Policy

ED Adds Potential Debt, Earnings to College Scorecard

• By Sara Friedman
• 11/22/19

The U.S. Department of Education is making updates to its College Scorecard to provide students with more data that will help them make informed decisions regarding their higher education options.

Students will now have access to potential debt and earnings data based on fields of study, graduation rates and apprenticeships. The College Scorecard also includes information on the range of earnings among the various programs that an institution offers.

For the first time, students can also calculate graduation rates for first-time, part-time and transfer students. Another addition is a search function for acceptance rates, ACT and SAT scores and locations.

"Every student is unique," said ED Secretary Betsy DeVos. "What they study, as well as when, where and how they chose to pursue their education will impact their future. Students know this instinctively. That's why we worked to deliver a product that is customizable and transparent — a tool that provides real information students need to make informed, personalized decisions about their education. The Scorecard also ensures students can make apples-to-apples comparisons by providing the same data about all of the programs a student might be considering without regard to the type of school."

The College Scorecard provides searchable information for two-year and four-year programs, certificate programs, apprenticeships and some graduate programs. The update builds up enhancements made earlier this year to provide information on institutions that only award certificates and information on graduation rates at all higher education institutions.

The latest edition of the College Scorecard can be found here.