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University Of Oklahoma Caught Lying About Data

Two months after the college admissions scandal rocked America, it turns out Hollywood actresses aren’t the only ones cheating when it comes to higher education. U.S. News and World Report, which ranks colleges every year, has dropped the University of Oklahoma from its rankings, saying it gave “inflated” data to improve its rank.

“U.S. News & World Report has stripped the University of Oklahoma of its ranking, citing incorrect information provided about alumni giving. The university told U.S. News that it has been supplying incorrect data since 1999,” Inside Higher Education reports. “According to the magazine, the most recent report from Oklahoma claimed that its two-year rate of alumni giving was 14 percent when it is actually 9.7 percent. Alumni giving counts for 5 percent of the methodology in the “Best Colleges” ranking by U.S. News. As a result, the magazine removed Oklahoma from that ranking and several others, including ‘best value’ colleges, top public universities and best colleges for veterans.”

The University of Oklahoma says the cheating happened under university president David Boren, who resigned in 2018. Boren is now being investigated for sexually harassing aides during his tenure.

“The student newspaper at Oklahoma, The OU Daily, reported in December that the university was investigating reports that false data had been submitted for years. A university spokeswoman confirmed the report to Inside Higher Ed, as well as the detail that the law firm Jones Day was investigating the issue. She also confirmed that the incorrect data was submitted with the intent to inflate the statistic,” Inside Higher Ed reports.