With Earth Day last week, colleges are making an effort to go green.

For instance, lettuce leaves and apple cores fertilize the flowers at Seattle University instead of going into the garbage.
Fanshawe College installed a new ventilation system and controls equipment for greater air quality, heating and lighting efficiency.

Vanderbilt University’s Information Technology Services are changing over to “server virtualization.” This means that the operations and data of several individual servers are combined into a single, physical machine in an effort to reduce the energy spent powering mammoth racks of centralized computers and the air-conditioning systems needed to keep them cool.

It seems that universities are giving up their own college colors and adopting an earthy green.

Going green has meant changes in the way colleges maintain their grounds, construct their buildings, perform their research, and even teach their courses.

Environmental concerns are even spilling over into the classroom. Washington State University offers an undergraduate degree in organic farming - the first in the nation, according to the university. Engineering undergraduates at Seattle University developed a solar panel system that collects enough sunlight to power an energy-efficient home for one year. And the student body at Western Washington University agreed to pay up to $10.50 a quarter to buy renewable electricity - becoming one of the first in the state to go 100 percent green on the main campus.

Being kind to the environment is not just a trend. If we want the world to be around for awhile, it’s something that has to become second nature.

It looks like colleges don’t just teach students math and biology; they are training the next generation so that there can be more generations to come.

This year, colleges have started a full-blown rebellion against college rankings–what was once just a quiet revolution.

Dozens of liberal arts colleges publicly denounced the rankings and swore not to participate in surveys to rank colleges.

They argue that high school seniors get caught up worrying about where a college is ranked rather than focusing on their own preferences and finding a college that matches these preferences. And that the rankings focus on wealth, prestige and exclusivity and omit the characteristics that make each college unique, like its mission, the types of students it attracts and the resources it has available.

This past month, the U.S. News and World Report’s College Rankings decided to include high school counselors’ views about colleges in their ranking process. But 50 or so high school superintendents from schools in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Illinois and Massachusetts have signed a letter to the editors there asking to be omitted from the rankings.

Similarly, the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), is critical of the method and some are even calling for a boycott.

But not everyone is against the college rankings. Proponents counter that the U.S. News college rankings can be used as one of many tools to help high school seniors and their parents assess the quality of colleges. Ivy League schools like Yale or Princeton are all for them because it enhances their reputation…and their application numbers–which means more prestige and money for them.

The debate nevertheless is certainly changing the face of the college search. For instance, we, here at CampusCompare are taking notice. We don’t want to tell you what the best college is. Instead we want to give you a feel for each school so that you can find the match that’s best for you.

Like students, I guess colleges don’t like being measured against one standard….and definitely know how to talk their way out of landing a bad grade.

This is what you can expect this week in college trends:

College Rankings Get an F: Are college rankings all they are cracked up to be? Some organizations and colleges don’t seem to think so and some schools are opting out of getting a grade. Organizations are opting for more holistic ways to rate the school. Sounds a little like yours truly, CampusCompare. We are all about helping you find the college that’s the right match for you.

Colleges Go Green: With Earth Day being marked last week, college campuses are doing their part to help out with the environment. This blog will show you some of the innovative ways colleges are lending Mother Nature a hand.

Wired Colleges: We’ll tell you which colleges are plugging into this 21st century trend.

And more. So keep checking in to stay ahead of the class!