II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1969 

To provide for higher education reform. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 29, 2014 

Mr. MURPHY (for himself, Mr. SCHATZ, Mrs. MURRAY, and Mr. SANDERS) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To provide for higher education reform. 

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 ‘‘College Affordability 

5 and Innovation Act of 2014’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) AUTHORIZING COMMITTEES.—The term 

9 ‘‘authorizing committees’’ means the Committee on 

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1 ate and the Committee on Education and the Work2 force of the House of Representatives. 

3 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

4 the Secretary of Education. 

5 SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM TO PROMOTE INNOVATION IN 

6 HIGHER EDUCATION. 

7 (a) PURPOSE; DEFINITION.— 

8 (1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is 

9 to authorize an evidence-based grant program to 

10 promote greater experimentation among institutions 

11 of higher education to increase the level of student 

12 attainment of postsecondary and graduate certifi13 cates and degrees through innovative programs de14 signed to decrease the cost and time required to 

15 complete postsecondary and graduate programs 

16 while improving the quality and effectiveness of post17 secondary education programs, providing accelerated 

18 degree or certificate programs, and increasing on19 time graduation rates. 

20 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—In 

21 this section, the term ‘‘institution of higher edu22 cation’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

23 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

24 U.S.C. 1002). 


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1 (b) INCENTIVE GRANTS FOR INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS

2 THAT IMPROVE QUALITY AND AFFORDABILITY.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

4 (A) GRANTS.—The Secretary shall, for a 

5 5-year award term, award grants to not more 

6 than 15 institutions of higher education, 

7 through a competitive process described in this 

8 section, to enable the institutions to carry out 

9 programs designed to graduate students with 

10 certificates or degrees at significantly lower 

11 costs for students and within shorter time peri12 ods than traditional programs while improving 

13 the quality and effectiveness of the programs. 

14 (B) GOOD STANDING REQUIREMENT.— 

15 Only those institutions of higher education that 

16 are in good standing with the administration of 

17 their student assistance programs under title IV 

18 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

19 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) shall be eligible to receive 

20 grants under subparagraph (A). 

21 (2) DISTRIBUTION OF GRANT FUNDS.—Grant 

22 payments shall be awarded with an initial distribu23 tion of 20 percent of the total grant amount, fol24 lowed by a distribution of 10 percent of the total 

25 grant amount prior to the second, third, and fourth 


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1 years of the program, and the remaining 50 percent 

2 of the total grant amount after the program receives 

3 its final satisfactory annual evaluation by the Sec4 retary in accordance with subsection (f)(1). 

5 (3) DESCRIPTION OF INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS.— 

6 The programs described under paragraph (1) shall 

7 include those that— 

8 (A) utilize online instruction, including dis9 tance education (as defined in section 103 of 

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

11 1003)), or online interaction components, or on12 line instruction integrated with classroom or in13 person instruction; 

14 (B) utilize direct assessment programs, as 

15 described in section 481(b)(4) of the Higher 

16 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1088(b)(4)), 

17 either within a comprehensive direct assessment 

18 program or integrated within another type of 

19 academic program; 

20 (C) utilize integration of experiential learn21 ing and design of customized programs of 

22 study, to promote completion or alignment with 

23 medium- and long-term employment needs; 

24 (D) allow students to be dually or concur25 rently enrolled in the postsecondary program 


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1 and a secondary school, or a postsecondary pro2 gram and a graduate program; or 

3 (E) utilize any other innovative, evidence4 based method of postsecondary education that 

5 provides cost-effective, high-quality methods for 

6 instruction, student learning, and use of avail7 able technology-based resources, including hy8 brid models incorporating elements of the pro9 gram types set forth in subparagraphs (A), (B), 

10 (C), and (D), and adaptive learning tech11 nologies. 

12 (c) APPLICATIONS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—An institution of higher edu14 cation that desires to receive a grant under this sec15 tion shall submit an application to the Secretary at 

16 such time and in such manner as the Secretary may 

17 require. 

