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In a move they said will help students get a better idea of how much they can borrow and afford to pay back, Education Department officials are expanding the College Scorecard to show how much graduates at institutions make based on their areas of study.
The scorecard now provides new median income data for students two years out from their date of graduation. At Princeton University, for example, graduates with a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering made $103,078 two years after graduation. Those who graduated with a bachelor’s in English language and literature, however, made $47,260.
“This is not to tell students not to pursue their jobs and passions,” but to give them the information they need to “borrow responsibly,” the department’s principal deputy under secretary, Diane Auer Jones said at the Federal Student Aid Training Conference Wednesday.
“As students make choices that impact their future careers and earning potential, it's imperative they have access to relevant, actionable information like how much money they might make after graduating in their chosen field of study, or how much debt they may have to take on depending on where they choose to learn,” Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said in a statement.
In addition, student loan data on the scorecard now includes Parent PLUS loans, allowing users to see how much parents are borrowing to help their children pay for school at each institution. The data have also been expanded to include amounts students borrowed at multiple institutions for students who transfer.
