Study: A Revealed Preference Ranking of U.S. Colleges and Universities

A study by Avery, Glickman, Hoxby and Metrick proposes a new ranking system for U.S. colleges and universities based on student preference. They suggest in the study that their ranking system is not effected by financial aid.

Our ranking is...similar regardless of whether we control for variables, such as net cost, that vary among a college’s admits

They used Net Price of a college in order to determine if it had any impact on student decision making process. The issue with Net Price is it is an average--it does not begin to tell the story. No one has linked it to decision making of individual students. A student who goes to a school with a Net Price of $30,000 (on the very high side) and has a full ride (effective net price of $0) is making different decisions--economically.

College Net Price might get students in the door, but it does not make the sale.

For a full news article on the study see @erichoov at the Chronicle of Higher Ed.

Headed to College Board Western Regional Forum

I am headed out tomorrow to San Diego for the College Board Western Regional Forum. I will be presenting a session Friday afternoon on how the institutional financial aid process impacts student enrollment. The session is built on my doctoral dissertation work in the area of community colleges in California and expanded to apply to four-year public and private institutions as well. The session should be very interactive and I am looking forward to presenting.

If you will be in San Diego for the Forum and want to meet up, feel free to drop my a line on Twitter @scottcline or email.

Federal Financial Aid Conference - Orlando, FL.

I am en route to the Federal Financial Aid (FSA) in Orlando, FL today and will be there through Friday before I fly back.[1] I am managing to spend two weeks in Florida in the course of two months. It should be an interesting conference with a few less surprises this year then last year in Las Vegas. It probably just means that changes in federal financial aid policy will just happen later this year or early 2013.

If you will be there and want to meet for coffee or drinks, send me a message on twitter @scottcline or if you are more bleeding edge App.net @scottcline. You can also drop me an email.

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1. Literatlly at 37,000 feet and going at 633 miles per hour. Currently, over Mississippi about to leave land and cross over the Golf of Mexico.  ↩

Pay as You Earn - Finally →

About time.

The U.S. Department of Education last week issued the final regulations for the new, more-generous student-loan repayment program announced by the president last October. The plan, known as “Pay as You Earn,” will allow some graduates to peg their federal loan payments to 10% of their discretionary income and then have any remaining balance forgiven after 20 years.

via Wall Street Journal

Thoughts on College Board's National Forum

I am currently flying back from the College Board’s National Forum in Miami, FL.[1] I was there as part of the College Board’s ELA program.

My impression of the conference (or forum) was that there is a great deal of passion, hope, and energy in the education professionals who were gathered there. The amount of talent there makes me believe that change is possible even in the face of all of the barriers, all the way through the education pipeline. From pre-K through the highest levels of graduate education there are people working to make the world a better place.

It is great to spend a few days with people who are willing to go base-jumping to make education better for all students. I met many people who are willing to think big, execute and risk everything for students. We need more people like this who are ready to go base-jumping.

It will be very interesting to see where the College Board moves under the new leadership of David Coleman in order to support these people and the education of today’s and the future’s students.

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1. Since Hurricane Sandy did not hit Miami, I guess I can only really say that it was rather windy and rainy while I was in Miami, but not that I experienced an actual hurricane?  ↩