18 (2) CONTENTS.—An application submitted 

19 under paragraph (1) shall include— 

20 (A) a description of the institution’s qual21 ity assurances for the programs to be offered; 

22 (B) a description of the statutory and reg23 ulatory requirements for which a waiver is 

24 sought under subsection (e) and the reasons for 

25 which the waiver is sought; 


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1 (C) a description of the programs to be of2 fered; 

3 (D) a description of the students eligible 

4 for the programs offered, including any eligi5 bility limitations; 

6 (E) an assurance that the institution will 

7 fully cooperate with the ongoing evaluations of 

8 the programs provided for in this section; 

9 (F) a description of how the proposed pro10 gram will improve the quality of its postsec11 ondary certificates or degrees, reduce tuition 

12 and other costs to students, and reduce enroll13 ment time; 

14 (G) a description of the data (or any other 

15 evidence) that indicate that the programs to be 

16 offered will likely lead to the outcomes de17 scribed in subparagraph (F); 

18 (H) a complete listing of the institution’s 

19 performance goals and measures regarding as20 sessments of the quality of its postsecondary 

21 certificates or degrees, amount of tuition and 

22 costs charged to students, and the amount of 

23 enrollment time needed by students to complete 

24 the postsecondary certificates or degrees; and 


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1 (I) any other information as the Secretary 

2 may require. 

3 (d) AWARDING OF GRANTS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 

5 grants under this section to institutions of higher 

6 education for new or existing programs. 

7 (2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

8 section, the Secretary shall give priority to an insti9 tution of higher education that the Secretary deter10 mines— 

11 (A) is financially responsible, as described 

12 in section 498(c)(1) of the Higher Education 

13 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099c(c)(1)); 

14 (B) has a proven record of graduating stu15 dents from the other programs of the institu16 tion; 

17 (C) has a proven record of graduates from 

18 the other programs of the institution securing 

19 full-time employment; 

20 (D) simultaneously addresses income-re21 lated inequalities in remedial education, college 

22 access, persistence rates, and graduation rates; 

23 (E) has support services in place, such as 

24 counseling, coaching, mentoring, and outreach, 

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1 taining information and making decisions re2 garding financial aid, and degree or certificate 

3 likelihood of persistence and completion; 

4 (F) will serve low-income students, adult 

5 students aged 25 years and older, and part-time 

6 students; 

7 (G) will support programs that are 

8 replicable at a range of institutions of higher 

9 education if they are demonstrated to be suc10 cessful; and 

11 (H) has presented the strongest evidence 

12 in support of their likely outcomes, as required 

13 under subsection (c)(2)(G). 

14 (3) DIVERSE POPULATIONS.—In awarding 

15 grants under this section, the Secretary shall ensure 

16 the participation of diverse student populations, in17 cluding rural and urban populations, and of a di18 verse range of institutions. 

19 (4) PUBLICATION OF GRANTEES.—The Sec20 retary shall make available to the public and to the 

21 authorizing committees a list of the institutions of 

22 higher education awarded a grant under this section, 

23 including a listing of the specific statutory and regu24 latory requirements being waived for each institution 


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1 and a description of the programs and courses to be 

2 offered. 

3 (e) WAIVERS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under 

5 paragraph (2), with respect to institutions of higher 

6 education awarded grants under this section, the 

7 Secretary may waive— 

8 (A) subsection (a) or (b) of section 481 of 

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

10 1088(a) and (b)), as such subsections relate to 

11 requirements for a minimum number of weeks 

12 of instruction; 

13 (B) subparagraph (A) or (B) of section 

14 102(a)(3) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

15 1002(a)(3)(A) and (B)); 

16 (C) one or more of the regulations promul17 gated to carry out part F or G of title IV of 

18 such Act (20 U.S.C. 1087kk et seq. and 1088 

19 et seq.), which inhibit the operation of innova20 tive education programs; and 

21 (D) any other requirement under title IV 

22 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) that will 

23 bias the results of the program, including a re24 quirement related to the award process and dis25 bursement of student financial aid (such as inVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:25 Jan 30, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1969.IS S1969

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1 novative delivery systems for modular or com2 pressed courses or other innovative systems), or 

3 other management procedures or processes as 

4 determined in the negotiated rulemaking proc5 ess under section 492 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

6 1098a), or regulations prescribed under such 

7 title. 

