Amidst the mad annual scramble to protest, brag about and discuss U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Colleges” ranking, other important categories tend to get left in the dust. One of the most significant of those categories is “Best Undergraduate Teaching,” which Duke placed 7th in this year. Before examining exactly what that could mean, it is important to understand the criteria for the ranking.
According to U.S. News and World Report, the ranking is based on a survey given to top college administrators in which they were asked to list ten colleges that display “an unusually strong commitment to undergraduate teaching.” Those schools that received the most nominations earned the highest spots on the list.
Last year, Duke tied for 8th in the “Best Undergraduate Teaching” category. In this year’s edition, Duke moved up a spot and tied the University of California, Berkeley. What, though, is the significance of this accolade? Lee Baker, Dean of Academic Affairs for Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, believes it speaks to Duke’s focus on the undergraduate experience.
“At many large research universities, the most distinguished faculty prioritize training graduate students,” Baker wrote in an e-mail on Sunday. “At Duke we prioritize teaching and training graduate students AND undergraduates, and we are always looking to enhance the educational experience by maintaining small classes, great facilities, and leveraging technology well.”
The best evaluators of Duke’s undergraduate teaching, however, are not officials at other schools; they are Duke undergraduates. Sarey Hamarneh, Trinity ’16, offered his perspective on Duke’s undergraduate academic experience, and he mostly agreed with U.S. News and World Report.
“I’ve really been impressed by the overall quality of my professors and classes,” said Hamarneh. “The size of some of my core econ classes has been a bit frustrating, but I guess that’s unavoidable.”
While it may not be an absolute reflection of the true quality of Duke’s professors, the “Best Undergraduate Teaching” list seems to suggest a hard-earned internal and external reputation for excellent classroom instruction. Baker is convinced that Duke’s success in this area is a two-way street.
“Duke students are engaging, smart, and fun to teach,” he wrote. “Teaching undergraduates at Duke is a rewarding and challenging experience.”
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