Protecting Students from Worthless Degrees Act

Summary: Protecting Students from Worthless Degrees Act  This bill makes any institution of higher education (IHE) postsecondary program designed to prepare students for a recognized occupation or profession requiring licensing or other entry pre-conditions ineligible to participate in a federal financial assistance program, unless it meets specified student consumer protection requirements within one year after this Act's enactment.  Each program must: (1) fully prepare students to satisfy those entry pre-conditions in the metropolitan statistical areas and states in which the students reside and in any state the program claims a successful program graduate will be prepared to work in the particular occupation or profession involved; and (2) provide timely placement of students in required pre-licensure positions, such as clinical placements, internships, or apprenticeships. The bill requires the Department of Education to promulgate regulations regarding pre-accredited IHE programs to: (1) impose consumer protection requirements that are consistent with those this Act imposes on accredited programs, and (2) condition an IHE's participation in any federal financial assistance program on the IHE signing a loan discharge agreement with each student who is enrolled in any pre-accredited program.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Students from Worthless 
Degrees Act''.

SEC. 2. CONSUMER PROTECTIONS FOR STUDENTS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Federal financial assistance program.--The term 
        ``Federal financial assistance program'' means a program 
        authorized and funded by the Federal Government under any of 
        the following provisions of law:
                    (A) Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
                (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.).
                    (B) Title I of the Workforce Innovation and 
                Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3111 et seq.) and title I of 
                the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801 et 
                seq.).
                    (C) The Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (29 
                U.S.C. 3271 et seq.).
                    (D) Chapter 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, or 35 of title 38, 
                United States Code.
                    (E) Chapter 101, 105, 106A, 1606, 1607, or 1608 of 
                title 10, United States Code.
                    (F) Section 1784a, 2005, or 2007 of title 10, 
                United States Code.
            (2) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        ``institution of higher education''--
                    (A) with respect to a program authorized under 
                paragraph (1)(A), has the meaning given the term in 
                section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
                U.S.C. 1002);
                    (B) with respect to--
                            (i) a program authorized under title I of 
                        the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 
                        2801 et seq.), has the meaning given the term 
                        ``postsecondary educational institution'' as 
                        defined in section 101 of the Workforce 
                        Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801), on the 
                        day before the date of enactment of the 
                        Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act; and
                            (ii) a program authorized under title I of 
                        the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 
                        (29 U.S.C. 3111 et seq.), has the meaning given 
                        the term in section 3 of the Workforce 
                        Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 
                        3102);
                    (C) with respect to a program authorized under 
                paragraph (1)(C), has the meaning given the term 
                ``postsecondary educational institution'' as defined in 
                section 203 of the Adult Education and Family Literacy 
                Act (29 U.S.C. 3272);
                    (D) with respect to a program authorized under 
                paragraph (1)(D), has the meaning given the term 
                ``educational institution'' under section 3452 of title 
                38, United States Code;
                    (E) with respect to a program authorized under 
                paragraph (1)(E), means an educational institution that 
                awards a degree or certificate and is located in any 
                State; and
                    (F) with respect to a program authorized under 
                paragraph (1)(F), means an educational institution that 
                awards a degree or certificate and is located in any 
                State.
            (3) State.--
                    (A) State.--The term ``State'' includes, in 
                addition to the several States of the United States, 
                the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of 
                Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, the United States 
                Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern 
                Mariana Islands, and the freely associated States.
                    (B) Freely associated states.--The term ``freely 
                associated States'' means the Republic of the Marshall 
                Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the 
                Republic of Palau.
    (b) Consumer Protections.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, an institution of higher education is not eligible to participate 
in a Federal financial assistance program with respect to any program 
of postsecondary education or training, including a degree or 
certificate program, that is designed to prepare students for entry 
into a recognized occupation or profession that requires licensing or 
other established requirements as a pre-condition for entry into such 
occupation or profession, unless, by not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act--
            (1) the successful completion of the program fully 
        qualifies a student, in the Metropolitan Statistical Area and 
        State in which the student resides (and in any State in which 
        the institution indicates, through advertising or marketing 
        activities or direct contact with potential students, that a 
        student will be prepared to work in the occupation or 
        profession after successfully completing the program), to--
                    (A) take any examination required for entry into 
                the recognized occupation or profession in the 
                Metropolitan Statistical Area and State in which the 
                student resides, including satisfying all Federal, 
                State, or professionally mandated programmatic and 
                specialized accreditation requirements, if any; and
                    (B) be certified or licensed or meet any other 
                academically related pre-conditions that are required 
                for entry into the recognized occupation or profession 
                in the State; and
            (2) the institution offering the program provides timely 
        placement for all of the academically related pre-licensure 
        requirements for entry into the recognized occupation or 
        profession, such as clinical placements, internships, or 
        apprenticeships.
    (c) Regulations on Pre-Accredited Programs.--The Secretary of 
Education shall promulgate regulations on requirements of an 
institution of higher education with respect to any program of the 
institution that is in a pre-accredited status, including limitations 
on, or requirements of, advertisement of the program to students. Such 
regulations shall be consistent with the provisions of subsection (b).
    (d) Loan Discharge.--The Secretary of Education shall promulgate 
regulations that condition eligibility for an institution of higher 
education to participate in any Federal financial assistance program on 
the institution signing with each student enrolled in any program of 
the institution that is in a pre-accredited status, a loan discharge 
agreement.