Bring On the Sledgehammer

Barack Obama’s plan for a universal rating system for America’s colleges and universities, announced last year and the subject of a New York Times front-pager this week, is bad news, say the nation’s college presidents. Given many college presidents’ lack of regard for the students they ostensibly serve, is it any wonder that I think it might actually be a good idea?  The proposal as it currently stands—in its “version 1.0,” according to White House official Cecelia Muñoz—is tremendously flawed, but most of its flaws have fixes. And besides, even in its current state, I believe it would do more good than harm in regulating a system that now dangerously approaches a racket.