Don’t play the name and shame game

The timing and speed of the TransformUS process may not have allowed for thorough involvement of everyone in an academic unit in completing the TransformUS templates and, in some units, it meant the responsibility fell to one person. The unfortunate side-effect of this means that programs may not have been portrayed appropriately or completely.

Now that the completed templates have been released to the university community, the discourse can easily be shifted to a line-by-line critique of how decisions made by an individual while completing the template contributed to a low ranking by the Taskforce instead of the reasons for TransformUS, the validity of the process and its outcomes.

As the next few weeks unfold, please avoid the harmful use of a ‘naming and shaming’ strategy to address what may be perceived as an apparent underperformance by some programs.

Completed templates have been provided to show the information on which rankings were based. If you have concerns that information contained in completed templates does not characterize a program appropriately, become involved in the ongoing consultation process.