II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 888 

To require a standard financial aid offer form, and for other purposes. 

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 require a standard financial aid offer form, and for other 

purposes. 

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 ‘‘Understanding the 

5 True Cost of College Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. INSTITUTION FINANCIAL AID OFFER FORM. 

7 Section 484 of the Higher Education Opportunity 

8 Act (20 U.S.C. 1092 note) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 484. INSTITUTION FINANCIAL AID OFFER FORM. 

2 ‘‘(a) STANDARD FORMAT AND TERMINOLOGY.—The 

3 Secretary of Education, in consultation with the heads of 

4 relevant Federal agencies, shall develop standard termi5 nology and a standard format for financial aid offer forms 

6 based on recommendations from representatives of stu7 dents, veterans, servicemembers, students’ families, insti8 tutions of higher education (including community colleges, 

9 for-profit institutions, four year public institutions, and 

10 four year private nonprofit institutions), financial aid ex11 perts, secondary school and postsecondary counselors, 

12 nonprofit organizations, and consumer groups. 

13 ‘‘(b) KEY REQUIRED CONTENTS FOR OFFER

14 FORM.—The standard format developed under subsection 

15 (a) shall include, in a consumer-friendly manner that is 

16 simple and understandable, a form titled ‘Financial Aid 

17 Offer’, which shall include the following items clearly sepa18 rated from each other with separate headings, and, if in 

19 paper format, listed on the first page of the financial aid 

20 offer form: 

21 ‘‘(1) COST INFORMATION.— 

22 ‘‘(A) Information on the student’s esti23 mated cost of attendance, including the fol24 lowing: 

25 ‘‘(i) Total direct costs, including the 

26 component totals each for— 


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1 ‘‘(I) tuition and fees, as deter2 mined under section 472 of the High3 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

4 1087ll); and 

5 ‘‘(II) college-sponsored housing 

6 and food costs (as determined based 

7 on the costs for room and board 

8 under such section). 

9 ‘‘(ii) Total estimated other expenses, 

10 including— 

11 ‘‘(I) the component totals each 

12 for housing and food costs for stu13 dents who reside off-campus; and 

14 ‘‘(II) for all students, books, sup15 plies, transportation, and miscella16 neous personal expenses (which may 

17 include costs of health insurance and 

18 dependent care), as determined under 

19 section 472 of the Higher Education 

20 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087ll). 

21 ‘‘(B) An indication of the academic period 

22 covered by the financial aid offer, and an expla23 nation that the financial aid offered may 

24 change for academic periods not covered by the 

25 aid offer. 


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1 ‘‘(C) An indication of whether cost and aid 

2 estimates are based on full-time or part-time 

3 enrollment. 

4 ‘‘(D) An indication, as applicable, about 

5 whether the tuition and fees are estimated 

6 based on the previous year, or are set, for the 

7 academic period indicated in accordance with 

8 subparagraph (B). 

9 ‘‘(2) FINANCIAL AID.—The amount and source 

10 of financial aid that the student does not have to 

11 repay, such as scholarships, grant aid offered under 

12 title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

13 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.), grant aid offered through 

14 other Federal programs, or grant aid offered by the 

15 institution, a State, or, if known, an outside source 

16 to the student for such academic period, including— 

17 ‘‘(A) a disclosure that the financial aid 

18 does not have to be repaid; and 

19 ‘‘(B) if institutional aid is included— 

20 ‘‘(i) the conditions under which the 

21 student can expect to receive similar 

22 amounts of such financial aid for each aca23 demic period the student is enrolled at the 

24 institution; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) whether the institutional aid 

2 offer may change if grants or scholarships 

3 from outside sources are applied after the 

4 student receives the offer form, and, if ap5 plicable, how that aid will change. 

6 ‘‘(3) NET PRICE.— 

7 ‘‘(A) The net price that the student, or the 

8 student’s family on behalf of the student, is es9 timated to have to pay for the student to attend 

10 the institution for such academic period, equal 

11 to— 

12 ‘‘(i) the cost of attendance as de13 scribed in paragraph (1)(A) for the stu14 dent for the period indicated in paragraph 

15 (1)(B); minus 

16 ‘‘(ii) the amount of grant aid de17 scribed in paragraph (2) that is included in 

18 the financial aid offer form. 

