U.S. News has upended how it ranks colleges, now focusing on outcomes and social mobility for economically disadvantaged students.

Economic equilibrium is a sustainable state in which revenues support the academic mission while preserving the capacity to respond to challenges and pursue opportunities.

What tends to go unexamined is how campuses themselves communicate day to day, and what that teaches students about how information is supposed to move.

The shift does not mean a college degree has lost its overall employment advantage.