Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Harvard Medical School this week joined the ranks of a number of other higher education institutions boycotting the decades-old U.S. News and World Report ranking list.
Why it matters: Harvard provides the latest sign that the influence of the longstanding higher education rankings juggernaut is wavering.
Driving the news: The dean of Harvard Medical School announced this week that the institution will no longer participate in the list, writing that the rankings could not "meaningfully reflect" the standards of the school.
The big picture: The ranking list came under fire last fall after revelations that Columbia University gave incorrect data for consideration to the list.
Zoom out: A number of schools withdrew from the ranking system after Columbia's misstep, including Harvard Law School and other top law schools.
U.S. News has ranked colleges since 1983, defending the system as a necessary resource for parents and students, citing the cost of college.
What to watch: There are always going to be rankings, but it remains to be seen if other lists and mechanisms to rank schools emerge, Diver said.
Go deeper: College enrollment plummets — again
