According to a news release from the department, some recent updates restore metrics related to costs, graduation rates and post-college earnings, and others are more aimed at school counselors, college access providers, researchers and other stakeholders.
The College Scorecard is essentially an online database of all higher education institutions in the U.S., providing key metrics to help matriculating students decide where to study. The database includes information about annual costs, how many students return after their first year, graduation rates, post-college earnings, median total debt after graduation and socioeconomic diversity, among other things.
“The updated and enhanced College Scorecard shines a spotlight on affordability, inclusivity, and outcomes, over exclusivity and colleges that leave students without good jobs and with mountains of debt,” Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a public statement.
The tool also added features including an annual refresh of the cumulative loan debt of student borrowers, as well as federal student loan repayment rates — at both the institution level and by field of study within each institution. The department also said it will publish institution-level earnings data for the first time in four years, intended to give students a glimpse at possible earnings after graduation from a specific college or university. The tool also allows students to compare potential post-college earnings with what they might have with a high school diploma.
The data highlights accessible colleges that are serving their students well, showing improvements in completion rates among students of color compared with white students, as well as programs leading to positive career outcomes with manageable levels of debt, the department’s news release said, citing examples from the University of Baltimore in Maryland and Florida-based community college Valencia College.
“The College Scorecard includes many other examples of institutions that are inclusive, often under-resourced, and are working to improve their students’ outcomes,” the department news release said. The updates on the College Scorecard follow from Cardona’s statement last month of his vision for education, as well as specific criteria emphasized by the Biden administration.
