How Can Better Federal Data on Higher Education Outcomes Reduce Student Debt?

The cost of higher education in the United States has nearly tripled in the past 40 years. But while policymakers have grappled with how to alleviate student loan debt, they have done little so far to help future students from incurring problematic debt in the first place. Before taking out loans, students and their families need better information on the expected outcomes for specific fields of study at particular colleges and universities, such as graduation rates, expected earnings, student engagement, and more. That would help them make more informed choices about their futures. Legislation to provide this data stalled in the 117th Congress, but policymakers now have a renewed opportunity to build a more comprehensive system to improve access to higher education data. Doing so would help students and bring greater accountability to higher education.

Watch the Center for Data Innovation's webinar on how better data can help students with their higher education pursuits, the challenges in providing this data today, and the steps policymakers can take to address these barriers.

• Watch here, or on datainnovation.org