Why Yale and Harvard Law withdrew from US News rankings

On Wednesday, November 16, the deans of Yale and Harvard Law School announced in separate statements their institution's withdrawal from US News & World Report rankings.

Widely considered the most influential rankings of its kind, the US News & World Report Best Colleges Ranking has received a series of since 1983. The withdrawal of Yale and Harvard Law School from this ranking is the biggest in a series of rebukes and criticisms the ranking has received in the past. Criticisms have included the fact that data is self-reported by universities, the data is sometimes fraudulent, as well as the phenomena of using this unreliable self-reported data to derive falsely precise rankings.

In his statementm, John Manning, Dean of Harvard Law School, wrote that they have made this decision because "it has become impossible to reconcile our principles and commitments with the methodology and incentives the US News rankings reflect." He also wrote that the rankings often highlight characteristics of a university that might mislead students and could incentivise universities to make decisions that may not always be in the students' best interest.

Heather Gerken, Dean of Yale Law School, echoed the same sentiments in a separate statement. Pointing out that US News & World Report is a for-profit magazine, she called the ranking "profoundly flawed — they disincentivize programs that support public interest careers, champion need-based aid, and welcome working-class students into the profession. We have reached a point where the rankings process is undermining the core commitments of the legal profession."

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This indictment of the ranking system used by US News & World Report serves as a strong stand against universities making decisions to get an advantage in ranking systems as opposed to decisions that are solely in the best interest of its current and potential students. 

Both deans pointed out that the rankings discourage universities from providing financial aid based on need, instead rewarding universities who use financial aid to only recruit students with high scores on standardised tests like the LSAT/GRE, who can in turn secure better GPAs. This disincentivises universities to consider students from modest means who may not have the resources to avail expensive preparation tools but have inspiring stories and background that may lead to success in the future.

According to the statements, deans from law schools across the USA have repeatedly suggested revisions to the US News & World Report ranking methodology, but the magazine has not implemented any of these suggestions.

On Thursday, University of California, Berkeley Law School also announced a similar decision.

These announcements come at a time when universities in Bangladesh have recently put much emphasis on their rising positions in world rankings. While universities may take pride in what they achieve in global rankings, whether or not the decisions they are taking to achieve these positions is in the best interest of students, remains to be seen.