Archive · 2 Jul 2025
Columbia to Pay $9 Million to Settle Ranking Lawsuit
Columbia University is paying $9 million to settle a lawsuit.
Students sued the university because they believed it was lying about important things like class sizes to make the school look better in a magazine's ranking.
A mathematician found the data was incorrect, causing Columbia to drop in rankings.
Now, former students from 2016-2022 can apply for a share of the money.
The university didn't admit to doing anything wrong, but said it regrets mistakes in reporting.
This case made people question how schools are ranked.
Columbia University agreed to pay $9 million to settle a lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleged the university inflated its U.S. News & World Report ranking.
False data was reported, including class sizes with under 20 students.
The settlement covers around 22,000 former undergraduate students.
Columbia said it 'deeply regrets deficiencies in prior reporting'.
- Who
- Columbia University and former undergraduate students
- What
- Columbia University will pay $9 million to settle a lawsuit.
- When
- The settlement was announced on June 30, 2024.
- Where
- U.S. District Court in Manhattan
- Why
- To settle a class-action lawsuit regarding inflated university rankings.
Students' Perspective
Columbia University's Response
Data Accuracy
Students' Perspective
Columbia misrepresented data for rankings.
Columbia University's Response
Columbia denies allegations of misreporting.
- Settlement Amount
- $9 million
- Lawsuit Reason
- Inflated rankings
- Affected Students
- ~22,000
- Years Covered
- 2016-2022
- Rank Drop
- From No. 2 to No. 18