Sean McMinn
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The California State University is looking to work with federal lawmakers on controversial plans to enhance accountability across higher education through a government ranking system, a CSU spokesperson said Tuesday.
CSU Chancellor Timothy White met in September with Obama administration officials, including Education Secretary Arne Duncan, to discuss the president’s intent to establish a federal “affordability” rating for colleges and universities. With Congress’ approval, the rating would be tied to how much federal funding colleges receive, which could affect financial aid and research grants.
Cal Poly Provost Kathleen Enz Finken has said in the past that Cal Poly would likely benefit from the plan because of its relatively low tuition and loan default rates.
Rewarding colleges that serve low-income students, such as the CSU, would benefit access, accountability and graduation outcomes in the long run, said Erik Fallis, a CSU spokesperson.
“If we’re able to work together with the White House and others in Washington, D.C., to look at how this could be a successful measuring system that could be implemented nationwide, we’re more than wiling to be part of that,” he said.
The chancellor’s support came after a series of high-profile speeches by the president in August where he outlined plans to make college more affordable and help graduates with student loans. The affordability could be driven by a ranking system, which advocates say would encourage colleges to keep costs down to maintain their federal aid. A campaign to reduce monthly payments for some graduates could help with the ballooning national student loan debt, the president said.
Critics have attacked the plan for the factors it would use to create a ranking system, as well as its failure to address sagging state funding levels that have forced some colleges — including Cal Poly — to increase tuition.
The CSU already publishes comprehensive data about each of its campuses on its own website as well as College Portrait, a website that provides basic information about public colleges in a user-friendly format. These databases provide both simple information — total degrees granted, for example — and more detailed numbers on topics such as student loan debt or the number of Pell Grant recipients at each institution.
Though there is no comprehensive rating system of CSU colleges included in its databases, Fallis said the spirit of CSU’s openness aligns with the president’s goals to create a ranking system. He added that it is important to hold the system accountable to both the public and lawmakers, which is something Obama has emphasized for years to the nation’s colleges and universities.
“Let me put colleges and universities on notice,” Obama said during his 2012 State of the Union address. “If you can’t stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down. Higher education can’t be a luxury — it’s an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford.”