Duke ties with Harvard and Yale in Wall Street Journal student outcomes ranking

The 2019 Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings are out, and Duke has dropped two spots from last year to this year.

In its annual rankings, the WSJ ranked Duke at seventh overall, tied with Brown University. Duke fell from fifth in the 2018 rankings, but Brown rose four spots from 11th to tie Duke. Harvard University topped the list for the second year in a row, with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Yale University rounding out the top three. 

Nevertheless, Duke was tied with Harvard and Yale for No. 1 in student outcomes.

"We have entered an age of more accountability,” said Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), chairwoman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, to the WSJ's Melissa Korn and Douglass Belkin. "Whatever program people go into, there ought to be value added to it."

Foxx thought it important that families are aware of the full costs and benefits of college, including loans and future earning potential.  

The methodology behind the ranking includes four major categories, according to the Times Higher Education website. Outcomes is the most heavily weighted category in their methodology, taking into account graduation rate, academic reputation and value added to both graduate salary and loan default. 

Financial resources, engagement with students and environment—diversity amongst students and faculty—are the other three factors considered for the ranking. Duke ranked 15th in resources, 68th in engagement and 180th in environment.

Survey responses from 189,000 students were included as well. On a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 representing strongest agreement, Duke received a 9.1 in whether the university was a right choice to the student, 8.6 in whether the university provided an inspiring environment and 8 for whether the university was worth the cost.

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