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Incomplete Grade? Columbia Loses Ranking over Dubious Data
U.S. News & World Report has unranked Columbia University from its 2022 edition of Best Colleges, saying in a statement that the Ivy League institution failed to substantiate certain 2021 data it previously submitted, including student-faculty ratios and class size.
The decision to rescind the school’s No. 2 rating among national universities in the 2022 edition came about a week after Columbia announced it would not be submitting data for the 2023 edition of Best Colleges after one of its mathematics professors recently raised questions about the accuracy of past submissions.
The 2022 edition was first published in September 2021. Prospective students often rely on the U.S. News & World Report rankings to determine where they should apply to college.
Columbia Provost Mary Boyce, in a statement posted June 30, said the school was reviewing its data collection and submissions process in light of the professor’s concerns and could not complete the work in time for U.S. News and World Report’s July 1 deadline for the 2023 Best Colleges edition.
“Columbia has long conducted what we believed to be a thorough process for gathering and reporting institutional data, but we are now closely reviewing our processes in light of the questions raised,” she wrote. “The ongoing review is a matter of integrity. We will take no shortcuts in getting it right.”
U.S. News said it contacted Columbia officials in March after learning there were questions about the accuracy of the university’s submission and asked it to substantiate some of information.
“To date, Columbia has been unable to provide satisfactory responses to the information U.S. News requested,” the publisher said in a statement Thursday.
Therefore, the publisher said, it has removed the numerical ranking of the school in various lists including 2022 National Universities, 2022 Best Value Schools and 2022 Top Performers on Social Mobility.
Columbia will remain ranked in other areas that relied on ratings from top officials at other universities and departments and didn’t include data from Columbia.
The unranked status will appear on Columbia’s profile page on USNews.com.
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Trump administration opens antisemitism inquiries at 5 colleges, including Columbia and Berkeley
The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday.
It's part of President Donald Trump's promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.
In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.
Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department's power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations, which stem from complaints.
Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.
A statement from the Education Department criticized colleges for tolerating antisemitism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that followed. It also criticized the Biden administration for negotiating "toothless" resolutions that failed to hold schools accountable.
"Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses," said Craig Trainor, the agency's acting assistant secretary for civil rights.
The department didn't provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted. Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia's Minouche Shafik.
An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus building, and it called Northwestern's negotiations with student protesters a "stunning capitulation."
House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Representative Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was "glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students."
Trump's order also calls for a full review of antisemitism complaints filed with the Education Department since Oct. 7, 2023, including pending and resolved cases from the Biden administration. It encourages the Justice Department to take action to enforce civil rights laws.
Last week's order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.
The new task force announced Monday includes the Justice and Education departments along with Health and Human Services.
"The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found," said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. "The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump's renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools."
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