Seeking additional data transparency, the Department of Education announced updates to the College Scorecard, including adding new data on earnings and staff demographics, and graduate student information.  The scorecard includes data such as completion rates, student loan debt totals, income, and other programmatic information.

Specifically, the new features to the College Scorecard include: 

• Data on the median earnings of former graduates four years (up from three years) after completion of their requisite field of study; 
• New demographic data, including race/ethnicity data for full-time college staff and student-to-faculty ratios; and 
• Graduate student information on fields of study, earnings, and student debt trends. 

The College Scorecard is a federal tool designed to help current and prospective students and families make informed decisions about their postsecondary education journey.

The Department expects to combine the work of its Raise the Bar initiative, which seeks to reimagine pathways to college and careers with a goal of building a more inclusive, accessible higher education system that delivers value and upward mobility to students, with the data contained in the scorecard. It is the Department’s intention to advance these goals with the scorecard by leveraging open data and technology to help students and families better navigate their options for college and career-readiness.