19 ‘‘(B) A disclosure that the net price is an 

20 estimate of the total expenses for the year and 

21 not equivalent to the amount the student will 

22 owe directly to the institution. 

23 ‘‘(4) WORK-STUDY.—Information on work24 study employment opportunities, offered in accord25 ance with part C of title IV of the Higher Education 


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1 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087–51 et seq.) including 

2 a disclosure that the work-study aid offered is sub3 ject to the availability of qualified employment op4 portunities and is disbursed over time as earned by 

5 the student. Work-study employment opportunities 

6 (or a student’s potential income based on those op7 portunities) shall not be included in the category of 

8 financial aid described under paragraph (2). 

9 ‘‘(5) LOANS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) Information on any loan under part 

11 D or part E of title IV of the Higher Education 

12 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.; 20 

13 U.S.C. 1087aa et seq.) (except a Federal Direct 

14 PLUS Loan under part D of that Act) that the 

15 institution recommends for the student for the 

16 academic period covered by the offer, which 

17 shall be made— 

18 ‘‘(i) with clear use of the word ‘loan’ 

19 to describe the recommended loan 

20 amounts; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) with clear labeling of subsidized 

22 and unsubsidized loans. 

23 ‘‘(B) A disclosure that such loans have to 

24 be repaid and a disclosure that the student can 


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1 borrow a lesser or, if applicable, greater amount 

2 than the recommended loan amount. 

3 ‘‘(C) A disclosure that the interest rates 

4 and fees on such loans are set annually and af5 fect total cost over time, and a link to a De6 partment of Education website that includes 

7 current information on interest rates and fees. 

8 ‘‘(D) A link to the Department of Edu9 cation’s repayment calculator website for stu10 dents with instruction that this website contains 

11 customizable estimates of expected repayment 

12 costs under different loan repayment plans. 

13 ‘‘(6) PROCESS FOR ACCEPTING OR DECLINING

14 AID AND NEXT STEPS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) The deadlines and a summary of the 

16 process (including the next steps) for— 

17 ‘‘(i) accepting the financial aid offered 

18 in the financial aid offer form; 

19 ‘‘(ii) requesting higher loan amounts 

20 if recommended loan amounts were in21 cluded; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) declining aid offered in the 

23 form. 

24 ‘‘(B) Information on when and how direct 

25 costs to the institution must be paid. 


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1 ‘‘(C) A disclosure that verification of finan2 cial circumstances may require the student to 

3 submit of further documentation. 

4 ‘‘(D) Information about where a student or 

5 the student’s family can seek additional infor6 mation regarding the financial aid offered, in7 cluding contact information for the institution’s 

8 financial aid office and the Department of Edu9 cation’s website on financial aid. 

10 ‘‘(7) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—Any other 

11 information the Secretary of Education, in consulta12 tion with the heads of relevant Federal agencies, in13 cluding the Secretary of the Treasury and the Direc14 tor of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, 

15 determines necessary (based on the results of the 

16 consumer testing under paragraph (g)(2)) so that 

17 students and parents can make informed loan bor18 rowing decisions, which may include— 

19 ‘‘(A) the most recent cohort default rate, 

20 as defined in section 435(m) of the Higher 

21 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1085(m)) 

22 with respect to an institution where more than 

23 30 percent of enrolled students borrow loans to 

24 pay for their education, and a comparison to 

25 the national average cohort default rate; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the percentage of students at the in2 stitution who borrow student loans; 

3 ‘‘(C) the median loan debt at graduation 

4 for students at the institution (clearly marked 

5 as including only Federal loans if private loan 

6 data are not available to be included); and 

7 ‘‘(D) the estimated institutional charges 

8 that the student, or the student’s family on be9 half of the student, will have to pay directly to 

10 the institution for the student to attend the in11 stitution for the academic period described in 

12 paragraph (1)(B), equal to— 

13 ‘‘(i) the total direct costs as described 

14 in paragraph (1)(A)(i) for the student for 

15 the period indicated in paragraph (1)(B); 

16 minus 

17 ‘‘(ii) the amount of grant aid de18 scribed in paragraph (2) that is included 

19 on the financial aid offer form. 

