Dive Brief:
- Two former White House advisers under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama are urging states and the federal government to better leverage data to improve student outcomes, in a pair of recently released reports titled "Moneyball for Higher Education."
- The reports' authors are urging states and the federal government to improve the accuracy of reported graduation rates; calculate reliable estimates of employment outcomes — by major at the state level; develop and invest in new measures of civic learning outcomes; and, at the federal level, identify colleges that successfully serve disadvantaged students.
- State officials are urged in the state version of the report to invest in the data capacities of colleges, generate evidence of what works, and kickstart evidence-based improvements. Simultaneously, federal officials are urged to invest 1% of every federal dollar in evaluation, identifying and testing innovative approaches in higher ed, capacity building for colleges and universities' to use data. The authors also encourage the appointment of a federal chief evaluation officer and greater investments in programs like TRIO and GEAR UP to help disadvantaged students.
Dive Insight:
John Bridgeland, former White House domestic policy director under G.W. Bush, and James Kvaal, former White House domestic policy council deputy director under Obama, did not identify a value over replacement college statistic like the one in the "Moneyball" baseball book, as Seton Hall assistant professor of higher education Robert Kelchen pointed out on Twitter, but they did place a heavy emphasis on equity and investing in programs that most benefit disadvantaged students.
States are urged to make pay-offs clear and certain, prioritize equity and consider additional strategies to help low-performing colleges — all important considerations in a climate in which states are increasingly leaning toward performance-based funding models. Under typical performance-based funding models, low-performing colleges are even further punished by having additional funds withheld, but proposals like one in Missouri, which would pool withheld money to specifically target areas of weakness and boost academic outcomes, are a positive step toward better considering equity and actually promoting student success.
On the federal side, the pair is pushing for appropriations based on what we know works: funding short-term job training programs based on job placement outcomes and competency-based programs based on measurable student learning. Reforming campus-based aid programs to promote better outcomes — something Congress is already considering with proposals to make additional Pell Grant funding available to students who take 15 credits hours per semester, rather than increasing the full-time eligibility to 15 hours, as previously considered. This would incentivize enrollment patterns that would get students to graduate in fewer semesters.