College Affordability and U.S. News & World Report Rankings:

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Z Taylor ◽  
Izzat Alsmadi
Keyword(s):  
Student Loan ◽  
Pell Grant ◽  
Ranking Algorithm ◽  
Prospective Students ◽  
Student Loan Debt ◽  
College Affordability ◽  
News Ranking ◽  
World Report ◽  
Source Of Information ◽  
The U.S

In an era of billions of dollars in outstanding student loan debt, researchers have posited that the U.S. News & World Report rankings continue to be an influential source of information for prospective students, yet these rankings do not include college affordability metrics in their ranking algorithm. As a result, this study performed a series of college affordability experiments by integrating affordability metrics into the U.S. News ranking algorithm to explore whether any affordability metric predicts overall ranking. Results suggest better ranked institutions enrolled lower percentages of Pell grant receiving students (p < 0.00), while the percentage of undergraduates receiving state aid predicted better rankings only at Regional Midwest and Regional West Universities (p < 0.05). These results suggest many college affordability metrics are not predictive of ranking among the best-ranked, elite institutions. Implications for theory, practice, and college student choice are addressed.

scholarly journals Quantifying Quality: What Can the U.S. News and World Report Rankings Tell us About the Quality of Higher Education?

2002 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marguerite Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Graduate Schools ◽  
Schools Of Education ◽  
Quality Of Higher Education ◽  
News Ranking ◽  
World Report ◽  
Graduate Schools Of Education ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Over Time

Since their first appearance in 1983, the U.S. News and World Report rankings of colleges and graduate schools have generated much discussion and debate, from some declaring them among the best rankings ever published to others describing them as shallow, inaccurate, and even dangerous. The research presented here addresses two of the most common criticisms of the methodology used to produce these rankings. In particular, this study answers the following questions: What is the extent of change in U.S. News' ranking formulas across years and what are the implications for interpreting shifts in a school's rank over time? How precise is the overall score that U.S. News uses to rank schools and what are the implications for assigning schools to discrete ranks? Findings confirm critic's concerns in each of these areas, particularly in relation to the ranking of graduate schools of education. Based on these results, five recommendations are made for improving the interpretability and usefulness of the rankings.

The U.S. Student Loan Debt Crisis: State Crime or State-Produced Harm?

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan M. Carlson
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Debt Crisis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Student Loan ◽  
State Crime ◽  
Public Higher Education ◽  
Social Harm ◽  
Student Loan Debt ◽  
Loan Debt ◽  
The U.S

The unprecedented US$1.64 trillion level of student loan debt in the United States can be linked to the neoliberal process of privatization of higher education. But is the U.S. student loan debt crisis a state crime? This article examines the social harm student loan debt has caused; proposes an explanation for the shift to debt-financed, commodified public higher education; reveals government disinvestment in public higher education; details the transition of public higher education as a public good to higher education as a commodity financed with debt; and describes Obama administration reforms and De Vos/Trump administration attempts at policy rollback and further privatization. I situate the U.S. student loan debt crisis case in recent debates about crime, social harm, and zemiology.

Student loan debt and first-time home buying in USA

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert H. Scott III ◽  
Steven Bloom
Keyword(s):  
College Graduates ◽  
Student Loans ◽  
Student Loan ◽  
Home Equity ◽  
Student Loan Debt ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Loan Debt ◽  
The Usa ◽  
First Time ◽  
Home Buying

Purpose This paper aims to examine the relationship between student loan debt and first-time home buying among college graduates aged 23 to 40 years old in the USA. Design/methodology/approach The authors use the Federal Reserve’s 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances data on American households to present descriptive statistics and run logistic regressions that measure the effects of student loan debt on first-time home buying. The authors also present original survey data of mortgage lenders that provides an industry-level perspective. Findings The authors find that having student loan debt does not by itself prohibit first-time home buyers. On the contrary, having student loan debt increases the likelihood of homeownership by 15.1%. People with student loan debt, however, buy homes that are 39.2% less expensive and have 58% less home equity compared to first-time home buyers without student loans. In addition, it is found that the amount of student loan debt is important. People with student loan debt above the median amount among people with student loan debt ($35,000) are 27% less likely to be first-time home buyers. Practical implications This paper provides public policy analysts and other researchers a different perspective on the correlation between student loan debt and home buying. This study focuses narrowly on first-time home buyers who are college graduates between 23 and 40 years. Thus, capturing the youngest cohort of first-time home buyers and examine the primary factors that influence their home buying decisions. Originality/value First-time homebuyers are historically the largest segment of home buyers making them an important subcategory to study. The rise in student loan debt is posited to explain declining homeownership among younger people. The current literature on student loan debt and home buying often studies samples that are too heterogeneous resulting in mixed findings. This paper adds to the existing literature by filtering the sample to study the effects of student loan debt and first-time home buying among people with at least a college degree who are between 23 and 40 years.

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