I know that whenever we hear about any possible B1G expansion, we also hear "Are they a member of the AAU??" I don't care for the AAU personally but they do possess a lot of clout in the academic world. What does it take to be an AAU member?? Not sure exactly, but maybe this old post by a UMass fan can shed some light on the subject; fwiw, I don't believe UMass is in the AAU.

(03-24-2018 08:34 PM)McKinney Wrote:  What do you mean by "academic rank"? These are the indicators that UMass has used since the 2001 (I believe) to assess itself against AAU members.

Quote:Total enrollment
Graduate enrollment
Graduate enrollment as % of total enrollment
Science & engineering post-doctoral enrollment
Number of doctoral degrees awarded in one year
Number of academic (non-professional) doctoral degrees awarded in one year
Number of professional doctoral degrees awarded in one year
Number of doctoral level programs
Number of academic (non-professional) doctoral level programs
Number of professional doctoral level programs
Number of programs rated in the National Research Councils Assessment of Research Doctorate Programs in the United States
Number of programs rated among the top 20 based on the basis of faculty quality in the NRCs Assessment
Number of programs rated among the top 20 based on one or more dimensions in the NRCs Assessment
Total research and development expenditures for a given year
Federal research and development expenditures for a given year
Memberships in national academies
Number of faculty awarded Guggenheim grants in a given three-year period
Number of faculty receiving Presidential Young Investigator Awards within a four-year period
Number of faculty receiving Fulbright Awards in a given three-year period
Number of volumes in library
Number of current serial subscriptions in the library for a given year
Total operating expenditures in the library for a given year
Market value of endowment
Average salary of full professors

...........