II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 889 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make technical improvements 

to the Net Price Calculator system so that prospective students may 

have a more accurate understanding of the true cost of college. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 27, 2019 

Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Ms. SMITH, and Ms. ERNST) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make technical improvements to the Net Price Calculator system 

so that prospective students may have a more accurate 

understanding of the true cost of college. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Net Price Calculator 

5 Improvement Act’’. 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 889 IS

1 SEC. 2. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR NET PRICE CALCULA2 TORS. 

3 Section 132(h) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

4 (20 U.S.C. 1015a(h)) is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para6 graph (6); 

7 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting before the pe8 riod ‘‘, and, not later than 1 year after the date of 

9 enactment of the Net Price Calculator Improvement 

10 Act, shall meet the requirements of paragraph 

11 (4)(C)’’; 

12 (3) in paragraph (3), by inserting after the first 

13 sentence the following: ‘‘Not later than 1 year after 

14 the date of enactment of the Net Price Calculator 

15 Improvement Act, such calculator shall meet the re16 quirements of paragraph (4).’’; and 

17 (4) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(4) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR NET PRICE

20 CALCULATORS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

21 of enactment of the Net Price Calculator Improve22 ment Act, a net price calculator for an institution of 

23 higher education shall, at a minimum, meet the fol24 lowing requirements: 

25 ‘‘(A) The link for the calculator— 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 889 IS

1 ‘‘(i) is clearly labeled as a ‘net price 

2 calculator’ and prominently, clearly, and 

3 conspicuously (in such size and contrast 

4 (such as shade) that it is readily noticeable 

5 and readable) posted in locations on the in6 stitution’s website where information on 

7 costs and aid is provided (such as financial 

8 aid, prospective students, or tuition and 

9 fees web pages); 

10 ‘‘(ii) matches in size and font to the 

11 other prominent links on the primary 

12 menu; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) may also be included on the in14 stitution’s compliance web page, which 

15 contains information relating to compliance 

16 with Federal, State, and local laws. 

17 ‘‘(B) The input screen for the net price 

18 calculator displays a chart of the net prices for 

19 students receiving Federal student financial aid 

20 under title IV (as required by subsection (i)(5)) 

21 for the most recent academic year for which 

22 data are available, disaggregated by income cat23 egories. 

24 ‘‘(C) The results screen for the calculator 

25 specifies the following information: 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 889 IS

1 ‘‘(i) The individual net price (as cal2 culated under paragraph (2)) for the indi3 vidual student, which is the most visually 

4 prominent figure on the results screen, in5 cluding a statement of— 

6 ‘‘(I) the year for which the net 

7 price applies; and 

8 ‘‘(II) the year from which the 

9 data was used to determine that net 

10 price. 

11 ‘‘(ii) Cost of attendance, including— 

12 ‘‘(I) the total estimated cost for a 

13 student to complete the program of 

14 study, based on normal time for com15 pletion of, or graduation from, the 

16 student’s particular program of study; 

17 ‘‘(II) the total annual cost of at18 tendance; 

19 ‘‘(III) annual tuition and fees; 

20 ‘‘(IV) average annual cost of 

21 room and board for the institution for 

22 a first-time, full-time undergraduate 

23 student enrolled in the institution; 

24 ‘‘(V) average annual cost of 

25 books and supplies for a first-time, 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 889 IS

1 full-time undergraduate student en2 rolled in the institution; 

3 ‘‘(VI) estimated annual cost of 

4 other expenses (including personal ex5 penses and transportation) for a first6 time, full-time undergraduate student 

7 enrolled in the institution; and 

8 ‘‘(VII) a statement of— 

9 ‘‘(aa) the year for which 

10 each cost described in this clause 

11 applies; and 

12 ‘‘(bb) the year from which 

13 the data was used to determine 

14 each cost described in this clause. 

15 ‘‘(iii) Estimated total need-based 

16 grant aid and merit-based grant aid, from 

17 Federal, State, and institutional sources, 

18 that may be available to the individual stu19 dent, showing the subtotal for each cat20 egory and the total of all sources of grant 

21 aid, and disaggregated by academic year 

22 for normal time for completion of, or grad23 uation from, the student’s particular pro24 gram of study. 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 889 IS

1 ‘‘(iv) Percentage of the first-time, full2 time undergraduate students enrolled in 

3 the institution that received any type of 

4 grant aid described in clause (iii), disag5 gregated by their first year and subsequent 

6 years of enrollment up to the number of 

7 years for normal completion of, or gradua8 tion from, their particular program of 

9 study. 

10 ‘‘(v) The disclaimer described in para11 graph (6). 