8 (2) PROHIBITION OF WAIVER.—The Secretary 

9 shall not waive, pursuant to paragraph (1), any pro10 vision under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

11 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) or a regulation promulgated to 

12 carry out such Act with respect to award rules 

13 (other than an award rule related to an experiment 

14 in modular or compressed schedules), grant and loan 

15 maximum award amounts, and need analysis re16 quirements, unless the waiver of such provision is 

17 authorized by another provision under such Act. 

18 (f) EVALUATION AND REPORTS.— 

19 (1) EVALUATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY PROC20 ESS.—The Secretary shall establish an evaluation 

21 and accountability process for the programs author22 ized under this section and shall administer such 

23 process on an annual basis. Such evaluations shall 

24 include— 


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1 (A) the extent to which the institution of 

2 higher education has met the goals set forth in 

3 its application to the Secretary, including the 

4 quality of education provided by participating 

5 programs; 

6 (B) the number and types of students par7 ticipating in the programs offered, including the 

8 progress of participating students toward recog9 nized certificates or degrees; 

10 (C) issues related to student financial as11 sistance; 

12 (D) the extent to which any statutory or 

13 regulatory requirements present difficulties for 

14 students or institutions in the participating pro15 grams; and 

16 (E) an analysis of the program’s progress 

17 with each of its objectives, including the num18 ber and rate of completion of participating stu19 dents toward recognized certificates or degrees, 

20 prices charged to students, time required to 

21 complete the participating programs, on-time 

22 completion rates of participating students, and 

23 indicators of program quality. 

24 (2) REVIEW.—The Secretary shall review poli25 cies and identify those policies that present impediVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:25 Jan 30, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1969.IS S1969

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1 ments to the development and use of innovative pro2 grams and other nontraditional methods of expand3 ing success and access to education. 

4 (3) MEASURES.—The Secretary shall establish 

5 measures to assess the quality of the education pro6 vided by participating programs under this section, 

7 including a minimum standard of quality that par8 ticipating programs shall meet. 

9 (4) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall provide re10 ports to the authorizing committees on an annual 

11 basis regarding— 

12 (A) the programs authorized under this 

13 section; and 

14 (B) the number and types of students re15 ceiving assistance under this section for instruc16 tion leading to a recognized degree or certifi17 cate, including the progress of such students to18 ward recognized certificates and the degree to 

19 which participation in such programs leading to 

20 such certificates increased. 

21 (5) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.—In con22 ducting the program authorized under this section, 

23 the Secretary shall, on a continuing basis— 

24 (A) ensure compliance of institutions of 

25 higher education with the requirements of this 


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1 section (other than the sections and regulations 

2 that are waived under subsection (e)); 

3 (B) provide technical assistance; 

4 (C) monitor fluctuations in the student 

5 population enrolled in the participating pro6 gram; and 

7 (D) assess whether each participating pro8 gram is improving the quality of postsecondary 

9 credentials and meeting the quality control 

10 measures set by the Secretary. 

11 (g) CONSUMER PROTECTION FOR STUDENTS.— 

12 (1) PROGRAM TERMINATION.—If a program 

13 funded under this section terminates on its accord at 

14 any point during which the program is receiving 

15 funds under this section, or if the Secretary deter16 mines that the program does not meet the minimum 

17 standard of quality as required under subsection 

18 (f)(3)— 

19 (A) the institution of higher education ad20 ministering the program shall provide imme21 diate notice to students enrolled in the program 

22 and shall prepare a teach-out plan, as described 

23 in section 487(f) of the Higher Education Act 

24 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(f)); and 

25 (B) the Secretary shall— 


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1 (i) ensure that— 

2 (I) no additional program funds 

3 are distributed to the program; and 

4 (II) the institution of higher edu5 cation administering the program is in 

6 compliance with the notice and teach7 out requirements under subparagraph 

8 (A); and 

9 (ii) assess a fine to an institution of 

10 higher education administering the pro11 gram that is not in compliance with the 

12 notice and teach-out requirements under 

13 subparagraph (A). 

14 (2) NOTICE AND DISCLOSURE FOR STU15 DENTS.—An institution of higher education admin16 istering a participating program under this section 

17 shall provide notice to all students before they enroll 

18 in the participating program that such program is 

19 receiving grant funds under this section and may be 

20 terminated, as described in paragraph (1). 

