I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3519

To address rising college tuition by strengthening the compact between the 

States, the Federal Government, and institutions of higher education 

to make college more affordable. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 19, 2003

Mr. TIERNEY (for himself, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. OWENS, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. ANDREWS, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. 

WU, Mr. HOLT, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. CASE, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. VAN

HOLLEN, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Mr. EMANUEL, 

and Ms. PELOSI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL

To address rising college tuition by strengthening the compact between the States, the Federal Government, and 

institutions of higher education to make college more 

affordable.

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘College Affordability and Accountability Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—
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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. References; effective date. 

Sec. 3. Findings. 

Sec. 4. State commitment to affordable college education. 

Sec. 5. Cost containment strategies. 

Sec. 6. Pell Plus. 

Sec. 7. Cooperative education rewards for institutions that restrain tuition increases. 

Sec. 8. Study. 

Sec. 9. Articulation agreement demonstration program. 

Sec. 10. Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance.

1 SEC. 2. REFERENCES; EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 (a) REFERENCE.—Whenever in this Act an amend3 ment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment 

4 to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference 

5 shall be considered to be made to a section or other provi6 sion of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 

7 et seq.). 

8 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Except as otherwise provided 

9 in this Act, the amendments made by this Act shall take 

10 effect on the date of enactment of this Act. 

11 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

12 The Congress finds the following: 

13 (1) A quality college degree is the cornerstone 

14 of the American dream, opening the door to job op15 portunity and professional fulfillment, while increas16 ing earning power by more than a million dollars 

17 over a lifetime; therefore, States and the Federal 

18 Government should do more to make it affordable 

19 and accessible to all qualified students because—
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1 (A) recent shifts in the economy have in2 creased the demand for college-educated work3 ers and increased the wage gap between college4 educated workers and those without a degree 

5 (workers with a bachelor’s degree earn 75 per6 cent more than workers with just a high school 

7 diploma); 

8 (B) jobs requiring some postsecondary 

9 education are expected to account for about 42 

10 percent of total job growth from 2000 through 

11 2010; 

12 (C) low-income, college-qualified high 

13 school graduates have an annual unmet need 

14 for student financial assistance of $3,800 in 

15 college expenses, expenses not covered by 

16 grants, loans, work, or family savings; 

17 (D) 46 percent of all students who work in 

18 addition to being full-time students report 25 

19 hours or more a week of employment; and 

20 (E) 50 percent of those employed more 

21 than 25 hours a week report that working hurts 

22 their grades and retention in college, and stu23 dents who work more than 35 hours a week are 

24 considerably less likely to complete a year of 
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1 college than those who work less than 15 hours 

2 a week. 

3 (2) State spending on higher education has de4 creased dramatically over time, and as a result, stu5 dents and their families, particularly working class 

6 and middle class families, have to pay a larger por7 tion of college costs: 

8 (A) In 2003–2004, tuition and fees in9 creased at colleges and universities across the 

10 country. Tuition increased by 14.1 percent at 

11 four-year public institutions, 13.8 percent at 

12 two-year public institutions, and 6.0 percent at 

13 four-year private institutions. 

14 (B) While 70 percent of all students pay 

15 $8,000 or less in tuition each year, low-income 

16 students continue to fall far behind in accessing 

17 a college education. 

18 (C) The ratio of a low-income family’s 

19 earnings used to pay for tuition increased to 71 

20 percent, while this ratio held steady for middle21 income families at 17 percent and 6 percent for 

22 those with the highest incomes. 

23 (3) Federal student aid is too focused on loans 

24 instead of grant aid because—
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1 (A) although approximately 

2 $55,000,000,000 is made available annually in 

3 direct and indirect Federal aid to postsecondary 

4 education students and their families, in 2002, 

5 60 percent of such Federal student aid was in 

6 the form of loans while only 40 percent was in 

7 the form of grants, a reversal of the distribu8 tion 20 years ago; 

9 (B) the purchasing power of the maximum 

10 Pell Grant has declined, as Pell Grants now 

11 cover only about 40 percent of average fixed 

12 costs at 4-year public colleges, about half of 

13 what they covered 25 years ago; and 

14 (C) average student indebtedness is 

15 $17,000, and reaches over $120,000 for profes16 sional school graduates. 

17 SEC. 4. STATE COMMITMENT TO AFFORDABLE COLLEGE 

18 EDUCATION. 

19 Title I is amended by inserting after section 131 (20 

20 U.S.C. 1015) the following new section: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 132. STATE COMMITMENT TO AFFORDABLE COLLEGE 

22 EDUCATION. 

23 ‘‘(a) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT REQUIRED.—No 

24 State shall reduce the total amount provided by the State 

25 for public institutions of higher education in such State 
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1 for any academic year beginning on or after July 1, 2003, 

2 to an amount which is less than the average amount pro3 vided by such State to such institutions of higher edu4 cation during the academic years between July 1, 1998, 

5 and July 1, 2003. 

6 ‘‘(b) WITHHOLDING OF ALL EDUCATION ADMINIS7 TRATIVE FUNDS FOR VIOLATIONS.—Notwithstanding any 

8 other provision of law, the Secretary of Education shall 

9 withhold from any State that violates subsection (a) any 

10 amount that would otherwise be available to the State for 

11 administrative expenses and costs under any Federal edu12 cation program until such State has corrected such viola13 tion.’’. 

