The U.S. Department of Education recently released a new version of its College Scorecard, an online database DOE says will help students and their parents choose the best option among the thousands of colleges available in the United States today. A careful examination of the College Scorecard reveals, however, that it’s nothing more than another costly and potentially harmful government program.

The College Scorecard has been a highly publicized part of President Barack Obama’s new set of education initiatives. DOE created the College Scorecard more than two years ago as an Internet-based platform that would provide prospective undergraduate and graduate students information about the costs and program offerings of more than 3,500 colleges across the nation.