@collegebobollege : How am I being unhelpful by simply showing a webpage or explaining my interpretation of some things I notice and then analyzing it. Schools and departments at schools use external reviewers all the time. They don’t need insider knowledge. They observe, get as much information as they can, compare it to their own perspective or some benchmark, and then tell the entity what it is doing well, what it needs to do to improve, etc. Again, there is nothing new here and clearly outside perspective does matter. Mine is just also based on the perspective of insiders as well. I generally try to make sure I am not the only with with such an opinion. There is no pretense on my part which also why often ask questions when I find something strange or unbelievable.
However I am not CNN and won’t look at several perspectives, present them, and then do no analysis (or even go out of the way to fake a non-biased approach) at all. If they (whoever is interested in whatever) cannot seek out or find internal sources to begin answering their questions, then I will, period. The insider perspective is never the only valuable perspective (all types of biases arise when we go crazy in attempt to yield someone by perhaps using our personal experiences and then spinning things into a positive light and do all sorts of things that eliminate the nuance and technically with-hold info. from the person wanting to know. I am even guilty of this though I try not to be. Often our own experiences are contrary to what many others express even in public venues). If it was, we would not care so much about things like USNews rankings which functions as largely an external evaluation outside of the concrete data they provide (things like guidance counselor opinions and things contributing to a reputation or prestige score can end up being based upon merely “do I know the name”).