Columbia’s Ranking Fallout: $9M Settlement Over Misleading Data

Columbia University has agreed to pay $9 million to resolve a class-action lawsuit brought by students who alleged the school manipulated data to climb the U.S. News & World Report college rankings.

According to the lawsuit, Columbia falsely claimed that 83% of its classes had fewer than 20 students, among other inaccuracies, helping it secure the No. 2 spot in 2022. Students argued these misrepresentations influenced their decision to enroll and allowed the university to overcharge them for tuition.

The settlement will benefit approximately 22,000 undergraduate students enrolled between 2016 and 2022, with $6 million expected to be distributed after legal fees. The case began after Columbia professor Michael Thaddeus exposed inconsistencies in the university’s data, which led to its ranking plummeting to No. 18.

Columbia has since withdrawn from the rankings altogether, citing concerns about their outsized influence and oversimplification of educational quality.

With elite schools like Harvard and Yale also stepping back from the rankings, Columbia’s scandal could be a turning point in how universities present themselves to students.