14 SEC. 5. COST CONTAINMENT STRATEGIES. 

15 Title I is further amended by inserting after section 

16 132 (as added by section 4) the following new section: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 133. COST CONTAINMENT STRATEGIES. 

18 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENTS.—Each institution of higher 

19 education shall in accordance with the requirements of this 

20 section engage in, and report upon, cost containment 

21 strategies. Such strategies may include (but are not lim22 ited to) the following activities: 

23 ‘‘(1) bulk purchasing; 

24 ‘‘(2) joint faculty appointments; 

25 ‘‘(3) streamlining administration; 
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1 ‘‘(4) energy conservation and savings; 

2 ‘‘(5) technological innovations; and 

3 ‘‘(6) joint degree offerings. 

4 ‘‘(b) FIVE-YEAR PLANS.—Within 2 years after the 

5 enactment of the Act, each institution of higher education 

6 shall submit a 5-year plan on their cost containment strat7 egies and any progress made to date to the Secretary of 

8 Education. 

9 ‘‘(c) RESEARCH INTO COST CONTAINMENT METH10 ODS.—

11 ‘‘(1) RESEARCH AUTHORIZED.—From the 

12 funds appropriated under paragraph (2), the Sec13 retary is authorized—

14 ‘‘(A) to conduct or provide for the conduct 

15 of research to identify methods of cost contain16 ment currently utilized by institutions of higher 

17 education and systems of such institutions, and 

18 research into other possible methods of cost 

19 containment; 

20 ‘‘(B) to disseminate—

21 ‘‘(i) the information obtained by such 

22 research to such institutions and systems; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(ii) other research that has identified 

25 successful methods of cost containment; 
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1 ‘‘(C) to publicly recognize institutions of 

2 higher education that are doing an effective job 

3 at cost containment; and 

4 ‘‘(D) to work together with such institu5 tions and systems to implement these methods. 

6 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

7 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

8 this subsection $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 and 

9 such sums as may be necessary for each of the 4 

10 succeeding fiscal years. 

11 ‘‘(d) CONSUMER INFORMATION.—

12 ‘‘(1) ANNUAL REPORT REQUIRED.—

13 ‘‘(A) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The Sec14 retary shall annually prepare and publish a re15 port on college affordability in America. The 

16 college affordability report shall provide, at a 

17 minimum, comprehensive information on—

18 ‘‘(i) the sticker price, total price of at19 tendance, net tuition price, and net access 

20 price for every institution of higher edu21 cation that participates in the Federal stu22 dent aid programs under title IV of this 

23 Act; 

24 ‘‘(ii) the percentage change in the list25 ed sticker price, total price of attendance, 
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1 net tuition price, and net access price over 

2 a 3-, 5-, and 10-year time period for each 

3 such institution; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) the level of Federal and State 

5 support for higher education per capita 

6 and per pupil. 

7 ‘‘(B) ADVISORY GROUP.—To ensure that 

8 the annual college affordability in America re9 port provides consumer-friendly information, 

10 the Secretary shall convene an advisory group 

11 of students, parents, and college officials to 

12 help determine the information that shall be in13 cluded in the report. 

14 ‘‘(2) DATA DISSEMINATION.—The Secretary 

15 shall make publicly available the data collected pur16 suant to this section, including an institution’s net 

17 price tuition index as calculated in accordance with 

18 subsection (e). Such data shall be made available in 

19 a manner that permits the review and comparison of 

20 data submissions of individual institutions of higher 

21 education. Such data shall be presented in a form 

22 that is easily accessible and understandable and al23 lows parents and students to make informed deci24 sions based on the average prices for full-time un25 dergraduate students and the institution’s rate of in-
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1 crease in the sticker price, total price of attendance, 

2 net tuition price, and net access price. 

3 ‘‘(3) WEBSITE ENHANCEMENT.—

4 ‘‘(A) WEBSITE INFORMATION.—In order to 

5 further enhance public knowledge and under6 standing of college affordability, the Secretary 

7 shall modify the college opportunities on line 

8 (COOL) web site. The goal of such changes 

9 shall be to make the website the single best 

10 source of information about applying to and 

11 paying for a postsecondary education. Such 

12 changes shall make the website more user 

13 friendly and facilitate the comparison of mul14 tiple institutions at the same time. Such website 

15 shall provide detailed tuition and student aid 

16 data for each institution (including data from 

17 the annual college affordability in America re18 port). As part of improving the website, the 

19 Secretary shall establish an advisory board of 

20 students and parents to guide the redesign. The 

21 college price calculator required by paragraph 

22 (4) shall be included on the COOL website. 

23 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY IN OTHER FORM.—In 

24 addition, the Secretary shall publish all of the 

25 institutional information found on the COOL 
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1 website, minus the college price calculator, and 

2 instruct all local educational agencies to notify 

3 all their secondary schools of the publication of 

4 the COOL web site, both on-line and in-print, 

5 and of the steps necessary to procure such in6 formation both on-line and in-print. 

