Columbia to pay $9 million to settle lawsuit over college ranking data
A preliminary settlement, which requires a judge's approval, was filed on Monday in Manhattan federal court.
Students said Columbia artificially inflated its US News ranking for undergraduate schools, reaching No. 2 in 2022, by consistently reporting false data, including that 83 percent of its classes had fewer than 20 students.
They said the misrepresentations enticed them to enroll and allowed Columbia to overcharge them on tuition. The settlement covers about 22,000 undergraduate students at
Columbia College, Columbia Engineering and Columbia's School of General Studies from the fall of 2016 to the spring of 2022.
Lawyers for the students called the accord fair, reasonable and adequate. Columbia denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle.
The university said in a statement that it 'deeply regrets deficiencies in prior reporting,' and now provides prospective students with data reviewed by an independent advisory firm to ensure they receive accurate information about their education.
The litigation began in July 2022, after Columbia math professor Michael Thaddeus published a report alleging that data underlying the school's No. 2 ranking were inaccurate or misleading. Columbia's ranking dropped to No. 18 that September.
In June 2023, Columbia said its undergraduate schools would stop participating in US News' rankings.
It said the rankings appeared to have 'outsized influence' with prospective students, and 'much is lost' in distilling education quality from a series of data points.
Some other universities, including Harvard and Yale, also stopped submitting data to US News for various schools. US News also ranks graduate schools.
Lawyers for the Columbia students plan to seek up to one-third of the settlement for legal fees, leaving about $6 million for the students.
The case is In re Columbia College Rankings Action, US District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 22-05945.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
19 minutes ago
- Arab News
Republican leaders in House work to win over final holdouts on Trump's tax bill
WASHINGTON: Republican leaders in the House were busy Wednesday trying to win over some final holdouts on President Donald Trump's tax and spending cuts package — determined to seize momentum from a hard-fought vote in the Senate while essentially daring members to defy their party's leader and vote against it. 'The American people gave us a clear mandate, and after four years of Democrat failure, we intend to deliver without delay,' the top four House GOP leaders said Tuesday after the bill passed the Senate 51-50, thanks to Vice President JD Vance's tiebreaking vote. It's a risky gambit, one designed to meet Trump's demand for a July 4 finish. Republicans have struggled mightily with the bill nearly every step of the way this year, often succeeding by only one vote. Their House majority stands at just 220-212, leaving little room for defections. Some Republicans are likely to balk at being asked to rubber-stamp the Senate version less than 24 hours after passage. Republicans from competitive districts have bristled at the Senate bill's cuts to Medicaid, while conservatives have lambasted the legislation as straying from their fiscal goals. It falls to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, and his team to convince them that the time for negotiations is over. They will need assistance from Trump to close the deal, and several conservatives went to the White House to talk about their concerns with the president. 'The president's message was 'we're on a roll.' He went over all the tariffs that he's got and the money that's accumulated, the economy's hot, and he wants to see this,' said Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C. In another warning sign of some House Republican resistance, a resolution setting up terms for debating Trump's bill barely cleared the House Rules Committee on Wednesday morning. Republican Reps. Chip Roy of Texas and Ralph Norman of South Carolina sided with Democrats in voting against it. Trump can't afford to lose many votes from Republicans. Late into the afternoon, a procedural vote was being held open for more than two hours as GOP leadership waited for lawmakers delayed coming back to Washington because of weather and to conduct closed-door negotiations with concerned members. Trump pushes Republicans to do 'the right thing' The bill would extend and make permanent various individual and business tax breaks from Trump's first term, plus temporarily add new ones he promised during the 2024 campaign, including allowing workers to deduct tips and overtime pay, and a $6,000 deduction for most older adults. In all, the legislation contains about $4.5 trillion in tax cuts over 10 years. The bill also provides about $350 billion for defense and Trump's immigration crackdown. Republicans partially pay for it all through less spending on Medicaid and food assistance. The Congressional Budget Office projects the bill will add about $3.3 trillion to the federal debt over the coming decade. The House passed its version of the bill in May, despite worries about spending cuts and the overall price tag. Now, it's being asked to give final passage to a version that, in many respects, exacerbates those concerns. The Senate bill's projected impact on the nation's debt, for example, is significantly higher. Trump praised the bill profusely in a social media post, saying, 'We can have all of this right now, but only if the House GOP UNITES, ignores its occasional 'GRANDSTANDERS' , and does the right thing, which is sending this Bill to my desk.' The high price of opposing Trump's bill Johnson is intent on meeting Trump's timeline and betting that hesitant Republicans won't cross the president because of the heavy political price they would have to pay. They need only look to Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who announced his intention to vote against the legislation over the weekend. Soon, the president was calling for a primary challenger to the senator and criticizing him on social media. Tillis quickly announced he would not seek a third term. One House Republican who has staked out opposition to the bill, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, is being targeted by Trump's well-funded political operation. House Majority Leader Steve Scalize, R-Louisiana, said the leadership was not entertaining the possibility of making changes to the bill before the final vote. 