The media company’s decision is a manifestation of a seismic change in higher education and the legal sector that is front and center of a heated national conversation on affirmative action and inclusion policies.
It is a dialogue getting hotter and it pits the position that change is needed against the tenet that a significant portion of that change is wokeness and political correctness run amok and will weaken America.
Critics claim the metrics that U.S. News uses in its rankings encourage institutions to—in their quest to improve or hold on to their place—operate in a manner favoring applicants from comfortable socio-economic backgrounds, inhibits building a more diverse student body and discourages offering support to students seeking to pursue a career in public service.
“In the past few weeks, U.S. News has engaged more than 100 deans and representatives of law schools as part of our review of our Best Law Schools ranking,” said Kim Castro, editor and chief content officer for U.S. News.
“We listened to their recent feedback and are developing ways to be responsive while maintaining our independence, mission, and purpose.
Prestigious and Influential
For more than 30 years, the rankings have wielded immense influence over prospective law students and their considerations as to which schools they will apply to, employers choosing who to hire, the desire of alumni to donate to their alma mater, and academics deciding where they would like to teach.Push to Increase Diversity
The avalanche of law school departures from the U.S. News rankings—and the company’s response—stems from a broad-ranging push of an agenda by progressives in the interest of admitting more students of color.Also discussed in the article are examples of growing resistance to affirmative action policy, namely, two cases being reviewed in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Going Forward
Some who have taken issue with the U.S. News rankings have called on the publication to halt the annual feature.U.S. News has rejected that demand and will continue to rank even law schools that do not share information and statistics with the publication.
The 2023-2024 U.S. News Best Law Schools issue will be released in the spring.
And what is the response of law school deans and those championing systematic change in higher education to the overtures of U.S. News and its commitment to adjust and make changes to its ranking methods?
Mixed—and even when positive, not enthusiastically so.
The response of at least one dean has to be just about the opposite of that for which U.S. News had hoped.
On Jan. 9, Yale Law School Dean Heather Gerken issued a statement in which she said, “Having a window into the operations and decision-making process at U.S. News in recent weeks has only cemented our decision to stop participating in the rankings.”
No law school has announced that it will return to cooperating with U.S. News and World Report in the development of its best law schools segment.