SHOCKING: UC Berkeley is removed from U.S. college rankings for presenting incorrect statistics.
By Sarah Salmeron, Staff Writer
Nearly all students who plan to attend a four-year university or earn a higher degree are constantly checking the ranking of their dream school. One of California’s prestigious colleges, University of California, Berkeley, has been removed from the 2019 Best Colleges Rankings Data list, alongside Scripps College, Mars Hill University, University of North Carolina, Pembroke and Johnson & Wales University.
In late spring and early summer of 2019, UC Berkeley announced that they have been misreporting data since 2014 by including donations given to them by their alumni. This misreporting of data makes it uncertain if Berkeley’s past rankings will be altered. For years, UC Berkeley has been ranked the highest public university in the nation, only slightly above the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). However, the release of 2019 university rankings reveals that UCLA was at the top. Although the donations of UC Berkeley’s alumni affected only five percent of the rankings, they most likely will be unable to raise their score enough to top the 2020 rankings. The sudden drop from the list might alter high school seniors’ thoughts of applying.
Other schools placed on the “unranked” list, including Scripps College and Mars Hill University, released false information on their alumni donation rates by almost 20%. Johnson & Wales University has been misreporting their financial data. According to U.S. News, for every $100 of financial resources they reported the actual amount was about $62. The false information reported by these schools resulted in removal from their current rankings and will affect their future placements.
Financial statistics play a large role in the rankings of colleges, sometimes a larger role than academics. The 2020 college rankings list will be released in September of 2019, giving a short period of time for universities to improve their scores, making it almost impossible. Given the effects of misreporting, their future ranking will be undetermined and possibly lower than those of the past.