I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7495 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to create a demonstration 

project for competency-based education and clarify eligible competencybased education programs. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 29, 2024 

Mr. GROTHMAN (for himself, Ms. PETTERSEN, and Mr. OWENS) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 

the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to create 

a demonstration project for competency-based education 

and clarify eligible competency-based education programs. 

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 ‘‘Empowering Learners 

5 through Competency-Based Education Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Competency-based education, in which the 

2 measurement of learning in place of the measure3 ment of time is a distinguishing feature, is an effi4 cient, effective, and rigorous form of postsecondary 

5 education, the widespread adoption of which is nec6 essary and desirable as a means of improving learn7 ing outcomes, student success, and reducing the cost 

8 of higher education in the United States, and it is 

9 therefore necessary to clarify the definition of and 

10 requirements for competency-based education so as 

11 to facilitate its application and availability. 

12 (2) Reputable and responsible institutions of 

13 higher education have for many years developed, of14 fered, and demonstrated the academic rigor, effec15 tiveness, and outcomes of competency-based edu16 cation. 

17 (3) An increasing number of institutions of 

18 higher education now seek to develop and offer com19 petency-based education. 

20 (4) The collection and dissemination of com21 plete and reliable information respecting the impact 

22 of competency-based education on the quality of 

23 learning, employability and employer acceptance, re24 tention, time to completion, graduation rates, and 

25 cost will significantly enhance the adoption of comVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:59 Mar 04, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7495.IH H7495

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1 petency-based education as an essential component 

2 of postsecondary education in the United States. 

3 (5) It is in the public interest to improve the 

4 efficiency and value of postsecondary education and 

5 therefore support the offering of competency-based 

6 education. 

7 SEC. 3. GENERAL DEFINITIONS. 

8 Section 103 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

9 U.S.C. 1003) is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(25) COMPETENCY; COMPETENCY-BASED EDU12 CATION PROGRAM.— 

13 ‘‘(A) COMPETENCY.—The term ‘com14 petency’ means the knowledge, skill, abilities 

15 and behaviors needed for a particular field of 

16 study or work-based context. 

17 ‘‘(B) COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION

18 PROGRAM.—The term ‘competency-based edu19 cation program’ means a postsecondary pro20 gram, including one defined under section 

21 481(b)(4), that provides competency-based edu22 cation for which the accrediting agency or asso23 ciation of the institution of higher education of24 fering such program has approved the program 

25 in accordance with such standards— 


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1 ‘‘(i) measures academic progress and 

2 credential attainment by the assessment of 

3 student learning in lieu of, or in addition 

4 to, credit or clock hours; 

5 ‘‘(ii) measures and assesses such aca6 demic progress and attainment in terms of 

7 a student’s mastery of competencies by 

8 identifying what students know through 

9 criterion referenced or performance-based 

10 assessment; 

11 ‘‘(iii) provides the educational content, 

12 activities, support, and resources necessary 

13 to enable students to develop and attain 

14 the competencies that are required to dem15 onstrate mastery of such competencies in 

16 which instructors are responsible for pro17 viding academic assistance, when needed; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(iv) upon a student’s demonstration 

20 or mastery of a set of competencies identi21 fied and required by the institution, leads 

22 to or results in the awarding of a creden23 tial.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. REPORTING ON COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION 

2 PROGRAMS. 

3 Section 131 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

4 U.S.C. 1015) is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(i) REPORTING ON COMPETENCY7 BASED EDUCATION PROGRAMS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) Not later than 6 months after the date of 

9 enactment of the Empowering Learners through 

10 Competency-Based Education Act, the Secretary 

11 shall, for each institution that has more than 200 

12 students enrolled in competency-based education 

13 programs in an academic year (as defined in section 

14 481(a)), collect, verify, and make publicly available 

15 on the same data that is in College Scorecard, or 

16 any similar successor website. 

17 ‘‘(2) Information on competency-based edu18 cation programs conducted under this section as de19 scribed at paragraph (3) of this subsection shall be 

20 collected by the Secretary for the purpose of evalu21 ating best practices respecting the administration of 

22 such programs, including effects on student out23 comes, time to credential, total price, and job place24 ment, and shall annually report to the Congress re25 specting such findings. 


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1 ‘‘(3) For the purposes described in subsections 

2 (1) and (2) of this section, the Secretary shall collect 

3 the following information for each eligible institution 

4 offering competency-based education: 

5 ‘‘(A) The tuition and fees of the program 

6 and any other components of student’s cost of 

7 attendance (as defined in section 472) that are 

8 required for enrollment. 