21 (h) FINAL EVALUATION BY THIRD-PARTY RE22 VIEWER.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall direct 

24 an independent third-party evaluator to review all 

25 participating programs and conduct a final evaluaVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:25 Jan 30, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1969.IS S1969

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1 tion in order to determine the evidence of the effec2 tiveness of each program in achieving its objectives 

3 with regard to the quality of the education provided, 

4 reducing the cost of the degree or certificate pro5 gram, and shortening the amount of time needed to 

6 complete the degree or certificate program. 

7 (2) EVALUATION METHODOLOGY.—The inde8 pendent third-party evaluator shall establish evalua9 tion methodology in carrying out the final evaluation 

10 under paragraph (1). 

11 (3) SUBMISSION TO AUTHORIZING COMMIT12 TEES.—The independent third-party evaluator shall 

13 publicize the final evaluation and submit such eval14 uation to the authorizing committees. 

15 (4) FUNDING.—Not more than 1 percent of the 

16 total amount appropriated to carry out this section 

17 may be used to carry out this subsection. 

18 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

19 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section— 

20 (1) $260,000,000 for fiscal year 2015; and 

21 (2) such sums as may be necessary for each 

22 succeeding fiscal year. 

23 SEC. 4. HIGHER EDUCATION ACCOUNTABILITY. 

24 (a) PURPOSE; DEFINITION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The purpose of this section 

2 is to establish minimum institutional accountability 

3 standards that will be required of all institutions of 

4 higher education that receive funds or whose stu5 dents receive funds pursuant to title IV of the High6 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) 

7 programs. The standards shall focus on afford8 ability, accessibility for low- and middle-income stu9 dents, and value. 

10 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—In 

11 this section: 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘institution 

13 of higher education’’ means an institution of 

14 higher education described in section 102 of the 

15 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

16 1002), except as provided in subparagraphs (B) 

17 and (C). 

18 (B) EXCEPTION.—The term ‘‘institution of 

19 higher education’’ does not include institutions 

20 that solely offer graduate or professional degree 

21 programs of study. 

22 (C) INSTITUTIONS.—To the extent an in23 stitution offers undergraduate programs of 

24 study and graduate or professional degree pro25 grams of study, for purposes of this section, the 


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1 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ with re2 spect to such institutions shall only include the 

3 undergraduate programs of study. 

4 (b) COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION ACCOUNT5 ABILITY STANDARDS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

7 the date of enactment of this Act, there shall be es8 tablished a Commission on Higher Education Ac9 countability Standards (referred to in this section as 

10 the ‘‘Commission’’) to make recommendations on a 

11 set of minimum accountability standards and the 

12 measures for assessing compliance with such stand13 ards for institutions of higher education that shall 

14 focus on affordability, access for low- and middle-in15 come students, and value. 

16 (2) COMPOSITION OF THE COMMISSION.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Members of the Com18 mission shall be appointed as follows: 

19 (i) 5 members shall be appointed by 

20 the Majority Leader of the Senate, with 

21 the concurrence of the Minority Leader of 

22 the Senate on 2 of such members. 

23 (ii) 5 members shall be appointed by 

24 the Majority Leader of the House of Rep25 resentatives, with the concurrence of the 


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1 Minority Leader of the House of Rep2 resentatives on 2 of such members. 

3 (iii) 5 members shall be appointed by 

4 the Secretary, including at least 1 member 

5 from the National Center for Education 

6 Statistics and 1 member from the Federal 

7 Student Aid Office of the Department of 

8 Education. 

9 (iv) In the event that any member of 

10 the Commission has not been appointed 

11 during the 90-day period after the date of 

12 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

13 appoint the remaining member in order to 

14 establish the Commission. 

15 (B) GENERAL QUALIFICATIONS.—Members 

16 of the Commission shall be appointed on the 

17 basis of the individuals’— 

18 (i) experience, integrity, impartiality, 

19 and good judgment; and 

20 (ii) except with respect to the under21 graduate students, technical qualifications 

22 and professional standing. 

23 (C) MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION.— 

24 Members appointed under subparagraph (A) 


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1 shall be comprised of the following relevant 

2 stakeholders: 

3 (i) 2 undergraduate student leaders 

4 from different types of institutions of high5 er education. 