7 ‘‘(4) COLLEGE PRICE CALCULATOR.—

8 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary 

9 shall establish a system for reporting to pro10 spective students and families on the net tuition 

11 price of institutions of higher education. Using 

12 the most recent data available, the Secretary 

13 shall make available the amount of aid typically 

14 granted for students based on family income 

15 and college attended. Such information shall be 

16 made available in the form of a web site price 

17 calculator that permits students to be able to 

18 enter an institution of higher education and 

19 their family income and be presented the sticker 

20 price, net tuition price, and net access price for 

21 students in their income bracket in order to de22 termine the approximate cost of attending such 

23 a school. The calculator shall include a clear 

24 disclaimer that financial aid decisions are made 

25 on a case-by-case basis and that the included 
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1 calculations are based on previous years’ data 

2 and can therefore serve only as general guide3 lines for the financial aid that a student may 

4 expect to receive. 

5 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION BY IN6 STITUTIONS.—Each institution of higher edu7 cation shall make available its sticker price, 

8 total price of attendance, net tuition price, and 

9 net access price and list examples of what fami10 lies in each of the quartile income brackets 

11 might be expected to pay in the net tuition 

12 price for the most recent academic year. This 

13 information shall be provided in written form 

14 and distributed to all students and applicants 

15 and made widely available to the public. 

16 ‘‘(e) NET TUITION PRICE INDEX.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, on the 

18 basis of the data submitted under subsection (a), 

19 calculate a net tuition price index for each institu20 tion of higher education submitting such data and 

21 shall make the index available in accordance with 

22 subsection (b) as soon as operationally possible on 

23 the Department’s college opportunity on line 

24 (COOL) website. 
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1 ‘‘(2) CALCULATION OF INDEX.—The net tuition 

2 price index shall be equal to the percentage increase 

3 in the net tuition price charged for a first-time, full4 time, full-year undergraduate student between a pre5 ceding academic year and the most recent academic 

6 year for which satisfactory data are available. 

7 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section: 

8 ‘‘(1) NET ACCESS PRICE.—The term ‘net access 

9 price’ means the average total price of attendance 

10 for full-time undergraduate students, minus the av11 erage grants, loans, and work-study provided to such 

12 students, for any academic year. 

13 ‘‘(2) NET TUITION PRICE.— The term ‘net tui14 tion price’ means the average tuition and fees 

15 charged to full-time undergraduate students, minus 

16 the average grants provided to such students, for 

17 any academic year. 

18 ‘‘(3) STICKER PRICE.—The term ‘sticker price’ 

19 means the average tuition and fees charged to full20 time undergraduate students by an institution of 

21 higher education for any academic year. 

22 ‘‘(4) TOTAL PRICE OF ATTENDANCE.—The 

23 term ‘total price of attendance’ means the average 

24 tuition and fees charged to full-time undergraduate 

25 students, as well as the average of the other ex-
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1 penses of such students related to obtaining a higher 

2 education, including housing (room and board if the 

3 student lives on campus, or rent or related housing 

4 costs if the student does not live on campus), books, 

5 transportation, for any academic year. 

6 ‘‘(5) TUITION.—The term ‘tuition’ means the 

7 average price of or payment for actual instruction of 

8 full-time undergraduate students at an institution of 

9 higher education, for any academic year.’’. 

10 SEC. 6. PELL PLUS. 

11 Subpart 1 of part A of title IV is amended by insert12 ing after section 401 (20 U.S.C. 1070a) the following new 

13 section: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 401A. INCENTIVES AND REWARDS: PELL PLUS. 

15 ‘‘(a) REWARDS FOR LOW TUITION.—For any institu16 tion of higher education that, for academic year 2003–

17 2004 or any succeeding academic year, such institution’s 

18 annual net tuition price increase (expressed as a percent19 age) for the most recent academic year for which satisfac20 tory data is available is equal to or less than the percent21 age change in the higher education price index for such 

22 academic year, the Secretary shall, notwithstanding any 

23 other provision of the law, provide such institution an 

24 amount sufficient to provide a 25 percent increase under 

25 subpart 1 of part A of title IV to each Pell Grant recipient 
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1 attending such institution for the next award year begin2 ning after the date of such determination. Each such insti3 tution shall distribute any amounts received under this 

4 subsection among such Pell Grant recipients by increasing 

5 the amount of their Pell Grant awards by 25 percent. 

6 ‘‘(b) REWARDS FOR GUARANTEED TUITION.—

7 ‘‘(1) BONUS.—For each institution of higher 

8 education that the Secretary of Education deter9 mines complies with the requirements of paragraph 

10 (2) or paragraph (3) of this subsection, the Sec11 retary shall, notwithstanding any other provision of 

12 the law, provide such institution an amount suffi13 cient to provide a 10 percent increase under subpart 

14 1 of part A of title IV to each Pell Grant recipient 

15 attending such institution for the next award year 

16 beginning after the date of such determination. Each 

17 such institution shall distribute any amounts re18 ceived under this subsection among such Pell Grant 

19 recipients by increasing the amount of their Pell 

20 Grant awards by 10 percent. 

21 ‘‘(2) 4-YEAR INSTITUTIONS.—An institution of 

22 higher education that provides a program of instruc23 tion for which it awards a bachelor’s degree complies 

24 with the requirements of this paragraph if such in25 stitution guarantees that for any academic year be-
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1 ginning on or after July 1, 2003, and for each of the 

2 4 succeeding continuous academic years, the net tui3 tion price charged to an undergraduate student will 

4 not exceed—

5 ‘‘(A) the amount that the student was 

6 charged for an academic year at the time he or 

7 she first enrolled in the institution of higher 

8 education, plus 

9 ‘‘(B) the product of the percentage in10 crease in the higher education price index for 

11 the prior academic year, or the most recent 

12 prior academic year for which data is available, 

13 multiplied by the amount determined under 

14 subparagraph (A). 

