“Last week, the U.S. Department of Education announced major improvements to the College Scorecard, a tool launched by the Department to help students and families make informed decisions about education options after high school. This tool features the most recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) for key metrics, such as average annual cost, graduation rate, and student demographics.
For the first time, the scorecard now has information on some 2,100 non-degree granting institutions — those that only award certificates. Adding such institutions into the tool gives students and their advocates a more complete sense of all postsecondary options. Previously, the tool featured profiles of approximately 3,700 degree-granting institutions.
The scorecard also presents graduation rates for non-first-time and non-full-time students and the percentage of students who transferred or were still enrolled in school. Previously, the tool only presented graduation rates for first-time, full-time students, which are not representative of all students at many institutions.
Furthermore, the scorecard now provides preliminary loan debt data by field of study. Previously, the tool only provided loan debt information at the institution level, even though the amount borrowed to attend school can vary substantially depending on the specific program. Institutions are in the process of revising historical enrollment data from which these loan debt metrics are derived, and adjustments will be reflected in a subsequent release of loan debt data this fall.
Since 2015, the College Scorecard has been updated each fall, with the last update in September 2018. However, based on user feedback, the agency has transitioned to updating the tool multiple times throughout the year when data subsets become available.”
ED Review is a product of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Communications and Outreach, State and Local Engagement 5-31-19
