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    The McMaster Department of Philosophy has now put together the following notice commemorating Barry: Barry Allen: A Philosophical Life Barry…

Did US News Law School Rankings Rely On Incorrect Data?

Robert Morse, ranker-in-chief, announced that St. Thomas (MN) reported incorrect at-graduation placement data.  Rather than having placed 80.6% of its grads at graduation, as US News reported in its ranking, St. Thomas actually placed 32.9% of its graduates.  St. Thomas promptly self-reported this error and it's unclear who should be on the hook for it.  According to this account, the school says it reported both accurate and inaccurate data to the magazine ranking company.  US News then published the incorrect data - quite possibly relying on it in calculating the school's rank.  For now, St. Thomas is the only law school with confirmed erroneous information in this survey – although the University of Houston's education program apparently fibbed about its research dollars.   

In unrelated news, it seems apparent now that George Mason is grossly under-ranked compared to local competitor George Washington.  GW reports a 56.1% at-graduation employment rate while Mason claims an 89.6% at-graduation rate.  But for those who don't want to live in Northern Virginia, Yale remains a fairly appealing alternative.  Yale's at-graduation placement rate almost matches George Mason, after all, at 88.9%.

Over at The Faculty Lounge, Bernie Burk offers one explanation for why some schools may have unexpectedly high placement rates.

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