No Doctoral Rankings in August, but Timetable Is Likely

The long-awaited rankings of doctoral programs by the National Research Council -- years behind schedule and with an evolving methodology -- aren't coming this month, but are apparently due soon. NRC officials have been declining to give public indications of when the rankings will be released, but the Web site for the project posted a notice last week that indicated some campus officials were asking about the timing of August vacations in light of the potential release of the project. According to the notice, the rankings won't come out in August, but universities should find out in August when they will receive the data and when the public will receive the data -- at a later point also not in August.