20 ‘‘(c) OTHER REQUIRED CONTENTS FOR THE OFFER

21 FORM.—The standard form developed under subsection 

22 (a) shall include, in addition to the information described 

23 in subsection (b), the following information to be included 

24 on the financial aid offer form in a concise format deterVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:33 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S888.IS S888

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1 mined by the Secretary of Education, in consultation with 

2 the heads of relevant Federal agencies: 

3 ‘‘(1) At the institution’s discretion— 

4 ‘‘(A) additional options and potential re5 sources for paying for the amount listed in sub6 section (b)(3), such as tuition payment plans; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(B) a disclosure that Federal Direct 

9 PLUS Loans or private education loans may be 

10 available to cover remaining need, except that 

11 the institution may not include an amount for 

12 Federal Direct PLUS Loans or private edu13 cation loans and must include a disclosure for 

14 Federal Direct PLUS Loans that such loans 

15 are subject to an additional application process, 

16 have to be repaid by the borrower, and may not 

17 be eligible for all the benefits available for Fed18 eral Direct Stafford Loans or Federal Direct 

19 Unsubsidized Stafford Loans. 

20 ‘‘(2) The following information relating to pri21 vate student loans: 

22 ‘‘(A) A statement that students consid23 ering borrowing to cover the cost of attendance 

24 should consider available Federal student loans 

25 prior to applying for private education loans, inVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:33 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S888.IS S888

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1 cluding an explanation that Federal student 

2 loans offer generally more favorable terms and 

3 beneficial repayment options than private loans. 

4 ‘‘(B) The impact of a proposed private 

5 education loan on the student’s potential eligi6 bility for other financial assistance, including 

7 Federal financial assistance under title IV of 

8 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

9 1070 et seq.). 

10 ‘‘(C) A statement explaining the student’s 

11 ability to select a private educational lender of 

12 the student’s choice. 

13 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR FINANCIAL

14 AID OFFER FORM.—The financial aid offer form shall 

15 meet the following requirements: 

16 ‘‘(1) Include, in addition to the requirements 

17 described in subsections (b) and (c), a concise sum18 mary, in plain language, of— 

19 ‘‘(A) the terms and conditions of financial 

20 aid recommended under paragraphs (2), (4), 

21 and (5) of subsection (b), and a method to pro22 vide students with additional information about 

23 such terms and conditions, such as links to the 

24 supplementary information; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) Federal, State, or institutional condi2 tions required to receive and renew financial aid 

3 and a method to provide students with addi4 tional information about these conditions, such 

5 as links to the supplementary information. 

6 ‘‘(2) Clearly distinguish between the aid offered 

7 in paragraphs (2), (4), and (5) of subsection (b), by 

8 including a subtotal for the aid offered in each of 

9 such paragraphs and by refraining from commin10 gling the different types of aid described in such 

11 paragraphs. 

12 ‘‘(3) Use standard terminology and definitions, 

13 as described in subsection (e)(1) and use plain lan14 guage where possible. 

15 ‘‘(4) If an institution’s recommended Federal 

16 student loan aid offered in subsection (b)(5) is less 

17 than the Federal maximum available to the student, 

18 the institution shall provide additional information 

19 on Federal student loans, including the types and 

20 amounts for which the student is eligible in an at21 tached document or webpage. 

22 ‘‘(5) Use the standard offer form described in 

23 subsection (e)(2). 

24 ‘‘(6) Include the standardized statement regard25 ing the possible availability of Federal education 


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1 benefits, as established by the Secretary in accord2 ance with subsection (e)(3). 

3 ‘‘(7) Include a delivery confirmation for elec4 tronic financial aid offer forms, except that receipt 

5 of the financial aid offer form shall not be consid6 ered an acceptance or rejection of aid by the stu7 dent. 