15 ‘‘(3) LESS-THAN 4-YEAR INSTITUTIONS.—An 

16 institution of higher education that does not provide 

17 a program of instruction for which it awards a bach18 elor’s degree complies with the requirements of this 

19 paragraph if such institution guarantees that for 

20 any academic year (or the equivalent) beginning on 

21 or after July 1, 2003, and for each of the 1.5 suc22 ceeding continuous academic years, the net tuition 

23 price charged to an undergraduate student will not 

24 exceed—
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1 ‘‘(A) the amount that the student was 

2 charged for an academic year at the time he or 

3 she first enrolled in the institution of higher 

4 education, plus 

5 ‘‘(B) the product of the percentage in6 crease in the higher education price index for 

7 the prior academic year, or the most recent 

8 prior academic year for which data is available, 

9 multiplied by the amount determined under 

10 subparagraph (A). 

11 ‘‘(c) MAINTAINING AFFORDABLE TUITION.—For any 

12 institution of higher education whose increase in the an13 nual net tuition price (expressed as a percentage), for the 

14 most recent academic year for which satisfactory data is 

15 available, is greater than the percentage increase in the 

16 higher education price index for such academic year, the 

17 Secretary shall require such institution to submit to the 

18 Secretary the following information, within 6 months of 

19 such determination: 

20 ‘‘(1) a detailed report on the exact causes for 

21 the net tuition price increase that outlines revenues 

22 and expenditures; and 

23 ‘‘(2) cost containment strategies to lower net 

24 tuition prices. 

25 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) NET TUITION PRICE.—The term ‘net tui2 tion price’ has the same meaning as provided in sec3 tion 133(f). 

4 ‘‘(2) HIGHER EDUCATION PRICE INDEX.—The 

5 term ‘higher education price index’ means a statis6 tical measure of change over time in the prices of a 

7 fixed market basket of goods and services purchased 

8 by colleges and universities through current fund 

9 educational and general expenditures (excluding ex10 penditures for research), as developed by the Bureau 

11 of Labor Statistics pursuant to section 131(c)(4).’’. 

12 SEC. 7. COOPERATIVE EDUCATION REWARDS FOR INSTITU13 TIONS THAT RESTRAIN TUITION INCREASES. 

14 The Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1101 

15 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following 

16 title: 

17 ‘‘TITLE VIII—COOPERATIVE EDU18 CATION REWARDS FOR INSTI19 TUTIONS THAT RESTRAIN 

20 TUITION INCREASES 

21 ‘‘SEC. 801. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE; ELIGIBLE INSTITU22 TIONS. 

23 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this title to 

24 award grants to institutions of higher education or com25 binations of such institutions that have restrained their 
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1 net tuition price increases in order to encourage such insti2 tutions to develop and make available to as many of their 

3 students as possible work experience that will aid such stu4 dents in future careers and will enable such students to 

5 support themselves financially while in school. 

6 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTIONS.—An institution of 

7 higher education shall be eligible to apply for a grant 

8 under this title if such institution, and a combination of 

9 such institutions shall be eligible to apply for such a grant 

10 if each institution in such combination—

11 ‘‘(1) for the academic year for which the insti12 tution is applying, keeps such institution’s annual 

13 net tuition price increase (expressed as a percent14 age) for the most recent academic year for which 

15 satisfactory data is available equal to or less than 

16 the percentage change in the higher education price 

17 index for such year; and 

18 ‘‘(2) for such academic year, provides the guar19 antee required by paragraph (2) or (3) of section 

20 401A(b). 

21 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—

22 ‘‘(1) COOPERATIVE EDUCATION.—For the pur23 pose of this title the term ‘cooperative education’ 

24 means the provision of alternating or parallel periods 

25 of academic study and public or private employment 
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1 in order to give students work experiences related to 

2 their academic or occupational objectives and an op3 portunity to earn the funds necessary for continuing 

4 and completing their education. 

5 ‘‘(2) HIGHER EDUCATION PRICE INDEX AND

6 NET TUITION PRICE.—The terms ‘higher education 

7 price index’ and ‘net tuition price’ have the same 

8 meaning as provided in section 133(f). 

9 ‘‘SEC. 802. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; RES10 ERVATIONS. 

11 ‘‘(a) APPROPRIATIONS AUTHORIZED.—There are au12 thorized to be appropriated to carry out this title 

13 $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 and such sums as may 

14 be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years. 

