Penn was again ranked as one of the worst universities in the United States for free speech, according to an annual report evaluating college campuses.

The ranking, released by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, placed Penn at No. 227 out of 261 schools with an F grade and a score of 54.4 out of 100. Penn moved up four places and increased its score by 2.9 points from last year’s ranking. 

A University spokesperson declined to comment.

FIRE — a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that aims “to defend and sustain the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought” — assessed universities using “real student experiences, university policies, and speech controversies.” Scores were based on reports from 62,997 undergraduates surveyed by College Pulse, an independent survey research and analytics company.

Chapin Lenthall-Cleary, a data analyst at FIRE and 2024 College graduate, said in an interview that the survey measures student attitudes toward free speech, including whether students believe “controversial speakers” should be allowed on campus and how comfortable they feel expressing their views in different settings.

He added that FIRE considers university speech policies, including restrictions on student speech, protections for campus speakers, and institutional neutrality.

One standard is whether institutions have a Chicago Statement in place, which he said affirms “that the goal of the university is to protect free and open inquiry and that it’s not the university’s job to shield people from ideas that they don’t like.”

A total of 297 Penn students were surveyed. Penn placed in the bottom 25 schools for FIRE’s “Comfort Expressing Ideas” and “Self-Censorship” categories, indicating a likelihood to stay silent or feel uncomfortable about controversial topics.

Penn also ranked among the bottom 50 for “Administrative Support,” which FIRE described as “showing little student trust that officials will defend speech.”

According to the survey, 53% of respondents reported self-censoring at least once or twice each month, and 78% thought it was acceptable to shout down a speaker to stop them from speaking on campus.

In terms of speech controversies, Penn’s handling of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s antisemitism probe boosted its score by one point.

However, the University lost points for “deplatformings” such as the Steven Crowder and Ben Shapiro speaker events from last spring. Organizers of both events alleged unnecessary hurdles in the planning process. The Crowder debate was ultimately canceled, while the Shapiro speech moved forward.

Penn has consistently ranked near the bottom over the past few years, though it has gradually improved its standing. In 2024, Penn was fourth from the bottom, while in 2022 and 2023, Penn was ranked second to last — followed only by Columbia University and Harvard University, respectively.

The recent rankings stand in stark contrast to 2012, when FIRE ranked Penn in the top seven colleges for free speech.

Institutions that score below 60 points automatically receive an F grade. Penn was one of 121 schools to receive an F in the context of a national average score of 61.36.

Only 24 institutions received a C or higher, with the University of Chicago topping the list. Still, despite “strong trust in officials to defend speech,” it earned a B- grade.

“The component on which they’re ranked the worst is disruptive conduct,” Lenthall-Cleary said. “This is not something that the administration can easily change, but it’s reflective of the student speech culture there.”

For the Penn administration, Lenthall-Cleary recommended changing student expression policies to achieve a green “Spotlight rating,” which would significantly boost the free speech ranking. The University currently has a yellow rating because of ambiguity in four policies.

Penn is in the process of revising its open expression guidelines, which FIRE rates green under the 1993 version. The 2024 temporary standards for protests, however, are rated as yellow.

Lenthall-Cleary said that students could “encourage the administration” to adopt improved policies and the Chicago Statement.

“Beyond that, try to personally do debate right, engage in civil and respectful debate with others, encourage people to do the same, be willing to subject your and others’ arguments to rational scrutiny, and be open to hearing from people you disagree with,” he added.

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