With the much-anticipated U.S. News & World Report school rankings recently released, I thought it was interesting to read that they have changed their methodology.  The changes for 2016 mean that law schools receive less credit for employing their own new graduates, meaning that law schools with large percentages of graduates who hold jobs funded by the law school or university typically will rank lower than they would have if those jobs had been at law firms or in government.

Part of this decision is due to a recent report by the American Bar Association, finding that jobs funded by the law school or university tend to be temporary, where “the graduate is not committed to the job even for the full year, but rather is free to take a more attractive job if one appears (and this is the outcome that the school and the student hope will occur).” Employment success is an important factor in the organization’s methodology – accounting for 18% of the overall ranking.

For more information on the methodology and the recent changes, you can read the complete article here: http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/college-rankings-blog/2015/03/10/us-news-changes-methodology-for-best-law-schools-rankings