15 ‘‘(b) RESERVATIONS.—Of the amount appropriated 

16 in each fiscal year—

17 ‘‘(1) not less than 50 percent shall be available 

18 for carrying out grants to institutions of higher edu19 cation and combinations of such institutions de20 scribed in section 803(a)(1)(A) for cooperative edu21 cation under section 803; 

22 ‘‘(2) not less than 25 percent shall be available 

23 for carrying out grants to institutions of higher edu24 cation described in section 803(a)(1)(B) for coopera25 tive education under section 803; 
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1 ‘‘(3) not to exceed 11 percent shall be available 

2 for demonstration projects under paragraph (1) of 

3 section 804(a); 

4 ‘‘(4) not to exceed 11 percent shall be available 

5 for training and resource centers under paragraph 

6 (2) of section 804(a); and 

7 ‘‘(5) not to exceed 3 percent shall be available 

8 for research under paragraph (3) of section 804(a). 

9 ‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Appro10 priations under this title shall not be available for the pay11 ment of compensation of students for employment by em12 ployers under arrangements pursuant to this title. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 803. GRANTS FOR COOPERATIVE EDUCATION. 

14 ‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is author16 ized—

17 ‘‘(A) from the amount available under sec18 tion 802(b)(1) in each fiscal year and in accord19 ance with the provisions of this title, to make 

20 grants to institutions of higher education or 

21 combinations of such institutions that have not 

22 received a grant under this paragraph in the 

23 10-year period preceding the date for which a 

24 grant under this section is requested to pay the 

25 Federal share of the cost of planning, estab-
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1 lishing, expanding, or carrying out programs of 

2 cooperative education by such institutions or 

3 combinations of institutions; and 

4 ‘‘(B) from the amount available under sec5 tion 802(b)(2) in each fiscal year and in accord6 ance with the provisions of this title, to make 

7 grants to institutions of higher education that 

8 are operating an existing cooperative education 

9 program as determined by the Secretary to pay 

10 the cost of planning, establishing, expanding, or 

11 carrying out programs of cooperative education 

12 by such institutions. 

13 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM REQUIREMENT.—Cooperative 

14 education programs assisted under this section shall 

15 provide alternating or parallel periods of academic 

16 study and of public or private employment, giving 

17 students work experience related to their academic 

18 or occupational objectives and the opportunity to 

19 earn the funds necessary for continuing and com20 pleting their education. 

21 ‘‘(3) AMOUNT OF GRANTS.—

22 ‘‘(A) The amount of each grant awarded 

23 pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) to any institution 

24 of higher education or combination of such in-
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1 stitutions in any fiscal year shall not exceed 

2 $500,000. 

3 ‘‘(B)(i) Except as provided in clauses (ii) 

4 and (iii), the Secretary shall award grants in 

5 each fiscal year to each institution of higher 

6 education described in paragraph (1)(B) that 

7 has an application approved under subsection 

8 (b) in an amount which bears the same ratio to 

9 the amount reserved pursuant to section 

10 802(b)(2) for such fiscal year as the number of 

11 unduplicated students placed in cooperative 

12 education jobs during the preceding fiscal year 

13 (other than cooperative education jobs under 

14 section 804 and as determined by the Sec15 retary) by such institution of higher education 

16 bears to the total number of all such students 

17 placed in such jobs during the preceding fiscal 

18 year by all such institutions. 

19 ‘‘(ii) No institution of higher education 

20 shall receive a grant pursuant to paragraph 

21 (1)(B) in any fiscal year in an amount which 

22 exceeds 25 percent of such institution’s cooper23 ative education program’s personnel and oper24 ating budget for the preceding fiscal year. 
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1 ‘‘(iii) The minimum annual grant amount 

2 which an institution of higher education is eligi3 ble to receive under paragraph (1)(B) is $1,000 

4 and the maximum annual grant amount is 

5 $75,000. 

6 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall not 

7 award grants pursuant to paragraphs (1)(A) and 

8 (1)(B) to the same institution of higher education or 

9 combination of such institution in any one fiscal 

10 year. 

11 ‘‘(5) USES.—Grants under paragraph (1)(B) 

12 shall be used exclusively—

13 ‘‘(A) to expand the quality and participa14 tion of a cooperative education program; 

15 ‘‘(B) for outreach in new curricular areas; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(C) for outreach to potential participants 

18 including underrepresented and nontraditional 

19 populations. 

20 ‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.—Each institution of higher edu21 cation or combination of such institutions desiring to re22 ceive a grant under this section shall submit an application 

23 to the Secretary at such time and in such manner as the 

24 Secretary shall prescribe. Each such application shall—
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1 ‘‘(1) set forth the program or activities for 

2 which a grant is authorized under this section; 

3 ‘‘(2) specify each portion of such program or 

4 activities which will be performed by a nonprofit or5 ganization or institution other than the applicant 

6 and the compensation to be paid for such perform7 ance; 

8 ‘‘(3) provide that the applicant will expend dur9 ing such fiscal year for the purpose of such program 

10 or activities not less than the amount expended for 

11 such purpose during the previous fiscal year; 

12 ‘‘(4) describe the plans which the applicant will 

13 carry out to assure, and contain a formal statement 

14 of the institution’s commitment which assures, that 

15 the applicant will continue the cooperative education 

16 program beyond the 5-year period of Federal assist17 ance described in subsection (c)(1) at a level which 