9 ‘‘(B) The median earnings of students who 

10 complete and do not complete the program. 

11 ‘‘(C) The median time to credential. 

12 ‘‘(D) The number and percentage of stu13 dents who complete a credential within 100 per14 cent, 150 percent, and 200 percent of the pub15 lished length of the program. 

16 ‘‘(E) The number and percentage of stu17 dents completing the program who are em18 ployed not later than 180 days and 1 year, re19 spectively, after completing the eligible pro20 gram, if available.’’. 

21 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS OF ACADEMIC YEAR AND ELIGIBLE 

22 PROGRAM. 

23 Section 481 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

24 U.S.C. 1088) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a)(2), by inserting the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(C) For any program of competency4 based education (as defined in section 103 of 

5 this Act), the term ‘academic year’ shall require 

6 an equivalent to the credit and clock hour re7 quirements in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 

8 this subsection.’’; and 

9 (2) for purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘eligible 

10 program’’ includes a competency-based education 

11 program. 

12 SEC. 6. COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION DEMONSTRATION 

13 PROJECTS. 

14 Part G of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 

15 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1088 et seq.) is amended by inserting 

16 after section 486A the following: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 486B. COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION DEMONSTRA18 TION PROJECTS. 

19 ‘‘(a) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS AUTHORIZED.— 

20 The Secretary shall select, in accordance with subsection 

21 (d), eligible entities that voluntarily seek to carry out com22 petency-based education demonstration projects for a du23 ration of 5 years and receive waivers or other flexibility 

24 described in subsection (e) to carry out such projects. 

25 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity desir2 ing to carry out a demonstration project under this 

3 section shall submit an application to the Secretary, 

4 at such time and in such manner as the Secretary 

5 may require. 

6 ‘‘(2) OUTREACH.—The Secretary shall, prior to 

7 any deadline to submit applications under paragraph 

8 (1), conduct outreach to institutions of higher edu9 cation, in particular to institutions eligible for pro10 grams under titles III and V of this Act, as well as 

11 institutions that predominantly enroll adult learners 

12 or students with disabilities, or are located in rural 

13 areas. 

14 ‘‘(3) AMENDMENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that 

16 has been selected to carry out a demonstration 

17 project under this section may submit to the 

18 Secretary amendments to the eligible entity’s 

19 approved application under paragraph (1), at 

20 such time and in such manner as the Secretary 

21 may require, which the Secretary shall approve 

22 or deny within 30 days of receipt. 

23 ‘‘(B) EXPANDING ENROLLMENT.—Not24 withstanding the assurance required with re25 spect to maximum enrollment under paragraph 


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1 (4)(N), an eligible entity whose demonstration 

2 project has been evaluated under subsection 

3 (g)(2) not less than twice, may submit to the 

4 Secretary an amendment to the eligible entity’s 

5 application under paragraph (1) to increase en6 rollment in the project to more than 3,000 stu7 dents, but not more than 5,000 students, and 

8 which shall specify— 

9 ‘‘(i) the proposed maximum enroll10 ment and annual enrollment growth for the 

11 project; 

12 ‘‘(ii) how the eligible entity will suc13 cessfully carry out the project with such 

14 maximum enrollment and enrollment 

15 growth; 

16 ‘‘(iii) any other amendments to the el17 igible entity’s application under paragraph 

18 (1) that are related to such maximum en19 rollment or enrollment growth; and 

20 ‘‘(iv) the Secretary shall determine 

21 whether to approve or deny an amendment 

22 submitted under clause (i) for a dem23 onstration project based on the project’s 

24 evaluations under subsection (g)(2). 