12 ‘‘(vi) In the case of a calculator 

13 that— 

14 ‘‘(I) includes questions to esti15 mate a student’s (or prospective stu16 dent’s) eligibility for veterans’ edu17 cation benefits (as defined in section 

18 480) or educational benefits for active 

19 duty service members, such benefits 

20 are displayed on the results screen in 

21 a manner that clearly distinguishes 

22 them from the grant aid described in 

23 clause (iii); or 

24 ‘‘(II) does not include questions 

25 to estimate eligibility for the benefits 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 889 IS

1 described in subclause (I), the results 

2 screen indicates— 

3 ‘‘(aa) that certain students 

4 (or prospective students) may 

5 qualify for such benefits; 

6 ‘‘(bb) states why the institu7 tion is not including questions to 

8 estimate a student’s eligibility for 

9 such benefits; and 

10 ‘‘(cc) includes a link to an 

11 appropriate Federal website that 

12 provides information about such 

13 benefits. 

14 ‘‘(D) The institution populates the calcu15 lator with data from not earlier than 2 aca16 demic years prior to the most recent academic 

17 year. 

18 ‘‘(5) PROHIBITION ON USE OF DATA COL19 LECTED BY THE NET PRICE CALCULATOR.—A net 

20 price calculator for an institution of higher edu21 cation shall— 

22 ‘‘(A) clearly indicate which questions are 

23 required to be completed for an estimate of the 

24 net price from the calculator; 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 889 IS

1 ‘‘(B) in the case of a calculator that re2 quests contact information from users, clearly 

3 mark such requests as ‘optional’; 

4 ‘‘(C) prohibit any personally identifiable in5 formation provided by users from being sold or 

6 made available to third parties; and 

7 ‘‘(D) clearly state ‘Any information that 

8 you provide on this site is confidential. The Net 

9 Price Calculator does not store your responses 

10 or require personal identifying information of 

11 any kind.’.’’. 

12 SEC. 3. UNIVERSAL NET PRICE CALCULATOR. 

13 Section 132(h) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

14 (20 U.S.C. 1015a(h)), as amended by section 2, is further 

15 amended by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(7) UNIVERSAL NET PRICE CALCULATOR.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

18 develop a universal net price calculator that is 

19 housed within the Department of Education, 

20 with Department branding, and that may be 

21 based on or utilize an existing platform devel22 oped by a public or private entity, that— 

23 ‘‘(i) enables users to answer one set of 

24 questions and receive net prices for any inVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S889.IS S889

pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 889 IS

1 stitution that is required to have a net 

2 price calculator under this subsection; 

3 ‘‘(ii) provides the information required 

4 under subparagraphs (C) and (D) of para5 graph (4) for each institution for which a 

6 net price is being sought; 

7 ‘‘(iii) is developed in consultation with 

8 the heads of relevant Federal agencies; and 

9 ‘‘(iv) before being finalized and pub10 licly released, is tested in accordance with 

11 subparagraph (B). 

12 ‘‘(B) CONSUMER TESTING.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary 

14 develops a universal net price calculator 

15 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary, in 

16 consultation with the heads of relevant 

17 Federal agencies, shall establish a process 

18 to submit the universal net price calculator 

19 developed under this paragraph for con20 sumer testing among representatives of 

21 students (including low-income students, 

22 first generation college students, adult stu23 dents, and prospective students), students’ 

24 families (including low-income families, 

25 families with first generation college stuVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S889.IS S889

pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 889 IS

1 dents, and families with prospective stu2 dents), institutions of higher education, 

3 secondary school and postsecondary coun4 selors, and nonprofit consumer groups. 

5 ‘‘(ii) LENGTH OF CONSUMER TEST6 ING.—The Secretary shall ensure that the 

7 consumer testing lasts no longer than 6 

8 months after the process for consumer 

9 testing is developed under clause (i). 

10 ‘‘(iii) USE OF RESULTS.—The results 

11 of consumer testing under clause (i) shall 

12 be used in the final development of the 

13 universal net price calculator. 

14 ‘‘(iv) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— 

15 Not later than 3 months after the date the 

16 consumer testing under clause (i) con17 cludes, the Secretary shall submit to Con18 gress the final universal net price calcu19 lator and a report detailing the results of 

20 such testing, including whether the Sec21 retary added any additional items to the 

22 calculator as a result of such testing. 

23 ‘‘(v) AUTHORITY TO MODIFY.—The 

24 Secretary may modify the definitions, 

25 terms, formatting, and design of the uniVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S889.IS S889

pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 889 IS

1 versal net price calculator based on the re2 sults of consumer testing required under 

3 this paragraph and before finalizing the 

4 calculator. 

5 ‘‘(8) REPORT FROM SECRETARY.—Not later 

6 than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Net 

7 Price Calculator Improvement Act, the Secretary 

8 shall submit a report to Congress on steps taken to 

9 raise awareness of net price calculators among pro10 spective students and families, particularly among 

11 students in middle school and high school and stu12 dents from low-income families.’’. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS