How U.S. Plans to Recognize Colleges for Student Success
Jessica Blake
October 18, 2024
The Education Department has selected 200 colleges eligible for recognition of their efforts to boost degree completion. But some experts question how it chose the institutions.
The Biden administration wants to recognize colleges that help students complete affordable credentials and increase their economic mobility, and it’s starting with a list of 200 institutions.
Colleges on the list, which was released earlier this month, are eligible to apply for the department’s new Postsecondary Success Recognition Program, which is aimed at identifying and celebrating the best practices to help more students, particularly those from low-income families, get to and through college.
“Imagine a world where schools with the most Pell Grant recipients are ranked highest in U.S. News and World Report, where ‘prestige’ is defined by preparing graduates well to enter the workforce and lead fulfilling lives and careers—sometimes right in their own communities,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in an April statement announcing the program.
