Robert Morse, the lead designer of U.S. News & World Report’s rankings methodology, speaks at the professional conference for college data-crunchers every year. And every year, attendees say, his workshop is packed.
“Every time I’ve gone to that session, it’s been standing-room-only and people leaning in the door,” said Jeffrey A. Johnson, director of institutional research and effectiveness at Wartburg College. Conference-goers always ask tough questions, said Todd J. Schmitz, assistant vice president for institutional research for the Indiana University campuses. But Morse’s audience is rapt: “He has this room of 300 people hanging on his every word,” Johnson said.