COLUMBUS, Ohio (WOWO) — Four Ohio colleges and universities received failing grades for their campus free speech climates in the latest rankings from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, commonly known as FIRE.

The 2027 College Free Speech Rankings examined 261 colleges and universities based on responses from nearly 63,000 students surveyed by College Pulse between January 2 and June 3.

Ohio schools included in the survey were ranked between No. 64 and No. 237, with Ohio State University, Kent State University, Oberlin College and the University of Dayton receiving F grades.

FIRE’s survey measures how comfortable students feel expressing their opinions and how much they believe certain subjects can be discussed openly on campus.

The organization uses 12 components to calculate its overall assessment, including students’ comfort expressing ideas, self-censorship, disruptive conduct, administrative support, openness, political tolerance, adoption of the Chicago Statement on free expression, institutional neutrality, FIRE’s campus spotlight rating and various speech controversies.

The latest survey also found that certain political and cultural topics remain difficult for many students to discuss openly.

Half of the students surveyed nationally said the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was difficult to discuss on their campuses.

Forty-six percent said President Donald Trump was difficult to discuss openly.

Other subjects that students reported as difficult to discuss included abortion at 43%, immigration at 38% and transgender rights at 38%.

The survey also asked students about conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was killed in September 2025 while speaking at Utah Valley University. Forty-four percent of students said Kirk was difficult to discuss openly on their campuses.

This year’s rankings mark the seventh consecutive year FIRE has conducted the survey and the first period in which the organization has assigned letter grades as part of its campus speech-climate assessment.

Overall, 121 of the 261 schools surveyed received failing grades.

Only 24 universities received a C or higher.

The University of Chicago had the highest overall score in the survey, receiving a B-minus grade, while New York University had the lowest overall score and received an F.

Among Ohio schools, Wright State University ranked highest at No. 64 and received a D grade.

Kenyon College ranked No. 76, followed by Miami University at No. 77 and Bowling Green State University at No. 80. All three received D grades.

Denison University ranked No. 88 and the University of Toledo ranked No. 91, both with D grades.

Ohio University ranked No. 101 and received a D-minus.

The University of Cincinnati ranked No. 108 and Case Western Reserve University ranked No. 121, with both receiving D-minus grades.

Ohio State University ranked No. 174 and received an F.

Kent State University ranked No. 189 and received an F.

Oberlin College ranked No. 194 and also received an F.

The University of Dayton ranked No. 237, the lowest-ranked Ohio school in the survey, and received an F.

The rankings also showed significant changes for some Ohio institutions compared with the previous year.

Case Western Reserve University had the largest improvement among Ohio schools, moving from No. 163 in the previous survey to No. 121.

Ohio State experienced the largest decline among Ohio schools, falling from No. 124 to No. 174.

The Ohio State campus has implemented several policies affecting student expression and use of campus space in recent years.

The university banned chalking on campus last summer, while common-area decorations in residence halls must comply with Ohio State-specific requirements.

Ohio’s broader higher education policy environment has also changed since the previous rankings.

Senate Bill 1, known as the Advance Ohio Higher Education Act, took effect June 27, 2025, after being signed by Gov. Mike DeWine.

The law includes provisions affecting diversity, equity and inclusion programs, intellectual diversity, faculty evaluations, tenure and retrenchment policies, collective bargaining, institutional policies and other aspects of public higher education.

The Ohio Legislative Service Commission says the law requires state institutions to adopt policies addressing DEI and intellectual diversity and prohibits certain DEI-related activities, including new DEI offices and certain orientation or training programs.

The law also establishes requirements involving American civic literacy, faculty evaluations and post-tenure review, among other higher education policies.

The legislation was approved by the Ohio General Assembly in March 2025 and took effect later that year.

FIRE’s rankings are separate from the state’s requirements under Senate Bill 1 and measure students’ perceptions of the campus speech environment through the organization’s survey methodology.

The rankings do not by themselves establish whether a university has violated a law or constitutional protection.

Instead, FIRE describes the survey as an assessment of the campus environment for free expression based on student responses and other institutional factors.

The results come as colleges and universities nationwide continue to debate how to balance free expression, political disagreement, campus policies and student safety.

For Ohio’s universities, the latest rankings provide another measure of how students perceive their ability to discuss controversial subjects.