APLU Statement on U.S. Department of Education’s Expanded Data on College Scorecard

Washington, DC – Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) Vice President for Congressional and Governmental Affairs Craig Lindwarm today released the following statement regarding the U.S. Department of Education’s posting of expanded data to its College Scorecard.

“Public universities have long pushed for better higher education outcomes data. APLU is pleased with the improvements the U.S. Department of Education made to its College Scorecard.

“However, due to a congressional ban on student-level data, key gaps in the Scorecard data remain that prevent a clear and more complete picture of student outcomes at colleges and universities. We strongly urge Congress to approve the bipartisan, bicameral College Transparency Act (CTA) to lift the data ban and enable students and their families to see more complete and useful data about student outcomes.

“As an example of some concerns, while the Scorecard now reports graduation rates for transfer-in and part-time students, it still does not report the outcomes of students who transfer-out of an institution. The Student Achievement Measure (SAM) allows institutions to track and report how students who transfer-out fare, including whether they go on to graduate or are still enrolled elsewhere. We encourage the Department to utilize SAM data while Congress considers reauthorizing the Higher Education Act.

“Passing the CTA would also enable a more nuanced look at earnings and it also would be able to report those figures for all students, not just those who receive Title IV funding. Because of the student-level data ban, the 39 percent of college students who don’t receive federal financial aid are excluded from the Department’s earnings data. We should count all students.”