Its success would depend upon specific definitions and really spending time thinking about how to weight them.
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Your public $ at work!
Look at outcomes and loan default rates for schools you are interested in.
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However, a ranking specifically oriented toward a criterion such as this may be helpful to students searching for a certain type of academic environment. This survey-based ranking from the Princeton Review, for example, attempts to evaluate classroom experience:
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Many schools like MIT, Stanford, UCLA, etc. get the most traction because they are famous or in the most populous state. Interestingly, they also appear on the ranking list, but even before the rankings started by US News, etc., these universities dominated because of their famous sports teams, invention, alumni or generous scholarship. Some universities get traction due to their marketing.
The folks who apply to best regional universities don’t join the forums and discuss, they just talk to their neighbor.
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Well, my kids went to a “best regional university” an yet, here I am. Thankfully there was no handwringing or lost sleep in our house over admissions, and there certainly weren’t any “chance me” threads. Now that regional university has graduated to a national university. Do I care? Nope.
Everyone’s search starts differently. Some may use the ranking, specifically when they apply for out-of-state. But many students start from what they hear at their high school. Our search started by looking at the research universities in my state (or within a short distance by car), our high school sends a lot of kids to these universities. Interestingly, some of them are on the ranking list. When we visited the universities, they all told about their ranking on one or the other list.
US News & World Report, which publishes the Ranking, has the following to say about building your own list… https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/slideshows/10-steps-to-picking-the-right-school
Very interesting article. Basically did a lot to game and move the rankings but seems like actual quality of edu stayed the same.