College Scorecard

The White House is asking for comments on the design of the College Scorecard.  What is the College Scorecard?  It is a tool designed to help prospective college students and their families compare the costs, graduation rates, loan debt, ability to repay loans, and future career and salary potential of the nation's colleges and universities in a simple, clear, and common graphic chart.

There is a sample up on the website and they are asking for very specific feedback from the public.  Who better to respond than those of us who work with these statistics and assist families in the post-secondary decision making process every single day--school counselors!  Take a look at the mock-up and then comment on the following questions:

• What information is absolutely critical in helping students and their families choose a college?
• What other information would be helpful?
• Does the scorecard cause you to think about things you might not have otherwise considered when choosing a college? 
• How should this version be modified for 2-year colleges?
• How should comparison groups for colleges be made? What are important things to consider in grouping institutions together that serve similar students?
• What search and comparison features would you like the online tool to have?
• What should we call this tool? Would a different name better explain the service being provided? (source: www.whitehouse.gov)

We ourselves use these online tools in our jobs, and we also share them as resources with our students and parents--take a few minutes and help design a future school counseling tool!