8 ‘‘(8) With respect to dependent students, any 

9 reference to private education loans shall be accom10 panied by— 

11 ‘‘(A) information about the availability of, 

12 and terms and conditions associated with, Fed13 eral Direct PLUS Loans under section 455 of 

14 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

15 1087e) for the student’s parents regardless of 

16 family income; and 

17 ‘‘(B) a notification of the student’s in18 creased eligibility for Federal student loans 

19 under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 

20 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) if the student’s 

21 parents are not able to borrow under the Fed22 eral Direct PLUS Loan program. 

23 ‘‘(e) STANDARD INFORMATION ESTABLISHED BY

24 THE SECRETARY.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) STANDARD TERMINOLOGY.—Not later 

2 than 3 months after the date of enactment of the 

3 Understanding the True Cost of College Act of 

4 2019, the Secretary of Education, in consultation 

5 with the heads of relevant Federal agencies, includ6 ing the Secretary of the Treasury and the Director 

7 of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, rep8 resentatives of institutions of higher education, non9 profit consumer groups, students, and secondary 

10 school and higher education guidance counselors, 

11 shall establish standard terminology and definitions 

12 for the terms described in subsection (b). 

13 ‘‘(2) STANDARD FORM.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Edu15 cation shall develop multiple draft financial aid 

16 offer forms for consumer testing, carry out con17 sumer testing for such forms, and establish a fi18 nalized standard financial aid offer form, in ac19 cordance with the process established in sub20 section (g) and the requirements of this section. 

21 ‘‘(B) SEPARATE FINANCIAL AID OFFER

22 FORMS.—The Secretary may develop separate 

23 financial aid offer forms for— 

24 ‘‘(i) undergraduate students and grad25 uate students; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) first-time students and returning 

2 students. 

3 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL BENEFITS.—The Secretary of 

4 Education, in consultation with the heads of relevant 

5 Federal agencies, including the Secretary of the 

6 Treasury, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Sec7 retary of Defense, and the Director of the Consumer 

8 Financial Protection Bureau, shall establish stand9 ard language notifying students that they may be el10 igible for education benefits (and where students can 

11 locate more information about such benefits,) includ12 ing benefits in accordance with each of the following: 

13 ‘‘(A) Chapter 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, or 35 of 

14 title 38, United States Code. 

15 ‘‘(B) Chapter 101, 105, 106A, 1606, 1607, 

16 or 1608 of title 10, United States Code. 

17 ‘‘(C) Section 1784a, 2005, or 2007 of title 

18 10, United States Code. 

19 ‘‘(f) SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION; REMOVAL OF

20 INFORMATION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) Nothing in this section shall preclude an 

22 institution from supplementing the financial aid 

23 offer form with additional information if such addi24 tional information supplements the financial aid 

25 offer form and is not located on the financial aid 


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1 offer form, and provided such information utilizes 

2 the same standard terminology identified in sub3 section (e)(1). 

4 ‘‘(2) Nothing in this section shall preclude an 

5 institution from deleting a required item if the bor6 rower is ineligible for such aid. 

7 ‘‘(g) DEVELOPMENT OF FINANCIAL AID OFFER

8 FORM.— 

9 ‘‘(1) DRAFT FORM.—Not later than 9 months 

10 after the date of enactment of the Understanding 

11 the True Cost of College Act of 2019, the Secretary 

12 of Education, in consultation with the heads of rel13 evant Federal agencies, including the Secretary of 

14 the Treasury and the Director of the Consumer Fi15 nancial Protection Bureau, representatives of insti16 tutions of higher education, nonprofit consumer 

17 groups, students, and secondary school and higher 

18 education guidance counselors, shall design and 

19 produce multiple draft financial aid offer forms for 

20 consumer testing with postsecondary students or 

21 prospective students. In developing that form, the 

22 Secretary shall ensure— 

23 ‘‘(A) that the information described in 

24 paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (b) is 

25 in the same font, appears in the same order, 


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1 and is displayed prominently on the first page 

2 of the financial aid offer form, if in paper for3 mat, or in a similarly prominent place if in elec4 tronic format, such that none of that informa5 tion is inappropriately omitted or de-empha6 sized; 

7 ‘‘(B) that the other information required 

8 in subsection (b) appears in a standard format 

9 and design on the financial aid offer form; and 

10 ‘‘(C) that the institution may include a 

11 logo or brand alongside the title of the financial 

12 aid offer form. 

