The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has announced that it will significantly alter its planned college ratings system in response to widespread concerns about the plan’s feasibility and effectiveness. The system, which would originally have rated postsecondary institutions into three broad categories of high, medium and low performing and tied their ranking to receipt of federal financial aid, has been overhauled to now function as a source of consumer information that would not have repercussions for institutions.
Top education officials outlined the new plan to journalists in a closed conversation on Wednesday, June 24, stating that they wanted to “empower [consumers] to make comparisons based on measures that matter to them.” The tool will now provide information aligned with many of the 11 originally planned categories of data, including measures of net price, percentage of students receiving Pell Grants and employment outcomes. It will not, however, make judgments about the overall merits of an institution or score its effectiveness.
Upon the announcement of the College Ratings Framework in December 2014, ACTE joined a broad group of education advocates and policymakers alike in providing feedback on components of the plan. Issues including the system’s lack of consideration for the varied purposes of postsecondary institutions, as well as ED’s capacity to take into account outside factors affecting an institution’s perceived effectiveness, such as geography, detracted from the framework’s goals.
ED has indicated that they plan to have the system available to the public by the end of the summer. ACTE will continue to monitor the new plan as it is further detailed, and notify members of its impacts and opportunities for postsecondary members to provide input.
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