Obama launches scorecard to rate colleges

President Obama used his weekly address on Saturday to announce the launch of a new administrative effort to track which colleges graduate the most successful students.

The project, called College Scorecard, aims to empower students to choose the right university based on several factors, such as cost of tuition, debt rates and expected earnings upon graduation, and other return-on-investment metrics.

{mosads}“Americans will now have reliable data on every institution of higher learning,” Obama said. “You’ll be able to see how much each school’s graduates earn, how much debt they graduate with, and what percentage of a school’s students can pay back their loans – which will help all of us see which schools do the best job of preparing Americans for success.”

The rating system will provide an alternative to traditional college rankings and use direct input from students, family members, and advisers.

“The status quo serves some colleges and the companies that rank them just fine,” Obama said. “But it doesn’t serve our students well – and that doesn’t serve any of us well.”

Scorecard will also allow students to customize college searches based on a number of individual inputs, such as whether they are first-generation students or receiving Pell grants.

The president emphasized the importance of increasing access to higher education.

“By the end of this decade, two in three job openings will require some higher education,” Obama said. “That’s one reason why a degree from a two-year college will earn you $10,000 more each year than someone who only finished high school.”

“One study showed that a degree from a four-year university earns you $1 million more over the course of a lifetime,” he added.

Obama has made education a central focus of his second term in office.

He recently teamed up with Vice President Biden’s wife, Jill, to garner support for a plan to subsidize tuition at community colleges.