Dive Brief:
- Fifty of Virginia's college and university presidents have written to their Congressional representatives and the U.S. Department of Education in opposition of the Obama administration’s proposed college rating system.
- Linking federal financial aid to the proposed ratings would disadvantage needy students, the presidents write, and parents and students already have ratings that provide information they need.
- Other objections include: Sending the message that graduates’ income levels represents a measure of their success and that ratings would be using a flawed measure of graduation rates.
Dive Insight:
The letter outlines the same objections that have been raised ever since President Barack Obama first floated the college ratings idea. Critics say the proposed system would incentivize colleges and universities to enroll students from rich families, who have better chances of graduating, and to favor programs for the highest-paying professions. Instead of a new ratings system, the focus should be on clarifying and publicly presenting the massive amounts of data that is already collected on colleges, universities, and their students, the Virginia presidents wrote.