I've taught at several US universities, and it's an open secret that the administrative takes steps to manipulate numbers in order to secure better rankings.
Typical example: a small, prestigious liberal arts college always has smaller class sizes in the fall semester than in the spring semester. Why? Because classes with less than 30 students are ranked higher by US News, but they only take into consideration the fall semester. No one cares about class sizes in the spring.
I've taught at several US universities, and it's an open secret that the administrative takes steps to manipulate numbers in order to secure better rankings.
Typical example: a small, prestigious liberal arts college always has smaller class sizes in the fall semester than in the spring semester. Why? Because classes with less than 30 students are ranked higher by US News, but they only take into consideration the fall semester. No one cares about class sizes in the spring.