18 is not less than the total amount expended for such 

19 program during the first year such program was as20 sisted under this section; 

21 ‘‘(5) provide that, in the case of an institution 

22 of higher education that provides a 2-year program 

23 which is acceptable for full credit toward a bach24 elor’s degree, the cooperative education program will 

25 be available to students who are certificate or asso-
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1 ciate degree candidates and who carry at least one2 half the normal full-time academic workload; 

3 ‘‘(6) provide that the applicant will—

4 ‘‘(A) make such reports as may be essen5 tial to ensure that the applicant is complying 

6 with the provisions of this section, including the 

7 reports for the second and each succeeding fis8 cal year for which the applicant receives a grant 

9 with respect to the impact of the cooperative 

10 education program in the previous fiscal year, 

11 including—

12 ‘‘(i) the number of unduplicated stu13 dent applicants in the cooperative edu14 cation program; 

15 ‘‘(ii) the number of unduplicated stu16 dents placed in cooperative education jobs; 

17 ‘‘(iii) the number of employers who 

18 have hired cooperative education students; 

19 ‘‘(iv) the income for students derived 

20 from working in cooperative education 

21 jobs; and 

22 ‘‘(v) the increase or decrease in the 

23 number of unduplicated students placed in 

24 cooperative education jobs in each fiscal 
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1 year compared to the previous fiscal year; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(B) keep such records as are essential to 

4 ensure that the applicant is complying with the 

5 provisions of this title, including the notation of 

6 cooperative education employment on the stu7 dent’s transcript; 

8 ‘‘(7) describe the extent to which programs in 

9 the academic discipline for which the application is 

10 made have had a favorable reception by public and 

11 private sector employers; 

12 ‘‘(8) describe the extent to which the institution 

13 is committed to extending cooperative education on 

14 an institution-wide basis for all students who can 

15 benefit; 

16 ‘‘(9) describe the plans that the applicant will 

17 carry out to evaluate the applicant’s cooperative edu18 cation program at the end of the grant period; 

19 ‘‘(10) provide for such fiscal control and fund 

20 accounting procedures as may be necessary to assure 

21 proper disbursement of, and accounting for, Federal 

22 funds paid to the applicant under this title; 

23 ‘‘(11) demonstrate a commitment to serving all 

24 underserved populations; and 
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1 ‘‘(12) include such other information as is es2 sential to carry out the provisions of this title. 

3 ‘‘(c) DURATION OF GRANTS; FEDERAL SHARE.—

4 ‘‘(1) DURATION OF GRANTS.—No individual in5 stitution of higher education may receive, individ6 ually or as a participant in a combination of such in7 stitutions—

8 ‘‘(A) a grant pursuant to subsection 

9 (a)(1)(A) for more than 5 fiscal years; or 

10 ‘‘(B) a grant pursuant to subsection 

11 (a)(1)(B) for more than 5 fiscal years. 

12 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of a 

13 grant under section 803(a)(1)(A) may not exceed—

14 ‘‘(A) 85 percent of the cost of carrying out 

15 the program or activities described in the appli16 cation in the first year the applicant receives a 

17 grant under this section; 

18 ‘‘(B) 70 percent of such cost in the second 

19 such year; 

20 ‘‘(C) 55 percent of such cost in the third 

21 such year; 

22 ‘‘(D) 40 percent of such cost in the fourth 

23 such year; and 

24 ‘‘(E) 25 percent of such cost in the fifth 

25 such year. 
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1 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE.—Any provision of law to 

2 the contrary notwithstanding, the Secretary shall not 

3 waive the provisions of this subsection. 

4 ‘‘(d) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—If the Secretary 

5 determines that a recipient of funds under this section has 

6 failed to maintain the fiscal effort described in subsection 

7 (b)(3), then the Secretary may elect not to make grant 

8 payments under this section to such recipient. 

9 ‘‘(e) FACTORS FOR SPECIAL CONSIDERATION OF AP10 PLICATIONS.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In approving applications 

12 under this section, the Secretary shall give special 

13 consideration to applications from institutions of 

14 higher education or combinations of such institu15 tions for programs which show the greatest promise 

16 of success because of—

17 ‘‘(A) the extent to which programs in the 

18 academic discipline with respect to which the 

19 application is made have had a favorable recep20 tion by public and private sector employers; 

21 ‘‘(B) the strength of the commitment of 

22 the institution of higher education or combina23 tion of such institutions to cooperative edu24 cation as demonstrated by the plans and for25 malized institutional commitment statement 
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1 which such institution or combination has made 

2 to continue the program after the termination 

3 of Federal financial assistance, 

4 ‘‘(C) the extent to which the institution or 

5 combination is committed to extending coopera6 tive education for all students who can benefit, 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(D) such other factors as are consistent 

9 with the purposes of this section. 

