Tulane University's A.B. Freeman School of Business has admitted submitting false data to the U.S. News & World Report to feature among top universities for business studies. On Tuesday, Jan.15, the school sent the revised data to the magazine.

The false data on admission tests and applications, from 2007 to 2011, was sent to the magazine by an ex-employee of the school.

The false data on the Graduate Management Admission Test was raised by an average of 35 points, and the number of completed applications was increased by an average of 116.

"This is not an issue about rankings but about reputation. It is about the integrity of the business school and those who work in it," Dean Ira Solomon of the university told Nola, a New Orlean's newspaper.

Solomon declined to reveal the identity of the person.

Tulane's MBA program was ranked 43rd in U.S. News' 2013 college rankings.

This discrepancy came to limelight in December after new checks and balances were implemented by the school and a contrast in the data for the last three years was noted. Last year, test scores and the number of applicants were lower when compared to previous two years.

"Since the school's standards and admissions criteria have not changed, this raised a concern that our data from previous years had been misreported," Tulane spokesman, Mike Strecker, told the newspaper.

The Jones Day Law Firm and Alvarez & Marsal, a professional-services firm, have been hired to conduct an audit.

"Once the report on Tulane is submitted, U.S. News will study it to determine 'what impact, if any,' this will have on the Freeman School's ranking," Robert Morse, the magazine's director of data research said.

"The checks and balances we have implemented will provide assurance that this will not happen again," Solomon told the Huffington Post.

As a result, Tulane University joins the club of three other universities who have earlier submitted false reports to get higher rankings in the survey.

These universities include Claremont McKenna College, Emory University and George Washington University.

George University was suspended for a year from U.S. News' list of Best Colleges in 2012.