Student Satisfaction (22.5%)
This is based on student evaluations from RateMyProfessor (15%), the largest site for professor ratings. This snapshot of what students think about their classes is akin to what agencies like Consumers Report or J.D. Powers and Associates do when they provide information on various goods or services. (CCAP does not score the chili-pepper icons, indicating a professor’s “hotness.”)
Whether or not students transfer out is also a telling indicator of student satisfaction. CCAP uses both actual (5%) and predicted (2.5%) freshman-to-sophomore retention rates, as reported by the schools to the Department of Education database (IPEDS).
Post-Graduate Success (37.5%)
Salary of alumni by school is pulled from Payscale.com (15%), the market leader in global online compensation data. But because success isn’t just about money, we reward schools where the Establishment, Influencers and Innovators received their degrees. CCAP has compiled an America’s Leaders List (22.5%). Many appear on various FORBES lists (Power Women, 30 Under 30, CEOs on the Global 2000), plus Nobel and Pulitzer winners, Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellows, those elected to the National Academy of Sciences and winners of an Academy, Emmy, Tony or Grammy.
Student Debt (17.5%)
Student loans may be the biggest economic fail story of the past decade. Students and their families are borrowing more to cover rapidly rising tuition. Over 38 million Americans have outstanding student loan debt totaling nearly $1 trillion in 2013; outstanding debt 10 years ago totaled $250 million, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Between 2005 and 2012 the number of borrowers increased 66%, from $23.3 million to $38.8 million. And the average balance increased 49% in the same time period, from $16,651 to $24,803.
This list looks at three components of student debt: average federal student loan debt load (10%), student loan default rates (5%) and predicted vs. actual percent of students taking federal loans (2.5%). The metrics get to the heart of the relative affordability of attending a particular school as well as the ability of its alumni to pay back student debt.
Graduation Rate (11.25%)
There are many valid reasons why students take an additional year (or two) to graduate. Universities such as Northeastern require time spent on “co-ops,” or extracurricular learning. Individual students may take time off to for work, service or travel.
Our concern, though, is a strict four-year graduation rate, which can save students and their families tens of thousands. CCAP evaluates how many students actually finish their degrees in four years, considering both the actual graduation rate (8.75%) and the actual vs. predicted rate (2.5%).
Nationally Competitive Awards (11.25%)This category rewards schools whose students win prestigious scholarships and fellowships like the Rhodes, the National Science Foundation and the Fulbright (7.5%) or go on to earn a Ph.D.(3.75%).
