Hillsdale College’s absence from the Department of Education’s College Scorecard potentially indicates bigger problems to come for schools that don’t play by the federal government’s rules, U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) said Wednesday.
“This Scorecard is a tremendous problem if it develops further,” Walberg said, adding he hopes the next presidential administration will rescind it.
The Scorecard may be only the beginning of the White House’s refusal to acknowledge Hillsdale’s existence, Walberg said. The next step could include prohibiting Hillsdale from receiving accreditation.
“Who really cares about the fed’s policy—until things that determine accreditation and standing of the school in academia,” Walberg said. “This is something that Hillsdale will have to contend with.”
President Barack Obama announced the Scorecard’s release on Sept. 12, saying it is a useful tool for college prospective students and their parents to access and compare “reliable data on every institution of higher education.”
Walberg instead calls the Scorecard a “one-size-fits-all plan to give more and more control to the federal government of the educational experience.”
The Department of Education excluded Hillsdale, as well as other schools that don’t accept federal funds like Christendom and Grove City Colleges, from the “comprehensive” list but it was noted solely with a footnote. Despite the omission garnering national attention, a Department of Education spokesperson said there are no plans to make Scorecard users more aware that the list is not wholly inclusive.
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed this week Provost David Whalen responded to the Scorecard, saying he believes Hillsdale’s little-noted omission was not an oversight.
“The Obama administration’s Education Department wants to avoid informing parents and high-school students about a college that is known for its conservative outlook and its emphasis on a classical liberal-arts education,” Whalen said.
Walberg agreed, saying Hillsdale will have to work harder than other schools to make its message heard.
“Both students and alumni need to truly understand the gravity of what is taking place in the academic community across the country—the pushing back against schools like Hillsdale that have standards that allow for great academic diversity,” Walberg said. “Get ready to push forward to make sure this continues.”