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1 ‘‘(4) CONTENTS.—Each application under para2 graph (1) shall include— 

3 ‘‘(A) a description of each competency4 based education program to be offered by the 

5 eligible entity under the demonstration project; 

6 ‘‘(B) a description of the alignment of the 

7 proposed competency-based education program 

8 to the institution’s mission, and evidence of in9 stitutional commitment to such program; 

10 ‘‘(C) a description of how each program 

11 will work with employers and local industry to 

12 assess and incorporate competencies that are 

13 relevant in the labor market and how the pro14 gram aligns with employer needs; 

15 ‘‘(D) a description of the proposed aca16 demic design, academic and support services, 

17 delivery, business, and financial models for the 

18 demonstration project, including explanations 

19 and supporting documents of how each com20 petency-based education program offered under 

21 the demonstration project will— 

22 ‘‘(i) result in the achievement of com23 petencies; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) differ from standard credit or 

2 clock hour approaches, in whole or in part; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(iii) may result in an improvement in 

5 one or more student outcomes metrics de6 scribed in subparagraph (R)(i); 

7 ‘‘(E) a description of how each com8 petency-based education program offered under 

9 the demonstration project will award academic 

10 credit to advance the progress of a student to11 ward completion of a certificate or degree that 

12 is used by in-demand employers for making em13 ployment decisions; 

14 ‘‘(F) a description of how each com15 petency-based education program offered under 

16 the demonstration project is aligned with a ca17 reer pathway (as defined in section 3 of the 

18 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

19 U.S.C. 3102)), if applicable; 

20 ‘‘(G) a description of the meaningful role 

21 of the appropriate instructors of the eligible en22 tity in the development, design, implementation, 

23 delivery, and evaluation of each such com24 petency-based education program; 


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1 ‘‘(H) a description of how the eligible enti2 ty will facilitate transfer, postsecondary study, 

3 and employer understanding by articulating a 

4 competency-based transcript from a com5 petency-based education program offered under 

6 the demonstration project to a credit or clock 

7 hour transcript at another program at the eligi8 ble entity and to other institutions of higher 

9 education; 

10 ‘‘(I) a description of the statutory and reg11 ulatory requirements described in subsection (e) 

12 for which the eligible entity is seeking a waiver 

13 or other flexibility, and why such waiver or 

14 flexibility is necessary to carry out the dem15 onstration project; 

16 ‘‘(J) a description of indicators of a pro17 gram’s effectiveness to inform how a third 

18 party will reliably assess student learning for 

19 each competency-based education program of20 fered under the demonstration project, if appli21 cable; 

22 ‘‘(K) a description of how the eligible enti23 ty will develop and evaluate the competencies 

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1 cluding whether there is a relationship between 

2 the competency unit and a traditional credit or 

3 clock hour, the average time it takes to earn a 

4 competency, how such competencies and assess5 ments are aligned with workforce needs and any 

6 other considerations the institution made when 

7 it developed its unit of competency; 

8 ‘‘(L) a description of the proposal for de9 termining a student’s Federal student aid eligi10 bility under this title for participating in the 

11 demonstration project, the award and distribu12 tion of such aid, and the safeguards to ensure 

13 that students are making satisfactory progress 

14 that warrants the disbursement of such aid; 

15 ‘‘(M) an assurance that the demonstration 

16 project at each eligible entity— 

17 ‘‘(i) will enroll a minimum of 30 stu18 dents and a maximum of 3,000 students 

19 or, in the case of an eligible entity with an 

20 application amendment approved under 

21 paragraph (3)(B), the maximum enroll22 ment approved under such paragraph; 

23 ‘‘(ii) will identify and disseminate best 

24 practices with respect to the demonstration 

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1 ble entities carrying out a demonstration 

2 project under this section; 

3 ‘‘(iii) operates under an agreement 

4 with the accrediting agency or association 

5 of the eligible entity to establish the stand6 ards described in subsection (c); and 

7 ‘‘(iv) uses available funds solely for 

8 purposes of awarding academic credit to el9 igible students based on the achievement of 

10 competencies and for the related costs or 

11 fees of demonstrating the achievement of 

12 competencies; 

13 ‘‘(N) a description of the population of stu14 dents to whom competency-based education 

15 under the demonstration project will be offered, 

16 including demographic information and prior 

17 educational experience, disaggregated by stu18 dents who are Federal Pell Grant recipients, 

19 the race of the students, students with disabil20 ities, students who are veterans or members of 

21 the Armed Forces, adult learners, and first gen22 eration college students, and how such eligible 

23 entity will, when appropriate, address the spe24 cific needs of each such population of students 

25 when carrying out the demonstration project; 


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1 ‘‘(O) a description of how the institution is 

2 ensuring that students participating in the dem3 onstration project will not, on average, be eligi4 ble for more or less Federal assistance under 

5 this title than such students would have been 

6 eligible for under a program measured in credit 

7 or clock hours; 

8 ‘‘(P) the cost of attendance for each com9 petency-based education program offered under 

