The national movement to make higher education institutions more transparent in terms of their comparative costs and student outcomes got a lift from the Obama administration with the launch of the web-based College Scorecard resource tool on Wednesday.
President Obama, during the State of the Union address on Tuesday, announced the “new College Scorecard” as a web resource “that parents and students can use to compare schools based on a simple criteria—where you can get the most bang for your educational buck.” As a feature in the College Affordability and Transparency Center section, the College Scorecard is accessible through the White House website.
“Through tax credits, grants and better loans, we’ve made college more affordable for millions of students and families over the last few years. But taxpayers can’t keep on subsidizing higher and higher and higher costs for higher education,” Obama said. “Colleges must do their part to keep costs down, and it’s our job to make sure that they do.”
The interactive website provides information on how much the average student pays and borrows to attend his or her school. Users can check institutions’ six-year graduation rates and loan default rates. They can also “choose among any number of options based on their individual needs—including location, size, campus setting, and degree and major programs.”
The U.S. Education Department reports that the data will be updated periodically and that the department also plans to publish details on employment and average earnings in the coming year.
“The College Scorecard—as part of President Obama’s continued efforts to hold colleges accountable for cost, value and quality—highlights key indicators about the cost and value of institutions across the country to help students choose a school that is well-suited to meet their needs, priced affordably, and is consistent with their educational and career goals,” U.S. Education Department Secretary Arne Duncan said in a statement.
Higher education leaders and experts largely welcomed College Scorecard as a step in the right direction for helping students and their families obtain valuable college decision information.
