Colleges and Universities

Impact Careers Initiative Launches College Rankings System Based on Public Service

November 13, 2013

The number of college rankings available to students and parents is growing, thanks to high demand. As seen in a recent piece in Washington Monthly, the Aspen Institute Impact Careers Initiative (ICI) recently launched its own version of college rankings to measure colleges and universities with the highest number of graduates who move on to work in public service. The rankings used data principally from the professional social network LinkedIn. Impact Careers Initiative program founders Jonny Dorsey and Fagan Harris say it’s the first time data from the site has been used in this way.

“We did this because most universities have ‘sending their alums out to solve the biggest problems in the world’ as their stated goal,” said Dorsey. “That’s what they say they want to do, but few measure whether they achieve that goal, and even fewer of the well-known public rankings use that as a core metric for success. We wanted to start to change that.”

In the video below, Dorsey explains ICI and details the metrics behind the group’s college rankings.

The College of William and Mary and George Washington University top the ICI’s rankings. Watch the video below to hear some of the other schools that ranked high on the list, and what factors contribute to these institutions sending so many graduates on to public service careers. 

Related:

College Excellence Program Director on Metrics Behind the College Rankings System