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Last week, we pointed out how funding colleges based on their graduation rates is attractive in theory, but threatens to create unhealthy incentives for college administrators. That’s because these “performance-based funding” policies can reward colleges for the wrong things and are subject to lax oversight. After all, when given the cover of anonymity, college administrators openly admit to inflating their numbers by watering down degree requirements, academic rigor, and coursework demands.
Ironically just days after our piece ran over at NationalReview.com, it was reported that five colleges had misreported graduation rate data in a manner that goosed their scores in the influential US News and World Report College Ranking. One college, Hampton University, juiced its number by 10 points, while the other four did so by about three points. The colleges offered the usual litany of excuses, especially the ever-popular “human error.”
That may be. It is certainly convenient for the schools in question that they all just happened to overstate completion rates but, at some level, it doesn’t matter all that much. The incentives are there to game, the harm is obvious, and the safeguards are almost nonexistent. Notably, the five colleges that reported inaccurate graduation data all reside in states with performance-based funding policies. Not only did they boost their US News rankings, but they may have pocketed additional state funding as a bonus.
These colleges are misleading prospective students and potentially ripping off taxpayers, and there’s every reason to suspect that there’s plenty more where this came from. As we noted last week,
When given the cover of anonymity, college administrators openly admit to inflating their numbers by watering down degree requirements, academic rigor, and coursework demands.
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