Dive Brief:
- A number of higher education institutions are publicizing student test results — information that is usually kept private — in a bid to attract prospective students and impress skeptical parents.
- Among the schools trying the strategy are Kalamazoo College in Michigan, St. Olaf College in Minnesota, and Sarah Lawrence College in New York.
- The test results are being offered as a value metric to demonstrate to students, parents, and employers that learning is taking place and that a degree from the institution is, in fact, valuable.
Dive Insight:
Part of the impetus for this move is President Barack Obama's proposed national college rating system, which many in higher ed have balked at the thought of. Regardless of the plan's pros and cons, Massachusetts Commissioner of Higher Education Richard Freeland suggested to the Wall Street Journal that the additional transparency of being able to see what learning is taking place at a school could create more healthy competition between schools while also making a case for increased state funding.
There are also those who feel that seeing student test data could restore faith in the value of a college degree. All things considered, though, did a college education really ever lose value?