<p>LOL, is society going to collapse if the USNWR keeps going? No, of course not. Is it a relatively small problem in the general scheme of the world? Lots of things are, but we argue about them endlessly anyway. In this case though, I know it has actually changed both personal and institutional behaviors, and for something as important as our universities I think that is worthy of debate. As I said (probably on the other similar thread), it does absolutely concern me that someone might have a great idea for new programs, but it never gets implemented because it will affect the graduation rate or whatever and thus put downward pressure on the ranking. There is no doubt that people try to meet goals, and if colleges make their ranking a goal (and more than a few have publically admitted this), then the USNWR rankings represent a straightjacket of conformity on our universities, at least potentially. In some ways it already has. I think that is indeed a serious issue.</p>