10 the demonstration project, disaggregated by 

11 each of the applicable costs or allowances de12 scribed in paragraphs (1) through (13) of sec13 tion 472, and the estimated amount of the cost 

14 of attendance of each such program to be cov15 ered by need-based grant aid and merit-based 

16 grant aid from Federal, State, institutional, and 

17 private sources; and 

18 ‘‘(Q) a description of how the eligible enti19 ty will use data to— 

20 ‘‘(i) define and measure student out21 comes; 

22 ‘‘(ii) ensure that each competency23 based education program under the dem24 onstration project meets the benchmarks 


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1 established in accordance with subsection 

2 (d)(2)(E); 

3 ‘‘(iii) confirm relevancy of com4 petencies in the labor market; and 

5 ‘‘(iv) improve each such program. 

6 ‘‘(c) RECOGNITION BY ACCREDITING AGENCY OR AS7 SOCIATION.—Unless a program has already been recog8 nized as a competency-based education program (including 

9 as a direct assessment program) by the accrediting agency 

10 or association of the eligible entity, in order to carry out 

11 a competency-based education program under a dem12 onstration project under this section, an eligible entity 

13 shall include in its application under subsection (b), a let14 ter from the accrediting agency or association of the eligi15 ble entity that describes how it will establish and enforce 

16 certain standards with respect to such competency-based 

17 education program. 

18 ‘‘(d) SELECTION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 12 months 

20 after the date of enactment of the Empowering 

21 Learners through Competency-Based Education Act, 

22 the Secretary shall select eligible entities to carry 

23 out an demonstration project under this section 

24 under which at least one competency-based edu25 cation program is offered at each eligible entity. 


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1 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In selecting eligible 

2 entities under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) consider the number and quality of 

4 applications received; 

5 ‘‘(B) consider an eligible entity’s— 

6 ‘‘(i) ability to successfully execute the 

7 demonstration project as described in the 

8 eligible entity’s application under sub9 section (b); 

10 ‘‘(ii) commitment and ability to effec11 tively finance the demonstration project; 

12 ‘‘(iii) ability to provide administrative 

13 capability and the expertise to evaluate 

14 student progress based on measures other 

15 than credit hours or clock hours; 

16 ‘‘(iv) history of compliance with the 

17 requirements of this Act; 

18 ‘‘(v) commitment to work with the 

19 Secretary to evaluate the demonstration 

20 project and the impact of the demonstra21 tion project under subsection (g)(2); 

22 ‘‘(vi) commitment and ability to as23 sess student learning through a third 

24 party, as applicable; 


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1 ‘‘(vii) commitment of the accrediting 

2 agency or association of the eligible entity 

3 to establish and enforce the standards de4 scribed in subsection (c); and 

5 ‘‘(viii) commitment to collaboration 

6 with an employer to determine how the 

7 demonstration project will meet employer 

8 needs; 

9 ‘‘(C) ensure the selection of a diverse 

10 group of eligible entities with respect to size, 

11 mission, student population, and geographic 

12 distribution; 

13 ‘‘(D) not limit the types of programs of 

14 study or courses of study approved for partici15 pation in a demonstration project; and 

16 ‘‘(E) not select an eligible entity that, for 

17 1 or both of the preceding 2 fiscal years— 

18 ‘‘(i) was under probation or an equiv19 alent status from the accrediting agency or 

20 association of the eligible entity; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) was under sanction from the au22 thorization agency of the State in which 

23 the eligible entity is located. 

24 ‘‘(e) WAIVERS AND OTHER FLEXIBILITY.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to any eligible 

2 entity selected to carry out a demonstration project 

3 under this section, the Secretary may— 

4 ‘‘(A) waive any requirements of the provi5 sions of law (including any regulations promul6 gated under such provisions) listed in para7 graph (2) for which the eligible entity has pro8 vided a reason for waiving under subsection 

9 (b)(4)(J); or 

10 ‘‘(B) provide other flexibility, but not 

11 waive, any requirements of the provisions of law 

12 (including any regulations promulgated under 

13 such provisions) listed in paragraph (3) for 

14 which the eligible entity has provided a reason 

15 with which the Secretary agrees for such flexi16 bility under subsection (b)(4)(J). 

17 ‘‘(2) PROVISIONS ELIGIBLE FOR WAIVERS.— 

18 The Secretary may waive the following under para19 graph (1)(A): 

20 ‘‘(A) Subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 

21 102(a)(3). 