6 (ii) 2 members of national or regional 

7 student advocacy organizations with a 

8 track record of engagement and expertise 

9 on issues related to college costs and stu10 dent debt. 

11 (iii) 1 consumer advocate or consumer 

12 protection expert with demonstrated knowl13 edge of consumer protection issues related 

14 to undergraduate students. 

15 (iv) 2 representatives of faculty 

16 groups or associations with expertise re17 lated to higher education finance or gov18 ernance. 

19 (v) 1 State government official with 

20 demonstrated knowledge of State budg21 eting and higher education funding. 

22 (vi) 3 administrative officers from 

23 various types of institutions of higher edu24 cation, including at least 1 from a minor25 ity-serving institution. 


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1 (vii) 1 higher education researcher. 

2 (viii) 1 State postsecondary education 

3 data system director. 

4 (ix) 1 member from the National Cen5 ter for Education Statistics. 

6 (x) 1 member from the Federal Stu7 dent Aid Office of the Department of Edu8 cation. 

9 (3) RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

11 make recommendations on a set of minimum 

12 accountability standards that institutions of 

13 higher education must meet with respect to af14 fordability, accessibility, and value in order to 

15 receive funds or that the students of such insti16 tutions may receive funds pursuant to title IV 

17 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

18 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) programs. The Commis19 sion shall also recommend measures and accept20 able levels of performance on those measures to 

21 assess compliance with the minimum account22 ability standards. If the Commission cannot 

23 issue its recommendations by consensus, it shall 

24 issue its recommendations based on the views of 

25 a majority of the Commission. 


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1 (B) REQUIRED MEASURES.—The Commis2 sion shall include, at a minimum, the following 

3 measures as part of the minimum account4 ability standards it shall recommend: 

5 (i) AFFORDABILITY.—The average or 

6 mean cost of tuition and other costs re7 quired for attendance after all institu8 tional, Federal, and State grant aid is 

9 taken into account. 

10 (ii) ACCESSIBILITY.—The percentage 

11 of the total number of enrolled students 

12 who are recipients of a Federal Pell Grant 

13 under subpart 1 of part A of title IV of the 

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

15 1070a et seq.). 

16 (iii) VALUE.—Student loan repayment 

17 rates. 

18 (C) OTHER MEASURES.—The Commission 

19 shall make recommendations on additional 

20 measures to comprise the minimum account21 ability standards, including the following: 

22 (i) AFFORDABILITY.—The Commis23 sion shall make recommendations on addi24 tional higher education affordability measVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:25 Jan 30, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1969.IS S1969

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1 ures, including the appropriateness of the 

2 following: 

3 (I) The cost of tuition relative to 

4 the cost to the institution of educating 

5 a student and the institution’s admin6 istrative costs. 

7 (II) The percentage of institu8 tional aid that is awarded on the basis 

9 of need, as opposed to merit. 

10 (III) Annual increases in tuition 

11 after taking into account all public 

12 subsidies. 

13 (ii) ACCESSIBILITY.—The Commission 

14 shall make recommendations on higher 

15 education accessibility measures, including 

16 the appropriateness of the following: 

17 (I) Enrollment of low- and mid18 dle-income, underrepresented minori19 ties, and adult students aged 25 and 

20 older. 

21 (II) Whether institutional policies 

22 on credit transfers meet industry 

23 standards by type of receiving institu24 tion. 


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1 (iii) VALUE.—The Commission shall 

2 make recommendations on measures of 

3 higher education value, including the ap4 propriateness of the following: 

5 (I) Student progress toward com6 pletion of a postsecondary degree or 

7 certificate. 

8 (II) Student completion of a 

9 postsecondary degree or certificate, in10 cluding for transfer and part-time stu11 dents, or where applicable, transfer 

12 rates to 4-year degree programs. 

13 (III) Student retention rates. 

14 (IV) Full-time employment and 

15 graduate degree enrollment rates after 

16 graduation. 

17 (4) CONSIDERATIONS.—The Commission shall 

18 take into account the differences in missions of insti19 tutions of higher education and ensure that institu20 tions are held to standards that are appropriate for 

21 their mission. 

22 (5) HEARINGS AND REPORT.— 

23 (A) HEARINGS.—Not later than 6 months 

24 after the date of the appointment of the final 

25 member of the Commission, the Commission 


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1 shall hold public field hearings in all regions of 

2 the United States. The Commission shall hold 

3 not fewer than 8 hearings. 