10 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL SPECIAL CONSIDERATION.—

11 The Secretary shall also give special consideration to 

12 applications from institutions of higher education or 

13 combinations of such institutions which demonstrate 

14 a commitment to serving all underserved popu15 lations. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 804. DEMONSTRATION AND INNOVATION PROJECTS; 

17 TRAINING AND RESOURCE CENTERS; AND RE18 SEARCH. 

19 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary is authorized, 

20 in accordance with the provisions of this section, to make 

21 grants and enter into contracts for—

22 ‘‘(1) the conduct of demonstration projects de23 signed to demonstrate or determine the feasibility or 

24 value of innovative methods of cooperative education 
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1 from the amounts available in each fiscal year under 

2 section 802(b)(3); 

3 ‘‘(2) the conduct of training and resource cen4 ters designed to—

5 ‘‘(A) train personnel in the field of cooper6 ative education; 

7 ‘‘(B) improve materials used in cooperative 

8 education programs if such improvement is con9 ducted in conjunction with other activities de10 scribed in this paragraph; 

11 ‘‘(C) furnish technical assistance to institu12 tions of higher education to increase the poten13 tial of the institution to continue to conduct a 

14 cooperative education program without Federal 

15 assistance; 

16 ‘‘(D) encourage model cooperative edu17 cation programs which furnish education and 

18 training in occupations in which there is a na19 tional need; 

20 ‘‘(E) support partnerships under which an 

21 institution carrying out a comprehensive cooper22 ative education program joins with one or more 

23 institutions of higher education in order to (i) 

24 assist the institution other than the comprehen25 sive cooperative education institution to develop 
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1 and expand an existing program of cooperative 

2 education, or (ii) establish and improve or ex3 pand comprehensive cooperative education pro4 grams; and 

5 ‘‘(F) encourage model cooperative edu6 cation programs in the fields of science and 

7 mathematics for women and minorities who are 

8 underrepresented in such fields 

9 from the amounts available in each fiscal year under 

10 section 802(b)(4); and 

11 ‘‘(3) the conduct of research relating to cooper12 ative education, from the amounts available in each 

13 fiscal year under section 802(b)(5). 

14 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISION.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To carry out this section, 

16 the Secretary may—

17 ‘‘(A) make grants to or contracts with in18 stitutions of higher education, or combinations 

19 of such institutions; and 

20 ‘‘(B) make grants to or contracts with 

21 other public or private nonprofit agencies or or22 ganizations, whenever such grants or contracts 

23 will make an especially significant contribution 

24 to attaining the objectives of this section. 

25 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—
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1 ‘‘(A) The Secretary may not use more than 

2 3 percent of the amount appropriated to carry 

3 out this section in each fiscal year to enter into 

4 contracts described in paragraph (1)(A). 

5 ‘‘(B) The Secretary may use not more 

6 than 3 percent of the amount appropriated to 

7 carry out this section in each fiscal year to 

8 enter into contracts described in paragraph 

9 (1)(B). 

10 ‘‘(c) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—A recipient of 

11 a grant or contract under this section may use the funds 

12 provided only so as to supplement and, to the extent pos13 sible, increase the level of funds that would, in the absence 

14 of such funds, be made available from non-Federal sources 

15 to carry out the activities supported by such grant or con16 tract, and in no case to supplant such funds from non17 Federal sources.’’. 

18 SEC. 8. STUDY. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education shall 

20 commission the National Research Council to conduct a 

21 national study to determine the viability of developing and 

22 implementing standards in environmental, health, and 

23 safety areas to provide for differential regulation of indus24 trial laboratories and facilities, on the one hand, and re25 search and teaching laboratories on the other. The Na-
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1 tional Research Council shall make specific recommenda2 tions for statutory and regulatory changes that are needed 

3 to develop such a differential approach. 

4 (b) REPORT.—The Secretary of Education shall sub5 mit the list of those regulations that impose the greatest 

6 compliance costs on institutions of higher education and 

7 make recommendations for statutory changes to ease the 

8 compliance burden to the Committee on Health, Edu9 cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Com10 mittee on Education and the Workforce of the House of 

11 Representatives. 

12 SEC. 9. ARTICULATION AGREEMENT DEMONSTRATION 

13 PROGRAM. 

14 Part G of title IV is amended by inserting after sec15 tion 486 (20 U.S.C. 1093) the following new section: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 486A. ARTICULATION AGREEMENT DEMONSTRATION 

17 PROGRAM. 

18 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE; DEFINITION.——

19 ‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this sec20 tion to allow demonstration programs that are mon21 itored by the Department of Education to encourage 

22 institutions of higher education to enter into articu23 lation agreements or consortia groups, as a means to 

24 lower tuition prices to students. 
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1 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this 

2 section, the term ‘articulation agreement’ means an 

3 agreement between institutions of higher education 

4 that specifies the acceptability of courses in transfer 

5 toward meeting specific degree requirements. 

6 ‘‘(b) DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMS AUTHORIZED.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized 

8 to select institutions of higher education, systems of 

9 such institutions, or consortia of such institutions 

10 for voluntary participation in an articulation agree11 ment demonstration program. 

12 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—

13 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTIONS.—Except as 

14 provided in subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D), 

15 only an institution of higher education that is 

16 eligible to participate in programs under this 

17 title shall be eligible to participate in the articu18 lation program authorized under this section. 

19 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITION.—An institution of 

20 higher education described in section 

21 102(a)(1)(C) shall not be eligible to participate 

22 in the articulation program authorized under 

23 this section. 

