A coalition of more than 70 selective private institutions developed their own tool to give prospective students a better understanding of the true cost of attending college. Twenty-eight states and regions have partnered with Credential Engine, which has created a common language and data set to help students sort through the maze of more than 1 million degrees, certificates, and other credentials and pick the one that will pay off for them.

Florida’s performance-based funding model for its public universities includes two workforce metrics – employment and median wages of graduates – that show if college degrees are paying off. The College Transparency Act, now pending in the Senate, would give the public even more data about college access, price, and outcomes…

If there’s a silver lining in the cloud hanging over student enrollment, it’s that this moment of decline provides the opportunity for colleges and universities to take a hard look at what their students are learning and where their graduates are going. As college costs and debt continue to climb and put an affordable higher education increasingly out of reach for many, it is perhaps inevitable that colleges and universities will embrace outcomes and transparency.