Columbia University acknowledges submitting inaccurate data for consideration in college rankings

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Columbia University Lion's Flag
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Columbia University released a statement on Friday taking accountability for submitting inaccurate data gathered with "outdated and/or incorrect methodologies" to U.S. News & World Report for their 2021 college rankings list, per CNN.

Columbia mathematics professor Michael Thaddeus first questioned the university's standing in February. The Ivy League school had a meteoric rise from 18th place in the list's 1988 debut to 2nd place in 2021. Thaddeus posted a statement on Columbia University's Department of Mathematics website, highlighting that "few other top-tier universities have also improved their standings, but none has matched Columbia's extraordinary rise."

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Theara Coleman, The Week US

Theara Coleman has worked as a staff writer at The Week since September 2022. She frequently writes about technology, education, literature and general news. She was previously a contributing writer and assistant editor at Honeysuckle Magazine, where she covered racial politics and cannabis industry news.