24 ‘‘(C) SPECIAL RULE.—Subject to subpara25 graph (B), an institution of higher education 
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1 that meets the requirements of subsection (a) of 

2 section 102, other than the requirement of 

3 paragraph (3)(A) or (3)(B) of such subsection, 

4 and that provides a 2-year or 4-year program of 

5 instruction for which the institution awards an 

6 associate or baccalaureate degree, shall be eligi7 ble to participate in the demonstration program 

8 authorized under this section. 

9 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each institution, system, 

11 or consortium of institutions desiring to participate 

12 in a demonstration program under this section shall 

13 submit an application to the Secretary at such time 

14 and in such manner as the Secretary may require. 

15 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each application shall in16 clude—

17 ‘‘(A) a description of the institution, sys18 tem, or consortium’s consultation with a recog19 nized accrediting agency or association with re20 spect to quality assurances for the articulation 

21 programs to be offered; 

22 ‘‘(B) a description of the articulation pro23 gram to be offered; 

24 ‘‘(C) a description of the students to whom 

25 the articulation programs will be offered; 
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1 ‘‘(D) an assurance that the institution, 

2 system, or consortium will offer full cooperation 

3 with the ongoing evaluations of the demonstra4 tion program provided for in this section; and 

5 ‘‘(E) such other information as the Sec6 retary may require. 

7 ‘‘(d) SELECTION.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the first year of the 

9 demonstration program authorized under this sec10 tion, the Secretary is authorized to select for partici11 pation in the program not more than 100 institu12 tions, systems of institutions, or consortia of institu13 tions. For the third year of the demonstration pro14 gram authorized under this section, the Secretary 

15 may select not more than 250 institutions, systems, 

16 or consortia, in addition to the institutions, systems, 

17 or consortia selected pursuant to the preceding sen18 tence, to participate in the demonstration program if 

19 the Secretary determines that such expansion is war20 ranted based on the evaluations conducted in accord21 ance with subsections (f) and (g). 

22 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In selecting institu23 tions to participate in the articulation program in 

24 the first or succeeding years of the program, the 

25 Secretary shall take into account—
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1 ‘‘(A) the number and quality of applica2 tions received; 

3 ‘‘(B) the Department’s capacity to oversee 

4 and monitor each institution’s participation; 

5 ‘‘(C) an applicant’s—

6 ‘‘(i) financial responsibility; 

7 ‘‘(ii) administrative capability; and 

8 ‘‘(D) the need to ensure the participation 

9 of a diverse group of institutions with respect to 

10 size, mission, and geographic distribution. 

11 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—In selecting institutions to 

12 participate in the articulation program in the first or 

13 succeeding years of the program, the Secretary shall 

14 give priority to applicants that involve a large num15 ber of schools; public and private agreements; inno16 vative technology to help reduce costs; and, multi17 state projects. 

18 ‘‘(4) NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall make 

19 available to the public and to the Committee on 

20 Labor and Human Resources of the Senate and the 

21 Committee on Education and the Workforce of the 

22 House of Representatives a list of institutions, sys23 tems or consortia selected to participate in the ar24 ticulation program authorized by this section. 

25 ‘‘(e) EVALUATIONS AND REPORTS.——
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1 ‘‘(1) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall evalu2 ate the demonstration programs authorized under 

3 this section on an annual basis. Such evaluations 

4 specifically shall review—

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

6 system or consortium has met the goals set 

7 forth in its application to the Secretary; 

8 ‘‘(B) the number and types of institutions 

9 participating in the programs offered; 

10 ‘‘(C) the cost containment strategies pur11 sued and the success of such strategies; and 

12 ‘‘(D) the effective use of technologies to 

13 keep college prices low, while maintaining qual14 ity. 

15 ‘‘(2) REPORTS.—

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Within 18 months of 

17 the initiation of the demonstration program, the 

18 Secretary shall report to the Committee on 

19 Labor and Human Resources of the Senate and 

20 the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

21 of the House of Representatives with respect to 

22 the evaluations of the demonstration programs 

23 authorized under this section. 

24 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.—The Sec25 retary shall provide additional reports to the 
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1 Committee on Labor and Human Resources of 

2 the Senate and the Committee on Education 

3 and the Workforce of the House of Representa4 tives on an annual basis regarding—

5 ‘‘(i) the demonstration programs au6 thorized under this section; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) best practices to contain college 

8 costs.’’. 

9 SEC. 10. ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON STUDENT FINANCIAL 

10 ASSISTANCE. 

11 Section 491(j) (20 U.S.C. 1098(j)) is amended 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

13 (4); 

14 (2) by striking the period at the end of para15 graph (5) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

16 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

17 paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(6) convene a task force of experts, to be rep19 resentative of the key constituents in higher edu20 cation—

21 ‘‘(A) to determine the best methods to fi22 nance higher education in the long-term; 

23 ‘‘(B) to help public institutions utilize 

24 long-term budgeting to plan for the future; 
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1 ‘‘(C) to review the trends of financing of 

2 higher education; 

3 ‘‘(D) to define the role played by the 

4 States, the Federal government, families, and 

5 outside entities in financing higher education, 

6 and determine the best methods to strengthen 

7 this partnership.’’.

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