4 (B) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 

5 the date of the appointment of the final mem6 ber of the Commission, the Commission shall 

7 prepare a report on the recommendations under 

8 paragraph (3) and submit the report to the 

9 Secretary and the authorizing committees. The 

10 report shall include the following: 

11 (i) Recommendations for minimum ac12 countability standards and the measures 

13 for assessing compliance with those stand14 ards for every institution of higher edu15 cation that receives funds or whose stu16 dents receive funds pursuant to title IV of 

17 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

18 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) programs. The stand19 ards shall focus on affordability, access for 

20 low- and middle-income students, and 

21 value. The Commission shall recommend 

22 standards that are in accordance with the 

23 types of information that institutions of 

24 higher education are authorized to collect 


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1 and report under the Higher Education 

2 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.). 

3 (ii) Recommendations for applying the 

4 standards to institutions of higher edu5 cation with different academic missions. 

6 (iii) Recommendations for periodic re7 evaluation of the standards and their effi8 cacy by the Secretary. 

9 (iv) Recommendations for sharing in10 stitutions’ performance with respect to the 

11 standards with prospective students and 

12 conducting complementary consumer edu13 cation for students. 

14 (v) Recommendations for the criteria 

15 the Secretary should use to reward institu16 tions of higher education that meet and ex17 ceed the minimum accountability stand18 ards. 

19 (vi) Recommendations to Congress on 

20 reforms to statutory or regulatory limita21 tions on the collection and availability of 

22 data that would improve the Secretary’s 

23 ability to assess institutions’ compliance 

24 with minimum standards of affordability, 

25 accessibility, and value. 


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1 (6) SECURING INFORMATION.—The Commis2 sion may secure directly from any Federal depart3 ment or agency such information as the Commission 

4 considers necessary to carry out its duties under this 

5 section. The Commission may request the head of 

6 any State or local department or agency to furnish 

7 such information to the Commission. 

8 (7) FINAL STANDARDS.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

10 after receiving the report under paragraph (5), 

11 the Secretary shall publish a final rule on insti12 tutional accountability standards. The stand13 ards shall be determined by the Secretary after 

14 giving due consideration to the recommended 

15 standards provided by the Commission. The 

16 Secretary shall set forth in writing the reasons 

17 for any deviation from the Commission’s rec18 ommendations for any standard or measure and 

19 shall submit the written statement to the au20 thorizing committees. 

21 (B) REQUIRED MEASURES TO BE IN22 CLUDED.—In carrying out subparagraph (A), 

23 the Secretary shall include the measures de24 scribed in subsection (b)(3)(B) that the ComVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:25 Jan 30, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1969.IS S1969

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1 mission is required to include as part of its 

2 minimum accountability standards. 

3 (8) ASSESSMENT.—The Secretary shall annu4 ally assess compliance with the institutional account5 ability standards. On September 30 of the year fol6 lowing the publication of the final rule as required 

7 under paragraph (7) and every year thereafter, the 

8 Secretary shall publish a list of each institution of 

9 higher education that participates in title IV of the 

10 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et 

11 seq.) and the institution’s level of compliance with 

12 the accountability standards. The list shall be made 

13 easily accessible to the public. 

14 (9) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary shall es15 tablish procedures to implement this subsection, in16 cluding procedures for effectively applying this sub17 section. 

18 (10) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall 

19 terminate 60 days after the date on which the Com20 mission submits the report under paragraph (5). 

21 (c) INCENTIVIZE IMPROVEMENT FOR BELOW-STAND22 ARD INSTITUTIONS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—An institution of higher edu24 cation that participates in title IV of the Higher 

25 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) 


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•S 1969 IS

1 programs and that does not meet the institutional 

2 accountability standards adopted under subsection 

3 (b)— 

4 (A) shall be deemed to be in probationary 

5 status; and 

6 (B) shall work with the Secretary to de7 velop a plan for how the institution will achieve 

8 compliance not later than 5 years after the date 

9 of the determination of noncompliance. 

