What Happened in Massachusetts?

The University of Massachusetts has fallen from 64th place in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings to 72nd.. Was this the result of savage spending cuts, the flight of international students or the rise of Asian universities?

Maybe, but there is perhaps another, less interesting reason.

Take a look at the THE reputation rankings for 2011 and 2012. The University of Massachusetts has fallen from 19th  position in 2011 to 39th in 2012. How did that happen when there is no other remotely comparable change in the reputation rankings?

The obvious answer is that THE, like QS before them, are sometimes a bit hazy about American state university systems. They most probably counted votes for all five campuses of the university system last year but only the flagship campus at Amherst  this year. The decline in the reputation score produced a smaller fall in the overall score. If there is another explanation I would be happy to hear it.