Posted on 09/18/2015 4:13:36 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
An Obama administration representative took a shot at a well-known conservative college Thursday, saying the school wasn’t included on its much-heralded new “College Scorecard” because it isn’t a real two-to-four year college.
Hillsdale College, a 1,500-student liberal arts college in Michigan, is ranked by U.S. News and World Reports as the 67th-best national liberal arts college in the country. The college is well-known for the conservative identity of its student body and its focus on a core curriculum that emphasizes Judeo-Christian tradition and the U.S. Constitution. It’s also known for its refusal to accept any federal funding (including federal student loans), in order to remain free of most federal regulatory control.
Despite its name, the Obama administration’s new College Scorecard doesn’t grade schools (though it was originally planned to) and instead just offers a bevy of data, such as schools’ graduation rate and the average salary of graduates. But notably, Hillsdale can’t be found on the scorecard, as though it doesn’t exist.
Interestingly, when asked by Hillsdale’s student paper, the Obama administration suggested it was because Hillsdale, a four-year liberal arts college, didn’t award enough degrees and instead just offered low-level certificates.
“Hillsdale is a predominantly certificate degree granting institution,” Department of Education spokeswoman Denise Horn told The Collegian, Hillsdale’s campus newspaper. “At launch, we focused our attention on predominantly two– and four-year degree programs.” In other words, the Department of Education is implying Hillsdale isn’t a genuine four-year school.
A quick look at the data belies this claim. Hillsdale grants hundreds of degrees each year, and there are several schools that give substantially fewer degrees on the scorecard, such as Burlington College in Vermont (which has just 200 undergraduates). While Hillsdale does offer online programs available to the general public, it can hardly be characterized as the main thrust of the institution.
It appears likely that Horn was incorrect in describing why Hillsdale is absent, though. There are other colleges missing from the scorecard, and what they all have in common isn’t a lack of four-year degrees but rather a refusal to accept federal funds. Besides Hillsdale, two schools absent from the College Scorecard are Grove City College and Christendom College, both of which refuse federal funding.
The Daily Caller News Foundation contacted Grove City College, a Christian school that also refuses federal funds, and asked if they were aware of not being on the scorecard. The school said they were, and that “in response to our inquiry, the department informed us that the site is limited only to Title-IV participating institution,” that is, those receiving federal funds.
Grove City said it wished the administration would reconsider and add schools that aren’t federally funded, or at least acknowledge they exist. “We are concerned that Grove City’s absence from the scorecard will prove perplexing to families that seek out higher education institutions with our record of success,” the school said.
So, there’s an entirely mundane explanation for Hillsdale’s absence from the College Scorecard, but an Obama administration spokeswoman still accidentally suggested a politically-hostile school wasn’t a real college.
More misuse of agency power. Criminal democrats continue their standard behavior.
Its not a “real School” because they don’t give stand alone teaching degrees without making sure you learn something else. Its not a “real school” because it doesn’t take taxpayer dollars. It’s not a “real school” because the feds have virtually no control over them.
I can hear Mark Levin going off right now! He’ll tear this admin a new strip! (a devoted Levin listener)
It’s not a “real school” because it teaches its students to think for themselves.
It’s not a “real school” because it trains its students to think critically.
It’s not a “real school” because it inculcates a love of classical learning.
The horror!
That response is the punchline to the old joke about G-d and Michael the archangel solving the problem of creation of human genitalia. You'll have to look that joke up for yourself; I prefer not to violate common decency (as well as Free Republic's code of conduct, most likely) by citing it directly.
I'm not going to give you a commercial here, Denise. You are quite obviously too bound up in your preferred childlike version of political correctness. Equally clear, you being a bureaucrat and all, you resent the fact that you and your ilk have no mechanism of control over Hillsdale, due principally to their utterly correct refusal to accept any "federal" dollars.
I have, as it happens, had the privilege of lecturing in the economics department at Hillsdale many times, and their students have, uniformly, seemed to me to be of open mind generally, and damned smart individually. You, contrarily, have not had such an opportunity; you have simply parroted your masters' sentiments in your statement mentioned in this article.
There is an old story about a young kid on a kid's after-school cartoon show, a local program, who, when told to push the button to start the cartoon, encountered the unlucky fact that the cartoon wouldn't start. The young kid, apocryphally perhaps, is supposed to have said, "Aw, crap." whereupon the host, usually related as one 'Corky the Clown' is supposed to have reprimanded him, saying, "Michael, that's a Corky No-No!"
The young kid's response to the host's statement is really all the response you deserve, to wit, "Cram it, clown"
The Department of Education is not a real department.
I’m not surprised that Liberty U was not included.
Sanders just spoke there
I detest Democrats.
0bama is not a real president ... so
It wouldn’t surprise me if the best three years of Obama’s life was the 3rd grade.
I have subscribed for many years to the Hillsdale monthly “Imprimis”. Every conservative should read it.
Denise you ignorant slut, you just upped interested inquiries to the Hillsdale College curriculum tenfold. Hope the school wears her attitude as a badge of honor.
Not just Obama, but much of the Federal Government basically views conservatives as enemies
I remember the Corky story! But more importantly I have 2 daughters with degrees from Hillsdale. Best college tuition investment ever!
Bamby must be upset Hillsdale wont have Sharia classes taught by a muzzie
Damn straight, m’FRiend. I imagine that your daughters, now they’re out in the real world, are VERY appreciative of Hillsdale, yes?
PING!
They are both very successful in work and life in general.
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