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Bonnie Halloran (far right) with Jo Anderson, special assistant to the secretary of education (second from left) and members of the American Federation of Teachers

As proposed, the new ratings system would rate universities on a number of factors including six-year graduation rates and graduate earnings, as well as affordability and accessibility.

“The federal government is working to help consumers determine the best value for their money. However, these measures don’t address the underlying issues of social inequality in education,” said Halloran, who also is president of the Lecturers’ Employee Organization and a member of the AFT Higher Education Program & Policy Council.

Halloran and her colleagues want to put the focus on programs that help students succeed—things like small classes, counseling, tutoring and early warning systems to alert staff when students are at risk of dropping out.

“We’ve seen these programs work across the country,” Halloran said. “They help address a complex situation in a way that simplified metrics cannot.”