college-scorecard-mcp-server

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  <h1>@cyanheads/college-scorecard-mcp-server</h1>
  <p><b>Search, compare, and analyze U.S. college data — costs, earnings, programs, and outcomes — via MCP. STDIO or Streamable HTTP.</b>
  <div>9 Tools • 2 Resources • 1 Prompt</div>
  </p>
</div>

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---

## Tools

9 tools for working with U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data — institution search, program-level earnings, cost and outcomes analysis, and structured comparison:

| Tool | Description |
|:---|:---|
| `scorecard_search_schools` | Search and filter institutions by name, location, type, size, and acceptance rate range. Returns core identity and cost metrics. |
| `scorecard_get_school` | Full institutional profile for one or more school IDs — costs, admissions, outcomes, aid, demographics, and completion rates. |
| `scorecard_compare_schools` | Normalized side-by-side comparison of 2–5 schools on a named topic. Returns percentile-ranked rows and relative deltas within the result set. |
| `scorecard_get_programs` | All field-of-study programs at one school: 1-year post-graduation earnings (P25/median/P75), debt at graduation, and enrollment figures. |
| `scorecard_search_programs` | Find programs by CIP code or keyword across all institutions, ranked by median earnings. Accepts school-side filters (state, ownership, max cost). |
| `scorecard_get_earnings` | Institution-level post-graduation earnings for one school — median and percentiles at 6, 8, and 10 years after entry, with optional gender breakdown. |
| `scorecard_value_analysis` | Workflow tool: parallel-fetches cost, debt, repayment, and earnings data, then computes ROI metrics — debt-to-earnings ratio, net price by income bracket, and peer comparisons. |
| `scorecard_lookup_cip` | Search Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) codes by keyword or partial name. Served from embedded static data — no API call or rate-limit impact. |
| `scorecard_list_fields` | Search the Scorecard field catalog by keyword. Returns matching field paths, descriptions, data types, and sort support. Use before passing custom `fields` parameters. |

### `scorecard_search_schools`

Search for institutions using name, location, and institutional filters.

- Free-text name search plus typed filters: state, ownership (public/private nonprofit/private for-profit), degree level, size range, acceptance rate range
- Geographic proximity filtering by U.S. zip code and distance (miles or km)
- CIP code filter to find schools offering a specific program family
- Pagination (`per_page` up to 100, zero-indexed `page`)
- Returns core identity and cost metrics for quick scanning

---

### `scorecard_get_school`

Fetch a full institutional profile by school ID.

- Accepts a single ID or an array of IDs (batch fetch up to 100 per page)
- Covers costs, admissions, outcomes, financial aid, demographics, and completion rates
- Optional `fields` override for callers who need a narrower or broader field set
- For side-by-side comparison on a specific dimension, use `scorecard_compare_schools`

---

### `scorecard_compare_schools`

Normalized comparison across 2–5 institutions on a named topic.

- Four topics: `costs`, `admissions`, `outcomes`, `aid` — each pulls a curated topic-specific field set
- Computes within-set percentile ranks and relative deltas — structured output an agent cannot reconstruct from raw profiles
- Single API call for all schools; normalization applied post-fetch
- Distinct from `scorecard_get_school` multi-ID: output shape is rows, not profiles

---

### `scorecard_get_programs`

List all field-of-study programs at one school with earnings and debt data.

- Returns P25/median/P75 earnings 1 year after graduation, median debt at graduation, and enrollment figures per program
- Filter by CIP code to return only matching programs
- Filter by `credential_level` (certificate, associate's, bachelor's) and minimum earnings threshold
- Primary source for program-level earnings — institution-level earnings at 6/8/10 years are available via `scorecard_get_earnings`
- FERPA suppression surfaced as structured `suppressed: true` flag with `suppression_note`, not bare null

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### `scorecard_search_programs`

Find programs by CIP code or name across all institutions, ranked by median earnings.

- Program-centric: "which schools in Washington have CS programs with median earnings over $80k?"
- Accepts school-side filters: state, ownership, max net price
- Earnings and debt thresholds for filtering results
- Returns school name, school ID, and unit ID alongside program metrics for follow-up chaining
- Sorting applied post-fetch where earnings fields are not API-indexed

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### `scorecard_get_earnings`

Institution-level post-graduation earnings for one school.

- Median and P25/P75 earnings at 6, 8, and 10 years after entry
- Optional gender breakdown when available
- `years` parameter for time-series analysis; defaults to `latest.*` for current-state queries
- Reflects outcomes across all graduates, not broken down by program

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### `scorecard_value_analysis`

Workflow tool: "Is this school worth it?"

- Parallel-fetches cost/debt/repayment and earnings data in two concurrent requests
- Computes ROI metrics the API does not pre-calculate: debt-to-earnings ratio (median debt / 6-year earnings), net price to first-year earnings ratio, and 3-year loan repayment rate
- `family_income` parameter selects the applicable net price bracket
- Fetches peer school identifiers (same Carnegie category and ownership) for comparative median values
- Returns all source figures alongside derived metrics — callers can audit the arithmetic
- `data_notes` flags any suppressed or null fields with structured explanations

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### `scorecard_lookup_cip`

Search CIP codes by keyword or partial name.

- Covers the full ~2,400-code CIP taxonomy embedded as static data
- No API call required — zero rate-limit impact, works offline
- Required before using CIP-based filters when the caller knows a program by name but not code
- Returns matching codes with standard titles

---

### `scorecard_list_fields`

Search the Scorecard field catalog by keyword.

- ~2,800 field entries from the data dictionary, embedded as static data
- Returns field paths, descriptions, data types, and whether the field supports API-side sorting
- No API call required — zero rate-limit impact
- Use before passing custom `fields` parameters to search/get tools

## Resources and prompts

| Type | Name | Description |
|:---|:---|:---|
| Resource | `scorecard://school/{id}` | Institutional profile by unit ID — injectable context for school-specific conversations |
| Resource | `scorecard://programs/{id}` | Program-level outcomes for a school |
| Prompt | `scorecard_compare_prompt` | Structures a multi-school comparison analysis using Scorecard data |

All resource data is also reachable via tools. Use `scorecard_search_schools` or `scorecard_get_school` to discover school IDs before constructing resource URIs.

## Features

Built on [`@cyanheads/mcp-ts-core`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@cyanheads/mcp-ts-core):

- Declarative tool, resource, and prompt definitions — single file per primitive, framework handles registration and validation
- Unified error handling — handlers throw, framework catches, classifies, and formats
- Pluggable auth: `none`, `jwt`, `oauth`
- Swappable storage backends: `in-memory`, `filesystem`, `Supabase`, `Cloudflare KV/R2/D1`
- Structured logging with optional OpenTelemetry tracing
- STDIO and Streamable HTTP transports

College Scorecard-specific:

- Full College Scorecard API coverage: ~6,500 Title IV institutions, ~2,800 data fields spanning costs, outcomes, demographics, financial aid, and field-of-study earnings
- Program-level post-graduation earnings: actual median earnings 1 year after