<br>Columbia University ditches the college-ranking system<br><p data-caps=”initial” class=”article__body-text article__body-text–dropcap“>On June 6th Columbia University announced that it will no longer co-operate with <i>US News & World Report</i>’s undergraduate rankings. It is the first top-notch institution to do so. Might its departure be the start of a mass exodus?</p><br><p class=”article__body-text”>Columbia’s decision follows a rankings scandal last year. In February 2022 one of Columbia’s own maths professors, Michael Thaddeus, accused the college of fudging its data in several areas. The university later admitted to having used “outdated and/or incorrect methodologies”.</p><br><p class=”article__body-text”><i>US News</i> began ranking America’s top universities in 1983, and has released its findings annually since 1988. In the 1980s prospective students started to expand their college search beyond their local area, and it was hard to learn about universities and compare them, says Michael Sauder, a professor of sociology at the University of Iowa. “<i>US News</i> filled an information gap at that time,” he adds. </p>
2023-06-08 08:48:58
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