Higher ed’s game of thrones: ACE plans to debut new Carnegie Classification methodology this year

Higher Ed Dive

Jeremy Bauer-Wolf

April 14, 2023

It’s a tale as old as time, or at least as old as several decades for higher education: colleges hyperfocusing on climbing the tiers of the Carnegie Classifications, a frequently used system of categorizing like institutions that debuted in 1973.

This dynamic is most frequently on display when colleges with doctoral programs try to hop into the Research 2, or R2, ranking — which designates institutions with high levels of research activity — or when they’re trying to move from R2 to R1, the top tier of institutions with very high research levels.

The perks of R2, and particularly R1, are many. Colleges tout their classification as a mark of prestige, which attracts student and donor attention. The most federal research dollars flow to R1 institutions.

Yet critics bemoan that some colleges have compromised their missions — and thus the quality of undergraduate education — in pursuit of R1.

The allure of reaching this status won’t dissipate anytime soon. But colleges will have a new path to get there.

Either in late 2024 or early 2025, the American Council on Education — which as of last year administers the Carnegie Classifications — wants to release colleges’ placements under a new formula. ACE says this new iteration will capture a more nuanced view of institutional missions.

ACE officials shared this planned timeline at the higher ed lobbying group’s annual meeting Friday in Washington, D.C. It first intends to publish the methodology behind the revised classifications this summer or fall.

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