All About College Ratings

(by the Federal Issues Committee)

On December, 19th, U.S. Department of Education released its draft framework of the Obama Administration's College Ratings plan (see our blog post from that day, titled ED Releases Draft College Ratings Framework), otherwise known as the Postsecondary Institution Ratings System (PIRS). Today, we wanted to provide you with some additional background information:

The U.S. Department of Education has a webpage dedicated to this issue where you can read the release as well as find links to the following:

• a detailed explanation of the ratings system (17 pages),
• blog posts from HomeRoom, the official blog of the U.S. Department of Education,
• a printable fact sheet (6 pages), and
• an opportunity to comment on the draft framework.

Comments on the framework are due by February 17, 2015 and can be submitted on the U.S. Department of Education website or by emailing collegefeedback@ed.gov.

Several commentaries have been posted since the release and all seem to agree that the announcement by ED does not unveil a lot of new information. It more so tells us ED is being held accountable to do something soon, as the President wants implementation before the 2015-16 year. In light of next year's Republican majorities in Congress, where opposition to the proposals is already firm, it is hard to tell from the announcement how realistic implementation will be over the next year.

 "This so-called college ratings system is a fool’s errand and the secretary needs to stop it immediately.”

- House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN)

“Trying to create yet another complicated, federal system—this time for grading our country's 6,000 colleges and universities—is every bit as impossible and unnecessary as it sounds and is sure to fall flat on its face. Making sure students have access to the information they need to pick the right school is important and something we will discuss during the next reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, but I can’t support letting Washington bureaucrats use taxpayer dollars to fund a higher education popularity contest.”

- Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions Ranking Member Lamar Alexander (R-TN)

 Here are some suggestions of what you can do:

• Read our December 19th blog post, titled ED Releases Draft College Ratings Framework. This post has some great links to catch up on the news articles and commentary.
• Bookmark ED's College Ratings webpage at www.ed.gov/collegeratings to follow future updates, as well as have quick access to information.
• Share the information and discuss with your colleagues and campus leaders. Have copies of the printable fact sheet available.
• Send a short summary to key stakeholders at your institution soon to begin the conversation.
• Finally, submit comments on the draft by February 17, 2015 and share those thoughts with your state association and MASFAA. MASFAA will be visiting Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. at the end of February and your views should be represented.

ILASFAA Reality Store

(by Janet Ingargiola, MASFAA Executive Council State Representative for Illinois) 

ILASFAA members banded together to participate in the Reality Store held in November at Kershaw Elementary in Chicago. 23 member institutions were represented, and over 40 volunteers helped make the day a great experience for the kids! Thanks to the members of the Diversity Issues Committee for planning and executing this annual event!

The Reality Store is a yearly project of our Diversity Issues Committee. This committee will solicit the participation of middle schools (the participants are in 8th grade) in high poverty areas to see if they would let us come and conduct a daylong event to help make their students aware of the benefits of completing high school and think about pursuing post-secondary education.

There are several stations that take the students through "life." Each student is provided a dossier with the biography of the person they are emulating: education, marital status, if they have children and how many, if their spouse works, annual income, if they have a student loan , etc. At each station the student makes choices, paying rent (or not), is their money for food or to pay utilities, can they buy a car, go on vacation, and various other events.

As the students move along, the ILASFAA volunteers at each station explain what they must address and the choices they have. It makes a clear picture of those without a high school diploma have more limited choices than those with a high school diploma and/or post-secondary education who have a wider range of choices.

The kids have a lot of fun even though it is a serious topic. The volunteers have a good time listening to the remarks, explaining their own experiences when they were pursuing an education and their career path. I volunteered  before and it was a very rewarding experience. The kids made me laugh when they would read their profile. For examples, one made a remark that, "no way am I having four kids and my wife not work." It also gave me a chance to explain what college is all about. One student read his profile and said  "I have a college degree!? Sweet! What's a bachelor's degree"? 

Many of the Illinois colleges donate items so that each student leaves with a bag of "goodies"such as t-shirts, pens, drinking bottles, calculators, and so on.

At our yearly conference we do a raffle and that money is given to the school for whatever immediate need they may have. One school restocked their library materials, another bought an appliance for their kitchen, and another stocked paper, pens, and other supplies for the students to use as needed.

NASFAA Shares Seasons Greetings!

This week, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) shared a holiday greeting to all the NASFAA members. Please share your own holiday messages with your MASFAA colleagues in the comments below!