10 (2) CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.—For each 

11 year following a determination that an institution of 

12 higher education does not meet the institutional ac13 countability standards adopted under subsection (b), 

14 the institution shall demonstrate to the Secretary 

15 continuous improvement in following its plan to 

16 achieve compliance. 

17 (3) FAILURE TO MAKE CONTINUOUS IMPROVE18 MENT.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.— 

20 (i) 2 YEARS OUT.—If an institution of 

21 higher education does not show continuous 

22 improvement 2 years after a determination 

23 that it does not meet the institutional ac24 countability standards adopted under sub25 section (b), the institution shall pay to the 


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•S 1969 IS

1 Secretary an amount equal to 10 percent 

2 of the total amount of funds made avail3 able under title IV of the Higher Edu4 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et 

5 seq.) to students in attendance with an un6 dergraduate enrollment status at the insti7 tution during the prior academic year, to 

8 be deposited into the fund described in 

9 subparagraph (C). 

10 (ii) 3 YEARS OUT.—If an institution 

11 of higher education does not show contin12 uous improvement 3 years after a deter13 mination that it does not meet the institu14 tional accountability standards adopted 

15 under subsection (b), the institution shall 

16 pay to the Secretary an amount equal to 

17 20 percent of the total amount of funds 

18 made available under title IV of the Higher 

19 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et 

20 seq.) to students in attendance with an un21 dergraduate enrollment status at the insti22 tution during the prior academic year, to 

23 be deposited into the fund described in 

24 subparagraph (C). 


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1 (iii) 4 YEARS OUT.—If an institution 

2 of higher education does not show contin3 uous improvement 4 years after a deter4 mination that it does not meet the institu5 tional accountability standards adopted 

6 under subsection (b), the institution shall 

7 pay to the Secretary an amount equal to 

8 30 percent of the total amount of funds 

9 made available under title IV of the Higher 

10 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et 

11 seq.) to students in attendance with an un12 dergraduate enrollment status at the insti13 tution during the prior academic year, to 

14 be deposited into the fund described in 

15 subparagraph (C). 

16 (B) WAIVER AND PAYMENT PLAN.— 

17 (i) WAIVER.—The Secretary may 

18 waive a requirement of an institution of 

19 higher education paying the amount owed 

20 pursuant to subparagraph (A) if the Sec21 retary determines such a waiver is nec22 essary to avoid extreme hardship for the 

23 students enrolled at such institution. 

24 (ii) PAYMENT PLAN.—The Secretary 

25 may allow an institution of higher eduVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:25 Jan 30, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1969.IS S1969

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•S 1969 IS

1 cation that owes an amount under sub2 paragraph (A) to enter into a payment 

3 plan to pay such amount. 

4 (C) FUND.—There shall be established a 

5 special fund in which amounts refunded by an 

6 institution of higher education under this para7 graph shall be placed to be used pursuant to 

8 subsection (d). 

9 (4) NONCOMPLIANCE FIVE YEARS OUT.—If an 

10 institution of higher education fails to achieve com11 pliance by not later than the date that is 5 years 

12 after the date of the determination that the institu13 tion does not meet the institutional accountability 

14 standards, the institution— 

15 (A) shall not be eligible to receive funds 

16 under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 

17 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) for the academic 

18 year following the date that is 5 years after the 

19 date of the determination; 

20 (B) shall be required to submit a teach-out 

21 plan, as described in section 487(f) of the High22 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(f)); 

23 and 

24 (C) shall be eligible to receive funds under 

25 such title IV when the institution is able to 


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1 demonstrate compliance with the institutional 

2 accountability standards. 

3 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF REWARD GRANT PRO4 GRAM.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts available in 

6 the fund established pursuant to subsection 

7 (c)(3)(C), the Secretary shall award grants, on a 

8 competitive basis, to institutions of higher education 

9 that meet or exceed the institutional accountability 

10 standards adopted under subsection (b). In deter11 mining the criteria for awarding grants, the Sec12 retary shall give due consideration to the rec13 ommendations of the Commission. 

14 (2) USE FOR FINANCIAL AID.—An institution of 

15 higher education awarded a grant under paragraph 

16 (1) shall use the grant funds for need-based aid to 

17 students who are eligible for Federal Pell Grants 

18 under subpart 1 of part A of title IV of the Higher 

19 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a et seq.). 

Æ 


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