Our first regular Higher Ed Data Central post gets a bit wonky (but don’t worry they won’t all get this deep into the weeds).

Previously, we posted a graph showing the number of highly compensated administrators per 1,000 students as compared with tuition. Over at the Pearson blog, Kristen DiCerbo suggested using a logarithmic curve instead. In fact, she even rewrote the code to add the Continue Reading »

Today the College Board launched a new resource, BigFuture, meant to help students make better decisions about college.  Where the government’s College Navigator provides an overwhelming dashboard of mind-numbing statistics on institutions with (seemingly) little attention paid to user-friendliness, BigFuture draws you in with savvy graphics and a heavy-hitting quote:

Your big fuContinue Reading »

Pinky swear. Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown urges governments – that will come together in Washington next week for the IMF-World Bank meeting – to bring education to the forefront of the discussion. While the debt crisis is important, he says, education is long-term problem that has the potential to improve other sectors, like the economy. And besides, “you don’t break a promise made toContinue Reading »

Malcolm Gladwell’s new piece ($) on the US News higher education rankings is, as usual, extremely interesting and well-written, but it doesn’t really break new ground. My colleague Kevin Carey wrote about how the rankings valued prestige and money more than they did learning or engagement back in 2006. So, as per Gladwell’s main point, that the rankings are subjective, US NewsContinue Reading »

Members of the Annapolis Group, comprised of about 80 liberal arts colleges including Sarah Lawrence, Oberlin, and Reed, announced yesterday they will opt out of the US News college rankings. It is the latest example of a failure to understand what the college accountability movement is all about.

While the US News ranking system is by no means perfeContinue Reading »