Law dean on growing distrust of national rankings

The disclosure that Villanova's law school altered admissions data that figure prominently in national rankings occurs amid ongoing concern that the rankings offer a false picture of educational quality. "I think that those of us in legal education understand the implications of data that is entirely self-reported," said JoAnne A. Epps, dean of Temple's Beasley School of Law. "Everyone wants the outside evaluation to be as favorable as it can be." Epps said she doubted there was widespread cheating, but criticized rankings that tell little about the real value of the educational experience at a given law school.

Feb. 9, 2011 | Philadelphia Inquirer