increase the school's awareness. Such efforts have included reaching out to students via social media and placing advertisements in and around the Atlanta area. While these are steps in the positive direction, we do not believe that the results of these efforts have matched the community's expectations.
We all know how much Emory has to offer as an institution of higher learning. Ours is a wonderful university, and we are certain that the Emory community would like to see a continuation of the growth and success that the university has enjoyed over the past several years. While we were fortunate enough not to have suffered in ranking as a result of the recent data reporting incident, we cannot be content to rest on our laurels.
The above staff editorial represents the majority opinion of the Wheel's editorial board.
