consultant mark schneider says that's only half of what families should know. >> the information about wages, which is for me is the ultimate validation of the value of the degree, which is the ultimate consumer information that students need before making these decisions is not in that giant fat book. >> reporter: schneider works with six states to link up college graduation information with government wage and employment data. the goal is to find the job and income prospects of each degree at each school in the state. he says this research is possible in many states across the country...but right now, it's just not happening on a large scale. >> the level of data that citizens need, that parents need, that students need, that taxpayers need, that everybody needs, is what happens to a student graduating from a particular program from a particular university, because that's where we have so much variation and students should know that. >> reporter: schneider says he hopes eventually, the cost and the financial benefit of each degree from each college, will be at consumers' fingertips.