'It's not as easy as saying, 'Hey, I just want one more change,' because one more change could end up being what collapses the entire thing,' Scalize said. Democratic lawmakers, united against the bill as harmful to the country, condemned the fast-track process. 'We're rushing not because the country demands it but because he wants to throw himself another party,' said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass. 'This isn't policy. It's ego management.' Democrats target vulnerable Republicans to join them in opposition Flanked by nearly every member of his caucus, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York delivered a pointed message from the Capitol steps on Wednesday morning: All Democrats will vote 'no,' and they only need to flip four Republicans to prevent the bill from passing. Jeffries singled out Republicans from districts expected to be highly competitive in 2026, including two from Pennsylvania. 'Why would Rob Bresnahan vote for this bill? Why would Scott Perry vote for this bill?' he said. Democrats have described the bill in dire terms. They say Medicaid cuts would result in 'Americans losing their lives because of their inability to access health care coverage.' Republicans are 'literally ripping the food out of the mouths of children, veterans and seniors,' Jeffries said Monday. Republicans say they are trying to rightsize the safety net programs for the population they were initially designed to serve, mainly pregnant women, the disabled and children, and root out what they describe as waste, fraud and abuse. The package includes new 80-hour-a-month work requirements for many adults receiving Medicaid and applies existing work requirements in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to more beneficiaries. States will also pick up more of the cost for food benefits. The driving force behind the bill, however, is the tax cuts. Many expire at the end of this year if Congress doesn't act. The Tax Policy Center, which provides nonpartisan analysis of tax and budget policy, projected the bill would result next year in a $150 tax break for the lowest quintile of Americans, a $1,750 tax cut for the middle quintile and a $10,950 tax cut for the top quintile. That's compared with what they would face if the 2017 tax cuts expired.
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Sean ‘Diddy' Combs acquitted of most serious charges, convicted of prostitution-related offenses
NEW YORK: Sean 'Diddy' Combs dropped to his knees and prayed in the courtroom after he was acquitted Wednesday of sex trafficking and racketeering charges that could have put one of hip-hop's celebrated figures behind bars for life. The rapper was convicted of lesser prostitution-related offenses and still faces prison time but is seeking to be freed from jail to await sentencing. The mixed result capped a sordid legal odyssey that shattered Combs' affable 'Puff Daddy' image and derailed his career as a Grammy-winning artist and music executive, fashion entrepreneur, brand ambassador and reality TV star. As the jury foreman spoke and the 'not guilty' verdicts piled up, Combs pumped his fist. Each juror affirmed agreement with the verdict as Combs looked toward them, holding his hands up in a prayer motion. Then he hugged defense lawyer Teny Geragos. Combs' relatives and supporters in the audience could barely contain their relief, despite the judge's admonition to avoid outbursts: When the first 'not guilty' was read aloud, someone shouted, 'Yeah!' Combs, 55, later continued to pump his right fist subtly and nodded, seemingly satisfied that he was acquitted on the most serious charges. Combs was convicted of flying people around the country, including his girlfriends and male sex workers, to engage in sexual encounters, a felony violation of the federal Mann Act. The charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, but Combs' lawyers said that under federal sentencing guidelines he'd likely face about two years in prison. Prosecutors, citing Combs' violence and other factors, said the guidelines would call for at least four to five years. Jailed since his September arrest, he's already served nine months behind bars. In a triumph for Combs, the jury of eight men and four women acquitted him of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges related to allegations that he used his money, power and frightening physical force to manipulate his girlfriends into hundreds of drug-fueled sex marathons with the men. Combs' defense team argued that the women were willing participants and that none of his violence justified the severity of the charges. Marc Agnifilo, a lawyer for Combs, asked that his client be immediately released because the federal Mann Act crimes were of a 'vastly different nature' than sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. Assistant US Attorney Maurene Comey said he should remain incarcerated as a danger to the community and a threat to flee. She cited evidence of physical abuse and 'prolific use and distribution of drugs' that emerged during the trial. 'I do believe we'll be seeking a substantial period of incarceration,' Comey said. Both sides filed written submissions expanding on their arguments. Judge Arun Subramanian was expected to rule at 5 p.m. on whether to release Combs on bail. Combs appeared overwhelmed as court adjourned for a few hours. He wiped his face, turning and kneeling at his chair, his head bowed in prayer. 'I'll be home soon,' he said as he faced his relatives. 