US News college ranking under scrutiny after Ivy League university plummets

Long widely recognized, the US News college ranking is facing criticism after it precipitously dropped an Ivy League university down its pecking order amid data discrepancies.

Columbia math professor Michael Thaddeus in February accused the university of submitting inaccurate data related to its class sizes, number of full-time faculty and other statistics.

A spokesperson from the university on Friday confirmed that previously submitted figures had been overstated, specifically related to how many small classes the university offers and the number of faculty members that hold terminal degrees, CNN reported.

Then this week, US News & World Report relegated Columbia to the No 18 spot, citing concerns about its data.

This is not the first time a university has been accused of manipulating the college ranking.