LinkedIn has added itself to the toppling tower of university rankings, and UF didn’t make the cut.
The social media site used more than 300 million users to rank universities based on the career outcomes of graduates, according to a post on LinkedIn’s official blog.
The rankings included the top 25 schools in eight professional areas, including accounting, design, marketing and investment banking.
“I was shocked when I noticed UF didn’t place in the top for any industry,” said Kelvin M. Medina, a UF advertising senior. “I’m very confident in our ability, education and credibility.”
Medina, like other users, uses the professional network to look for jobs and create a profile to attract companies.
“It opens up the world of professionalism,” the 21-year-old said.
To create the rankings, LinkedIn identified companies that best attracted and retained employees, according to the blog post.
The company then looked at users who graduated in the last eight years and worked in a particular career.
For each university and profession, LinkedIn calculated the percentage of graduates who have desirable jobs. These results ranked the universities based on the career outcomes of graduates, according to the post.
“As the professional world evolves, we are continually looking to provide university rankings for an increasingly broad spectrum of career paths,” said Navneet Kapur on LinkedIn’s official blog.
The only Florida schools to place in the rankings are the University of Miami, No. 17 in media professionals, and Ringling College of Art and Design, No. 7 in designers.
“I think it’s very interesting and just another way to measure,” said Lisa Buyer, the author of “Social PR Secrets” and a UF public relations adjunct professor.
“It’s a combination of people’s choice and showing how social media can influence scoring, whether its restaurants or universities.”
Combining social media and data, the rankings are a part of LinkedIn’s mission for students to make better decisions based for their career paths.
According to another blog post on LinkedIn’s official blog, the company also has decision boards and a university finder where students discover careers and schools that best fit their interests.
“I definitely think this is a smart direction for LinkedIn and that it’s part of a bigger picture,” Buyer said. “It’s just the beginning.”
[A version of this story ran on page 4 on 10/3/2014]
