The largest consumer of college graduates is increasingly taking on a greater role in quality control: employers.

The Washington Post reports.

Will employers gain influence in rating the quality of a college degree?

FILE – In this June 2, 2010 file photo, a man watches a JetBlue airplane take off from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. JetBlue Scholars is one of several similar corporate programs that picks one or just a small group of colleges where employees can use their educational benefit. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
It’s an anxiety-ridden decision for millions of students each year: how to compare the quality of the colleges they’re considering so they can ensure a pay off from what will likely turn out to be the largest investment of their lifetime.

While a plethora of college rankings serve as a crude proxy for quality among thousands of colleges in the U.S., most students don’t attend the brand-name institutions that tend to top the rankings. In reality, students are often limited by finances, academics, or family and job obligations and have just a few choices about where to go. According to a recent study by the American Council on Education, the average freshman at a public university attends a campus that is within 100 miles of home.