A link to the Digital Edition of The College Destinations Index will be sent to you in 1 business day and will allow you to download the file up to three (3) times. Choosing the right college isn’t just about professors and classes. Conversations in coffee houses, performances in concert halls, and opportunities for corporate internships also contribute to education. That’s why AIER’s College Destinations Index assesses a location’s broader learning environment.
The index subdivides more than 360 metropolitan statistical areas into four tiers based on population size. We then rank the top scoring destinations in each tier according to 12 measures that range from student concentration to entrepreneurial opportunities. Our evaluation of destinations is further organized into three categories—Academic Environment, Quality of Life, and Professional Opportunities. Each addresses the larger learning environment according to objective criteria. Research Capacity, for example, one of our measures of Academic Environment, is based on research-and-development expenditures. Arts and Leisure, in our Quality of Life section, measures the number of cultural and entertainment locations. Entrepreneurial Activity, in the Professional Opportunities section, tracks the net annual increase of business establishments. Collegia, a regional planning organization based in Wellesley, MA (www.collegia.com), published the first CDI in 2003. According to Todd Hoffman, Collegia’s president, location typically ranks as one of the three most important factors in choosing a college. Until the CDI, there was no way to compare the off-campus assets of different colleges. AIER took over the CDI in 2008 and made modifications. These include the most recent Census Bureau definitions of metropolitan statistical areas and new measures for Entrepreneurial Activity and Brain Gain or Drain. We favored government sources, unless none were available or if a non-government source was more comprehensive. We also redefined certain units to make per capita measures onsistent as per 100,000 population. (The exception: Student concentration as per 1000.) These changes, as well as actual changes in the places themselves, have led to new rankings. Some locations have dropped off our list of the top 75 cities and towns. Others have moved onto it. The use of metropolitan statistical areas also produces anomalies. Trenton, NJ, for example, may not be a prime destination to visit. But Princeton, a component of the Trenton statistical area, is a nearly pristine town and home to a world-class university. Which brings us to a larger point: The CDI does not describe the specific campuses, nor does it include all possible measures of informal education. In addition, some of our population-based tiers are more competitive than others. Fewer major and mid-sized metropolitan areas vie for top rankings. The CDI isn’t just for students and their parents. College presidents, admission offices, and alumni can use it to promote their schools, civic planners to tout their regions, and CEOs to plan their next move. What’s more, the amenities that create great college communities also can make these destinations fine places to visit or retire. Add the print version for just $2 by selecting "Yes" below.
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