Columbia University Settles $9 Million Lawsuit Over Misleading Rankings

Columbia University has reached a settlement of $9 million in a proposed class action lawsuit stemming from accusations that it provided inaccurate data to boost its position in the U.S. News & World Report college rankings. This settlement, which awaits judicial approval, was filed on June 30, 2025, in federal court in Manhattan, addressing claims made by students who argued that the university's misrepresentation of data directly influenced their decision to enroll and subsequently allowed the institution to charge higher tuition fees.

The lawsuit alleges that Columbia University, which achieved a ranking of No. 2 among national universities in 2022, consistently reported misleading statistics, including that 83% of its classes had fewer than 20 students. According to student representatives, these inflated figures misled potential students regarding the quality of education and class sizes available.

The settlement will benefit approximately 22,000 undergraduate students from Columbia College, Columbia Engineering, and Columbia's School of General Studies who were enrolled from the fall of 2016 through the spring of 2022. Lawyers representing the students have deemed this agreement as fair, reasonable, and adequate, while also indicating that they intend to claim up to one-third of the settlement for legal fees, which would leave around $6 million for the affected students.

Columbia University, while agreeing to the settlement, denied any wrongdoing, stating it "deeply regrets deficiencies in prior reporting." The institution emphasized that it now utilizes an independent advisory firm to review data presented to prospective students, aiming to ensure transparency and accuracy in its reporting.

This legal action was initiated in July 2022 following a report by Columbia math professor Michael Thaddeus, which asserted that the data underpinning Columbia’s ranking was inaccurate or misleading. The fallout from these allegations resulted in the university’s ranking plummeting to No. 18 by September 2022. In response to the controversy, Columbia announced in June 2023 that it would cease participation in the U.S. News rankings altogether, citing concerns over the disproportionate influence these rankings have on prospective students and the limitations of quantifying educational quality through numerical data.

The implications of this settlement extend beyond Columbia University, as it reflects a growing scrutiny of how institutions report data to ranking organizations. Other prestigious universities, such as Harvard and Yale, have similarly opted to withdraw from submitting data to U.S. News for various programs, signaling a potential shift in how academic institutions approach rankings and their impact on student enrollment and institutional reputation.

As the landscape of college rankings continues to evolve, the Columbia case raises critical questions about transparency, accountability, and the metrics used to evaluate educational quality. The outcome of this settlement may set a precedent for future litigation involving college rankings and the integrity of data reporting in higher education.