On Friday, December 19, the Department of Education published a “framework” for the college ratings system that is under development and intended for launch in the 2015-16 school year. The ratings are intended to help students in assessing the value of an institution of higher education, as well as to establish a means for those institutions to benchmark their own strengths and weaknesses and to be held accountable by policymakers.
The ratings would apply to both two- and four-year institutions offering degrees or certificates; however, they will be grouped separately from one another to allow for more accurate comparisons between institutions. Non-degree granting institutions will not be included in the ratings system as proposed, but the department has not ruled out the possibility of incorporating these institutions in future versions of the system. The department’s release notes that the system will not rank institutions against one another, but rather rate them according to three levels: “high-performing, low-performing and those in the middle.” While the specific metrics that schools will factor into a rating are still under consideration, the release notes that the first ratings will rely on existing federal data systems. Among the metrics under consideration include the percentage of students receiving Pell grants at an institution, average net price of attendance at an institution and labor market success. The department has noted that it will not use a debt-to-earnings ratio as a consideration in the ratings, which will likely draw attention from both those opposed to and supportive of the recent gainful employment regulations.
The department has invited input and comments from the public until mid-February, which it will use to advance the framework into more specific language in future publications. ACTE will continue to monitor the discussions around this issue, and invites members’ feedback on the framework to date.
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