Paul L. Caron
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Saturday, November 26, 2022

Penn Evaluates Whether To Join Boycott Of U.S. News Rankings By Ten Of Top 15 Law Schools

Penn Logo (2022)Daily Pennsylvanian, Penn Carey Law Evaluating Participation in U.S. News & World Report Rankings After Harvard, Yale Pull Out:

Spokesperson Meredith Rovine wrote in a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian that Penn Carey Law “applauds Yale Law and Harvard Law for their leadership in raising key questions for all law schools,” and agrees that the rankings are not holistic. ...

“Penn Carey Law has substantially increased financial aid and support for students seeking public interest careers to meet these important needs. We are evaluating this issue and assessing a process for our own decision-making,” Penn Carey Law's statement said.

“The U.S. News algorithm severely undercounts money spent on financial aid for students, while fully rewarding schools for every dollar spent on faculty and administrator salaries,” Penn Carey Law’s statement read.

Philadelphia Inquirer, Penn Will Evaluate U.S. News Rankings in Light of Harvard and Yale’s Decision to Withdraw:

The University of Pennsylvania’s law school applauded the universities “for their leadership in raising key questions.” While it has not decided to withdraw, Penn Carey Law in a statement cited problems with the rankings and said it will evaluate the issue and a process for making a decision.

“While useful in some ways, the rankings don’t provide a clear or complete perspective into institutional priorities for educating future lawyers,” the school said in a statement. “Among the problems with the current system, the U.S. News algorithm severely undercounts money spent on financial aid for students, while fully rewarding schools for every dollar spent on faculty and administrator salaries and other operating expenses. The rankings do not provide a holistic view of how legal education is meeting the needs of today’s society.”

The school noted that it has increased financial aid and support for students pursuing public interest careers.

U.S. News coverage:

Boycott

U.S. News Response to Boycott

https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2022/11/penn-evaluates-whether-to-join-boycott-of-us-news-rankings-by-ten-of-top-15-law-schools.html

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