College Scorecard: U.S. Higher Education Institution Data for Predicting Completion Rates

Higher education costs in the United States average $35,551 per student per year and have more than doubled in the 21st century. This dataset from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard contains institutional characteristics to predict whether a college has a low graduation rate, defined as below 50% for first-time, full-time students at four-year institutions.

Use Cases

• Predict low graduation rates based on institutional characteristics mentioned in the description.
• Analyze the relationship between college costs and student outcomes using reported financial data.
• Benchmark institutional performance against a median completion rate threshold.
• Research factors contributing to degree completion and student debt repayment ability.

Strengths

• Data originates from the authoritative U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
• Description provides a concrete predictive task with a defined threshold (50% completion rate).
• Includes a cited average annual college cost of $35,551 and a noted 7.1% annual growth rate.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count, file formats, and last update date are unknown, limiting suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

Collection Method

Likely collected from federal reporting by higher education institutions.

Time Range

Time range is not specified in the provided input.

Freshness

Last updated date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Geography

United States