A core premise of the Obama administration’s college ratings plan -- and one that makes it controversial -- is that colleges and universities need to be held more accountable for student outcomes.
College presidents have repeatedly argued that those outcomes, like completion rates and graduates' earnings, are largely a reflection of the student population they serve, and therefore not necessarily a good benchmark of their institution’s success. A ratings system, they warn, could discourage colleges from recruiting students they're not confident will graduate.
U.S. Department of Education officials working on the ratings have long said they’re going to overcome that problem by comparing colleges' performance only to that of other institutions with similar missions.
Read more at Inside Higher Ed: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/01/30/ed-dept-ratings-framework-ignites-new-questions-over-adjusting-student-outcomes