Dive Brief:

• Foundations and research centers are working on new ways to rank colleges, even as President Barack Obama has floated his idea of a government ranking system.
• Universities and colleges themselves are also working on new ways to measure graduates.
• One such project is the Voluntary Institutional Metrics Project from 18 colleges and universities, which makes college-by-college comparisons of cost, learning, graduation rates, post-graduate employment and student debt.

Dive Insight:

Colleges know the public wants this information: A survey this year showed that 84% want colleges to disclose information about graduation, job placement, and loan-repayment rates. With the idea of a government ranking system being floated, many are eager to develop a system that would be based on their own rules, rather than having one imposed upon them.