<p>Perusing Wes rankings and statistics, I noticed that the outlier seems to be faculty resources, for which Wes is ranked 44th! This category is 20 percent of the total score, so this really hurts. But, what is really going on in that category? A look at the USNWR methodology page: [Methodology:</a> Undergraduate Ranking Criteria and Weights - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2011/09/12/methodology-undergraduate-ranking-criteria-and-weights-2012]Methodology:”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2011/09/12/methodology-undergraduate-ranking-criteria-and-weights-2012) reveals that the faculty resources category ranking is based on a weighted average of several stats: (faculty compensation 35%, percent of faculty with top terminal degree 15%, full-time faculty percentage 5%, student/faculty ratio 5%, class size 1-19 students 5%, and class size 50+ students 10%). On the class size categories, Wes is rated medium, so that doesnt seem to be driving the 44 ranking. Student/faculty ratio is in line with Top 15 peers, so that isnt it either. A check of the AAUP faculty salary survey: [The</a> Chronicle: AAUP Faculty Salary Survey](<a href=“http://chronicle.com/stats/aaup/]The”>http://chronicle.com/stats/aaup/) shows that compared to peer institutions Wes pays comparable salaries (at least in terms of average salary for full, associate, and assistant professors), however USNWR says that they adjust salary based on cost of living. Not clear what effect Middletown, Connecticuts COL has on that adjustment. So, nothing is jumping out at me as driving this. While it is true that Wes endowment (regrettably) lags certain of its peers, this would have a direct effect on the financial resources category, where Wes ranks 25th. But, it shouldnt directly affect faculty resources, although it may mean that Wes has to spend a greater amount of operating revenue on salaries to make up the difference. If the deficiency is faculty compensation, what is driving that? I could hypothesize a benign explanation maybe Wes has fewer, highly-paid, senior professors, or maybe the COL adjustment makes the absolute salary numbers look deficient relative to peer institutions like Middlebury (VT) or Bowdoin (ME). But, that is speculation. What am I missing? Something is driving the poor faculty resource ranking and that seems to be a real drag on Wes overall ranking, so any light anyone can shed on this would be appreciated. Thanks.</p>