The Currency of Education

Economic information is communicated through prices, and prices are paid using money. In science, the currency is reputation: a good reputation allows you to continue to work as a science; a bad reputation will end your scientific career. In the arts, the currency is aesthetic quality (Cowen) — works which have it have higher value and last longer than those which do not — which creates an artistic reputation for the artist. What then is the currency of higher education? What can communicate educational information among its institutions?