Columbia University was ranked second in the nation
| Columbia University was ranked second in the nation | |
|---|---|
| MISLEADING | |
| "Columbia University's rise to second place among US national universities in the 2022 U.S. News & World Report rankings reflected the accurate data it reported on class sizes, faculty and spending." | |
| Domain | Education & Learning |
| Tactic | Statistical & Evidentiary Distortion |
| Era | Current |
| First seen | 2021 |
| Origin | Data submitted by Columbia University to U.S. News & World Report, challenged in February 2022 by one of its own mathematics professors |
| Last reviewed | 2026-10-27 |
| Further reading: books on Education & Learning | |
The claim that Columbia University was ranked second in the nation rested on data the university submitted to U.S. News & World Report, whose college rankings strongly influence applicants. In September 2021 Columbia was ranked second among national universities, tied with Harvard and MIT. In February 2022 Michael Thaddeus, a Columbia mathematics professor, published an analysis concluding that several key figures Columbia had reported, including the share of small classes, the share of faculty with the highest degrees in their fields and spending on instruction, were inaccurate or unsupported. After Columbia acknowledged problems and withdrew from that year's survey, U.S. News ranked it 18th. The episode exposed how easily rankings depend on self-reported, unaudited data.
The claim
Columbia had climbed in the rankings over the previous decades. U.S. News calculates rankings using metrics such as graduation rates, class sizes, faculty resources, spending per student and reputation, many of them based on data supplied by universities themselves.
What the evidence shows
- The Thaddeus analysis. Thaddeus compared Columbia's reported figures with the university's own course listings and other public information. For example, Columbia reported that about 83 percent of its undergraduate classes had fewer than 20 students; his analysis of course data suggested a much lower figure. He also questioned the reported share of faculty with terminal degrees and the reported instructional spending, which he said appeared to include patient care costs at its medical center.
- Columbia's response. In June 2022 Columbia said it would not submit data for the next rankings while it reviewed its processes, and in September it acknowledged that it had used "outdated and/or incorrect methodologies" for some figures.
- Ranking drop. In September 2022 U.S. News moved Columbia from second to 18th using data it gathered from other sources.
- A broader problem. Other institutions have been caught submitting false data. In 2021 a jury convicted Moshe Porat, former dean of Temple University's business school, of fraud for submitting false information to boost the school's online MBA ranking to first place; he was sentenced to prison in 2022.
Why it persists
Rankings matter greatly to universities, which compete for applicants, donations and prestige, creating incentives to present data in the most favorable light or worse. Because U.S. News relies heavily on self-reported numbers and does not audit them comprehensively, errors and manipulation can go undetected. After the Columbia episode, a number of leading law and medical schools withdrew from U.S. News rankings, criticizing their methods.
Lessons for readers
- Rankings are only as reliable as the data behind them.
- Ask whether institutions' self-reported figures are independently verified.
- Single numbers can obscure important differences between schools.
- Insiders with expertise can expose problems in official figures.
- Incentives to rank highly can distort reporting.
See also
Sources
- Michael Thaddeus, "An Investigation of the Facts Behind Columbia's U.S. News Ranking" (February 2022).
- Columbia University, statements on its data submissions (June and September 2022).
- Anemona Hartocollis, "U.S. News Ranked Columbia No. 2, but a Math Professor Has His Doubts," The New York Times, March 17, 2022.
- US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, press releases on the conviction and sentencing of Moshe Porat (2021–2022).