'I love you, Mom,' he added. His relatives applauded him and his lawyers, some of whom had tears in their eyes, as he was led out of court. There's no date yet for sentencing, when the judge will decide on Combs' punishment for the prostitution conviction. Verdict follows weeks of harrowing testimony Federal officials involved in the case responded to the outcome by noting that sex crimes 'are all too present in many aspects of our society.' 'New Yorkers and all Americans want this scourge stopped and perpetrators brought to justice,' Manhattan-based US Attorney Jay Clayton and Ricky J. Patel, who heads federal Homeland Security Investigations' New York office, said in a statement. Jurors deliberated for about 13 hours over three days before announcing their verdict. It came after they said late Tuesday that they had decided on four counts but were stuck on the racketeering one. At that point, the judge told them to keep deliberating and keep the partial verdict under wraps. Combs did not testify at his trial, which featured 34 witnesses as well as video of the rapper attacking his former girlfriend Cassie, the R&B singer born Casandra Ventura. Her lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, said in a statement after the verdict that 'by coming forward with her experience, Cassie has left an indelible mark on both the entertainment industry and the fight for justice.' Later, he asked the judge in a letter to deny Combs bail, saying 'Ms. Ventura believes that Mr. Combs is likely to pose a danger to the victims who testified in this case, including herself, as well as to the community.' Cassie testified for four days about her turbulent 11-year relationship with Combs, which began after she signed with his Bad Boy record label. Cassie said Combs became obsessed with voyeuristic encounters, arranged with the help of his staff, that involved sex workers and copious amounts of baby oil. During the sex events, called 'freak-offs' or 'hotel nights,' Combs would order Cassie to do things with other men that she found humiliating, she testified. When things didn't go Combs' way, he would beat her, she said. 'I'm not a rag doll. I'm somebody's child,' Cassie told Combs after he dragged her down a hotel hallway in 2016. Another ex-girlfriend, testifying under the pseudonym 'Jane,' told the jury she repeatedly told Combs she didn't want to have sex with the men hired for their trysts. 'I'm not an animal. I need a break,' she told him. Nevertheless, she said she felt 'obligated' to comply with his demands, in part because he paid her rent. The AP does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Cassie has. Defense calls case an invasion of privacy The trial's most famous witness, rapper Kid Cudi, said Combs broke into his home in late 2011 after learning he and Cassie were dating. After his car was firebombed a few weeks later, Cudi — whose real name is Scott Mescudi — said he knew Combs 'had something to do' with it. Combs denied it. Combs' defense team acknowledged that he could be violent but argued that prosecutors were intruding in his personal life. In his closing remarks to the jury, Agnifilo said it wasn't illegal for Combs to make 'homemade porn' with his girlfriends. Rapper, entrepreneur and criminal defendant Combs was at the center of the East Coast-West Coast hip-hop battles of the 1990s and became one of the most influential hip-hop producers and executives of the past three decades, diversifying his interests with the Sean John fashion label, Ciroc vodka, a cable TV channel and a film and TV studio. In 2001, Combs was at the center of one of the biggest hip-hop trials of its era, stemming from a Manhattan nightclub shooting that injured three people in 1999. Combs was acquitted of charges that he took an illegal gun into the club and tried to bribe his driver to take the fall. His career recovered quickly that time. Combs' reputation may have suffered irreparable damage, though, after Cassie sued him in November 2023, alleging years of sexual and physical abuse. He settled the next day for $20 million, but more lawsuits by other women and men followed. Most are still pending.
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Convictions in FIFA corruption case reinstated: court
Hernan Lopez, a former executive with 21st Century Fox, and marketing firm Full Play, had been acquitted on appealAn appeals court on Wednesday found that the decision to acquit on appeal had been erroneous NEW YORK: A United States appeals court on Wednesday reinstated the convictions of a former Fox broadcasting executive and an Argentine sports-marketing firm involved in the FIFA corruption Lopez, a former executive with 21st Century Fox, and marketing firm Full Play, had been acquitted on appeal following their conviction in 2023 after a judge cited precedent from a US Supreme Court an appeals court in New York on Wednesday found that the decision to acquit on appeal had been erroneous, citing a misreading of the law surrounding federal wire fraud.'We hold that the district court erred in concluding that defendants' conduct did not fall within the scope of Statute 1346,' a ruling said.'Therefore, we vacate the district court's judgments,' the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, remanding the case for 'further proceedings pursuant to this opinion.'Lopez and Full Play's case was was one of several to emerge from the 2015 probe from the US Justice Department which rocked world soccer's governing body FIFA and continental confederations for South and North US investigation, which included raids on FIFA officials in Zurich, led to a series of arrests and trails and subsequent charges, convictions and guilty and Full Play were found guilty on charges of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy in March faced up to 40 years in prison and millions of dollars in penalties. Full Play was expected to face millions of dollars in the convictions of Lopez and Full Play, the court had heard that the main beneficiaries of the kickback scheme were six of the most powerful men in South American included former CONMEBOL president Nicolas Leoz, who died in 2019, former Argentine football executive Julio Grondona, who died in 2014, and former Brazilian football chief Ricardo Teixeira.
