双语新闻：美媒曝光美国大学“收费”排名乱象

For many years, the American media, U.S. News&World Report, has ranked universities, and many students and parents use this as a reference to choose schools. However, the New York Times reported on January 6th that it revealed the earnings strategy of U.S. News&World Report, which is to boost its ranking on university lists by selling ranking "badges" to universities. The report points out that this approach is increasingly being criticized by universities and public opinion.

美国媒体《美国新闻与世界报道》多年来对高校进行排名，不少学生和家长以此为参考来进行择校。然而，《纽约时报》1月6日报道披露了《美国新闻与世界报道》的赚钱套路，即通过向大学兜售排名“徽章”，以提升其在高校榜单上的排名。报道指出，这种做法越来越多遭到大学院校和舆论的批评。

The New York Times reported that over the past year, dozens of law and medical schools in the United States have refused to provide data to U.S. News&World Report, causing U.S. News&World Report to once again be embroiled in heated debates about the value of university rankings.

《纽约时报》称，过去一年多的时间里，美国有数十所法学院和医学院拒绝向《美国新闻与世界报道》提供数据，这让《美国新闻与世界报道》再次陷入关于大学排名价值的激烈争论中。

Despite this, many universities are still investing millions of dollars in funding the media's ranking industry to attract students, prevent declining enrollment and budget cuts. Many schools, including the University of Maine Augusta, the University of Nebraska Carney, and the University of Alabama, have spent money on the rankings of American News&World Report universities in various ways. The head of admissions promotion at the University of Maine Augusta said that if not done, the school is likely to be left behind by competitors who spend money to buy "badges".

报道称，尽管如此，不少大学为了吸引学生，阻止入学人数下降和预算缩减，仍然在为该媒体的排名产业输送资金，总共投入了数百万美元。包括缅因大学奥古斯塔分校、内布拉斯加大学卡尼分校、亚拉巴马大学等多所学校都曾以各种方式给《美国新闻与世界报道》的高校排名花钱。缅因大学奥古斯塔分校招生推介负责人称，如果不这么做，学校很有可能被那些花钱买到“徽章”的竞争对手甩在身后。

According to reports, US News&World Report has been authorizing its so-called ranking "badge" to the public since 2010, and obtaining the "badge" is equivalent to obtaining ranking certification. This media provides more than 130 categories of badges for graduate and doctoral programs, and at least 85 different categories of badges for undergraduate courses.

据报道，《美国新闻与世界报道》自2010年开始对外授权其所谓排名“徽章”，获得“徽章”即得到排名认证。该媒体为研究生及博士课程提供130多个类别的“徽章”，为本科课程提供至少85个不同类别的“徽章”。

The New York Times reported that The Wall Street Journal and its partners have also sold award usage licenses to universities.

《纽约时报》称，《华尔街日报》及其合作伙伴也向大学出售奖项使用许可。

Critics believe that regardless of the amount, schools spending money to buy ranking "badges" will cause serious flaws in the ranking system. Heather Gken, the dean of Yale Law School, criticized that universities collectively pay to distort what they teach in the classroom, which she finds unbelievable.

批评人士认为，无论数额多少，学校花钱买排名“徽章”都会让排名系统产生严重缺陷。耶鲁大学法学院院长希瑟·格肯批评道，大学集体付钱来扭曲她们在课堂上教授的事情，这一点令她难以置信。