It’s definitely springtime in most of the United States—the time of year in which the U.S. Department of Education initially said their draft college ratings under the Postsecondary Institution Ratings System (PIRS) would be released. Department of Education staffers have since stated that the timeline may be more toward midyear, but many observers wouldn’t be too surprised if the project were delayed even more given the difficulty of the task.
Given the uncertainty of the draft ratings’ release, I think it would be fun to ask for predictions for the release date. Submit your guesses on this form, and leave your name if you want to be eligible to receive first prize: bragging rights for the next year. I’ll protect your anonymity and will contact the winner(s) to ask whether I can make their name(s) public.
For what it’s worth, I’m predicting August 15. It almost has to be a Friday, and that is timed nicely with the start of the new academic year. But remember: my prediction is right or you get a full refund of the ($0) entrance fee!
[UPDATE (5/21/14)]: Deputy Undersecretary Jamienne Studley announced today in a blog post that the draft ratings will be out “by this fall,” a delay compared to what has been previously announced. Libby Nelson at Vox also notes some of the difficulties in creating credible ratings in a new post.
Robert Kelchen 