USC earned ‘green light’ rating for college free speech rankings
The University would have placed 37th out of 493 rated universities, but its policy changes were made too late.
By STELLA MUZIN & APRIL MAO
On Wednesday, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression awarded the University a “green light” rating, the organization’s highest possible designation for university policies governing expression. The University would have placed 37th in FIRE’s 2027 College Free Speech Rankings if its policy changes had been implemented by the June 1 data collection deadline.
This comes after USC earned a “yellow light rating” and placed 216th out of 257 colleges last year. The University was also previously in the bottom 50 for “Administrative Support,” indicating students doubted that school officials would defend free speech.
USC fell from 109th to 245th in 2024, at the time FIRE said that the main reason for USC’s drop was due to the cancellation of valedictorian Asna Tabassum’s commencement speech.
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This year, the organization reviewed 493 universities, and of that group awarded 77 schools the “green light” rating. Out of the 45 universities rated in California, only four earned a “green light” rating, including USC.
This “green light” rating indicates that the FIRE rating committee did not find any serious threats to students’ free speech rights in the written policies of the University. However, it does not guarantee that the University is actively supporting free expression.
In a media release from the University, it said the new rating reflects initiatives undertaken under the leadership of President Beong-Soo Kim, including the launch of the Open Dialogue Project. The project launched in October 2025, an initiative dedicated to guiding campus debate under the principles of academic freedom, free expression and open discourse.
Correction: A previous version of this article stated that USC placed 37th in the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression 2027 College Free Speech Rankings. In actuality, USC’s policy changes that gave it a green light rating were made after FIRE’s data collection deadline June 1. The article was updated on Sept. 10 at 7:46 p.m. to reflect that from the recent boost, USC would place 37th, but it does not hold that spot. The Daily Trojan regrets this error.
