Anti-Rankings Campaign Stirs New Criticisms of 'U.S. News' Guides

By ERIC HOOVER

A letter urging college presidents to distance themselves from institutional rankings circulated this month as the leaders of several liberal-arts colleges renewed their criticisms of U.S. News & World Report's annual guides.

A dozen college presidents received the letter on April 2. The text, a copy of which was obtained by The Chronicle, describes college rankings as based on "misleading" data that "degrade the educational worth for students of the college search