Duncan Defends Obama’s College Rating Plan

Career College Central summary:

Education Secretary Arne Duncan last week defended a federal initiative to begin rating colleges on value and performance, one week after a former peer in President Obama’s Cabinet, who now heads a major university system, expressed skepticism.
“Helping young people and families have more information and make better choices, I think those are goals that would be embraced universally,” Duncan told reporters in a progress report on the development of a college rating system that Obama had announced in August.
Duncan added: “Does anyone think we should continue to invest $150 billion a year with no sense of outcomes? Does anyone think parents and young people have enough information today to make really thoughtful, informed choices, or that the system is as easy to navigate as it should be?”
Duncan has been canvassing higher-education leaders about the initiative for several weeks. The Education Department plans to circulate a draft proposal by spring, then put a system into effect in 2015. Officials say publishing federal ratings would not require congressional approval.
On Dec. 6, former homeland security secretary Janet Napolitano, who became president of the University of California system in September, told The Washington Post that it would be difficult to find meaningful ways to measure and compare U.S. colleges and universities.

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