In a statement released by Columbia University, it announced that the university would not provide its undergraduate rankings data to US News & World Report for the year 2023. The educational institution asserted that it had concluded that such rankings neither truly reflect the student perspective nor the values of the institution as a whole.
Columbia University, which had previously dragged its medical, law, and nursing schools from the US News rankings, stated that they are still uncertain about the part that rankings play in the undergraduate application process, both in terms of the potential disproportionate cause they might exert on incoming freshmen and in terms of how they summarise an institution's overall profile into a blended assortment of categories. Such strategies have already resulted in significant losses, the statement continues.
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Columbia will provide statistics for its undergraduate institutions, Columbia Engineering, Columbia College, and Columbia General Studies, to the Common Data Sets rather than sending them to US News.
Over the past two years, Columbia University's interaction with US News has been turbulent. When it participated in the US News & World Report's ranking of colleges for the 2022 edition of its top universities, it admitted that it had provided some erroneous data.
As a contributing factor, the university also cited the impending Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action. Last but not least, the upcoming Supreme Court ruling on the affirmative motion has led the authorities to a historic turning point that may very well prompt a reevaluation of admissions practices in ways they are unable to fathom.
In contrast to a few of the earlier declarations issued by other colleges to justify their removal from the US News rankings of their medical and law schools, Columbia's most recent release was less combative in nature.
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The university applauds initiatives, whether governmental or private, to assist applicants in navigating the undergraduate college application process because it can be highly complicated. The introduction of novel resources and approaches that show results is extremely encouraging; in this regard, the US Department of Education has demonstrated a much-welcome leadership, Columbia’s statement read.
Accordingly, the institution supports US News' recent decision that it will modify its undergraduate rankings methodology to put more emphasis on the performance of students who graduate from different educational backgrounds.
As noted by US News CEO Eric J Gertler, applicants rely on their ranking system as well as data to navigate the complex and ambiguous admissions procedures. He continued that rankings continue to be produced even if universities do not submit data.
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Each academic problem, including the upcoming Supreme Court lawsuit stated in Columbia's declaration, is often attributed to the US News rankings by their detractors. They have often said that this method of decision-making ought to factor into account how they rank, said Gertler.
Further, in quitting the US News undergrad rankings, Columbia has now joined the Rhode Island School of Design, Colorado College, and Stillman College. It is predicted that other prestigious universities in USA may follow Columbia's example and leave US News as well, potentially starting with a chain reaction like the former flight of law and medical schools. Furthermore, it is unclear whether or not the updated approach that US News announced will alter the actual university rankings.
Source: Forbes
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