Editorial standards

    Four layers: facts, editorial, AI and sponsorship

    Every CollegesRef page separates verified federal data, human-reviewed context, personalized AI interpretation, and optional commercial content, so you always know which is which.

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    Editorial independence by design

    Four layers on every page

    Every CollegesRef page separates verified data, editorial judgment, personalized AI context, and commercial content so students always know what they are reading and why it appears.

    1. Layer 1

      Verified college data

      IPEDS, College Scorecard, and other sourced metrics with dataset name and reporting year. Facts are never rewritten for commercial partners.

    2. Layer 2

      CollegesRef editorial view

      Interpretation and context, drafted with AI assistance from sourced data and checked by automated fact and quality rules; clearly labeled on every profile. Editorial summaries do not override sourced statistics.

    3. Layer 3

      Personalized AI interpretation

      Grounded in retrieved evidence from verified records and approved editorial content. AI output never replaces facts or hides uncertainty.

    4. Layer 4

      Sponsored or commercial content

      Optional, always labeled, and firewall-separated from organic rankings, fit scores, and similarity results.

    Corrections

    Factual corrections use a separate workflow from commercial inquiries. Report errors via Contact Us with source citations when possible. Figures are re-checked against the official datasets at every scheduled data refresh.

    Commercial firewall

    Commercial delivery records, lead requests, and partner contracts are stored separately from editorial revisions and fit calculations. All partner access is logged and auditable.

    • Partner eligibility runs after fit and ranking logic — never before
    • Sponsored placements are labeled and excluded from organic similarity lists
    • Low-fit assessments cannot be suppressed by commercial relationships

    Related policies

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