Dive Brief:
- Even while the Obama administration is advocating for a college ranking system to provide prospective students with more information about higher education, the U.S. Census Bureau is proposing to stop collecting data on college majors.
- Among the statistics produced from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey are the median incomes for undergraduate and graduate degrees in 11 different college majors, the Wall Street Journal reports.
- Besides cutting the question about college majors, the Census is proposing to remove five questions about marital status and one question about housing.
Dive Insight:
According to the director of Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, the college majors question is very valuable, and it has helped to show that the value of a student’s major is greater than the college chosen. The college ratings plan of the U.S. Department of Education aims to help address a similar topic — the value of a college education. The American Community Survey asks 3.5 million households in the U.S. 125 questions each year, and some researchers say the statistics it produces — with a 97.3% response rate — are part of what gives the United States a competitive edge over other countries. The Census is also considering eliminating 17 other questions it has identified as “low-benefit.”