13 ‘‘(2) CONSUMER TESTING.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 9 

15 months after the date of enactment of the Un16 derstanding the True Cost of College Act of 

17 2019, the Secretary of Education, in consulta18 tion with the heads of relevant Federal agen19 cies, shall establish a process to submit the fi20 nancial aid offer form drafts developed under 

21 paragraph (1) for consumer testing among rep22 resentatives of students (including low-income 

23 students, first generation college students, adult 

24 students, veterans, servicemembers, and pro25 spective students), students’ families (including 


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1 low-income families, families with first genera2 tion college students, and families with prospec3 tive students), institutions of higher education, 

4 secondary school and postsecondary counselors, 

5 and nonprofit consumer groups. 

6 ‘‘(B) PILOT.—During such consumer test7 ing, the Secretary shall ensure that not less 

8 than 16 and not more than 24 eligible institu9 tions use the draft forms developed under para10 graph (1), including institutions— 

11 ‘‘(i) that reflect a proportionate rep12 resentation (based on the total number of 

13 students enrolled in postsecondary edu14 cation) of community colleges, for-profit 

15 institutions, four year public institutions, 

16 and four year private nonprofit institu17 tions; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) that reflect geographic diversity. 

19 ‘‘(C) LENGTH OF CONSUMER TESTING.— 

20 The Secretary of Education shall ensure that 

21 the consumer testing under this paragraph lasts 

22 no longer than 8 months after the process for 

23 consumer testing is developed under subpara24 graph (A). 

25 ‘‘(3) FINAL FORM.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The results of con2 sumer testing under paragraph (2) shall be 

3 used in the final development of the financial 

4 aid offer form. 

5 ‘‘(B) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Not 

6 later than 3 months after the date the con7 sumer testing under paragraph (2) concludes, 

8 the Secretary of Education shall submit to Con9 gress and publish on its website the final stand10 ard financial aid offer form and a report detail11 ing the results of such testing, including wheth12 er the Secretary of Education added any addi13 tional items to the standard financial aid offer 

14 form pursuant to subsection (b)(8). 

15 ‘‘(4) AUTHORITY TO MODIFY.—The Secretary 

16 of Education may modify the definitions, terms, for17 matting, and design of the financial aid offer form 

18 based on the results of consumer testing required 

19 under this subsection and before finalizing the form, 

20 or in subsequent consumer testing. The Secretary 

21 may also recommend additional changes to Con22 gress.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. MANDATORY FORM. 

2 Part B of title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

3 (20 U.S.C. 1011 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 124. USE OF MANDATORY FINANCIAL AID OFFER 

6 FORM AND TERMS. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro8 vision of law, each institution of higher education that re9 ceives Federal financial assistance under this Act shall— 

10 ‘‘(1) use the financial aid offer form developed 

11 under section 484 of the Higher Education Oppor12 tunity Act (20 U.S.C. 1092 note) in providing 

13 paper, mobile-optimized offers, or other electronic of14 fers to all students who apply for aid and are accept15 ed at the institution; and 

16 ‘‘(2) use the standard terminology and defini17 tions developed by the Secretary of Education under 

18 subsection (e)(1) of that Act for all communications 

19 from the institution related to financial aid offers. 

20 ‘‘(b) EFFECTIVE DATES.—The requirements under 

21 this section shall take effect at the start of the first award 

22 year after the Secretary of Education finalizes the stand23 ard terminology and form developed in accordance with 

24 section 484 of the Higher Education Opportunity Act (20 

25 U.S.C. 1092 note).’’. 


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1 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES.—Section 492 

2 of the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1098a) shall not 

3 apply with respect to regulations promulgated in accord4 ance with this section.’’. 

Æ 


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