22 ‘‘(B) Section 484(l)(1). 

23 ‘‘(3) PROVISIONS ELIGIBLE FOR FLEXI24 BILITY.—The Secretary may provide the flexibility 

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1 quirements under provisions in title I, part F of this 

2 title, or this part, that inhibit the operation of a 

3 competency-based education program, relating to the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(A) Documenting attendance. 

6 ‘‘(B) Weekly academic activity. 

7 ‘‘(C) Minimum weeks of instructional time. 

8 ‘‘(D) Requirements for credit hour or clock 

9 hour equivalencies if an institution proposes a 

10 measure clearly defined in its application that 

11 accounts for the academic intensity of study. 

12 ‘‘(E) Requirements for regular and sub13 stantive interaction with the instructor. 

14 ‘‘(F) Definitions of the terms ‘academic 

15 year’, ‘full-time student’, ‘part-time student’, 

16 ‘term’ (including ‘standard term’, ‘non-term’, 

17 and ‘non-standard term’), ‘satisfactory aca18 demic progress’, ‘educational activity’, ‘program 

19 of study’, and ‘payment period’. 

20 ‘‘(G) Methods of disbursing student finan21 cial aid by institutions of higher education se22 lected, as of the date of enactment of the Em23 powering Learners through Competency-Based 

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1 tion 487A(b)(3) to carry out competency-based 

2 education programs. 

3 ‘‘(f) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 9 months after 

4 the date of enactment of the Empowering Learners 

5 through Competency-Based Education Act, the Secretary 

6 shall make available to the authorizing committees and the 

7 public a list of eligible entities selected to carry out a dem8 onstration project under this section, which shall include 

9 for each such eligible entity— 

10 ‘‘(1) the specific waiver or other flexibility from 

11 statutory or regulatory requirements offered under 

12 subsection (e); and 

13 ‘‘(2) a description of the competency-based edu14 cation programs, and its associated accreditation 

15 standards, to be offered under the project. 

16 ‘‘(g) EVALUATION AND REPORT.— 

17 ‘‘(1) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall evalu18 ate the demonstration programs authorized under 

19 this section on an annual basis. Such evaluations 

20 specifically shall review— 

21 ‘‘(A) the extent to which the institution, 

22 has met the goals set forth in its application to 

23 the Secretary; 

24 ‘‘(B) the number and types of students 

25 participating in the programs offered, including 


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1 the progress of participating students toward 

2 recognized certificates or degrees and the extent 

3 to which participation in such programs in4 creased; 

5 ‘‘(C) issues related to student financial as6 sistance for competency-based education; and 

7 ‘‘(D) the extent to which statutory or regu8 latory requirements not waived under the dem9 onstration program present difficulties for stu10 dents or institutions. 

11 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—No later than 1 year after the 

12 conclusion of the demonstration program, the Sec13 retary shall provide a final report to the authorizing 

14 committees regarding— 

15 ‘‘(A) the demonstration programs author16 ized under this section; 

17 ‘‘(B) the number and types of students re18 ceiving assistance under this title for instruc19 tion leading to a recognized credential, certifi20 cate, or degree, including the progress of such 

21 students toward recognized credential, certifi22 cate, and the degree to which participation in 

23 such programs leading to such certificates in24 creased; 


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1 ‘‘(C) identified policies that present im2 pediments to the development and use of com3 petency-based education; and 

4 ‘‘(D) any new understanding of com5 petency and competency-based education and 

6 recommendations on how the definitions of such 

7 terms should be modified. 

8 ‘‘(h) OVERSIGHT.—In conducting the demonstration 

9 program authorized under this section, the Secretary 

10 shall, on a continuing basis— 

11 ‘‘(1) assure compliance of institutions with the 

12 requirements of this title (other than the sections 

13 and regulations that are waived under subsections 

14 (b)(2) and (b)(3)(D)); and 

15 ‘‘(2) provide technical assistance;’’. 

16 SEC. 7. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

17 Nothing in this Act shall prevent a program that is 

18 an eligible program as of the date of enactment of the 

19 Empowering Learners through Competency-Based Edu20 cation Act, including an eligible program that met the re21 quirements of a direct-assessment program under section 

22 481(b)(4) (as in effect the day before the date of enact23 ment of this Act), from continuing to be an eligible proVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:59 Mar 04, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7495.IH H7495

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1 gram during the period that such program meets the re2 quirements under the Higher Education of Act 1965. 

Æ 


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