U.S. News ‘Best Colleges’ rankings will take colleges’ average debt load into account for the first time – Market Watch
‘Incorporating a measure of student indebtedness into the rankings is a step to holding institutions accountable for both the cost of college and the sources of funding available’
For the first time, the U.S. News Best Colleges rankings, the perhaps best-known and in some circles, most controversial, college guide, factored student debt in its rating of schools.
To determine colleges’ rankings, which were revealed Monday, U.S. News took into account the average amount of federal student debt undergraduates leave the school with and the percentage of full-time undergraduate students who borrowed federal student loans.
Adding those two factors into the mix of indicators shifted some of the weight the organization places on other metrics. For example, the value placed on standardized test scores and alumni giving were subsequently reduced.
“Affordability is a primary concern for many college applicants, as student loan debt can have long-lasting impacts,” Robert Morse, chief data strategist at U.S. News, said in a statement. “Incorporating a measure of student indebtedness into the rankings is a step to holding institutions accountable for both the cost of college and the sources of funding available from that school to help students pay for their education.”