II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 915 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to update reporting requirements for institutions of higher education and provide for more accurate 

and complete data on student retention, graduation, and earnings outcomes at all levels of postsecondary enrollment. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 9, 2013 

Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, and Mr. WARNER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to update 

reporting requirements for institutions of higher education and provide for more accurate and complete data 

on student retention, graduation, and earnings outcomes 

at all levels of postsecondary enrollment. 

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 ‘‘Student Right to Know 

5 Before You Go Act of 2013’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO PROGRAM PARTICIPATION AGREE2 MENTS. 

3 Section 487(a)(17) of the Higher Education Act of 

4 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)(17)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, 

5 in accordance with section 493E’’ after ‘‘of the Sec6 retary’’. 

7 SEC. 3. INSTITUTIONAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IN8 FORMATION FOR STUDENTS. 

9 Section 485 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

10 U.S.C. 1092) is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(n) ALIGNMENT WITH INSTITUTIONAL REPORTING

13 REQUIREMENTS RELATED TO IPEDS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 

15 after the date of enactment of the Student Right to 

16 Know Before You Go Act of 2013, the Secretary 

17 shall issue guidance outlining which data metrics re18 quired to be submitted by institutions of higher edu19 cation under section 493E are duplicative of institu20 tional reporting requirements under this section and 

21 other provisions of this Act. 

22 ‘‘(2) LINK TO INSTITUTIONAL REPORTING

23 WEBSITE.—Not later than 5 years after the date of 

24 enactment of the Student Right to Know Before You 

25 Go Act of 2013, an institution of higher education 

26 participating in any program under this title shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) not be required to make available 

2 such duplicative requirements, as determined 

3 under paragraph (1), under this section and 

4 other provisions of this Act; and 

5 ‘‘(B) provide a prominently displayed link 

6 on the institution’s website to the website de7 scribed in section 493E(e).’’. 

8 SEC. 4. INSTITUTIONAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

9 (a) AMENDMENT TO DATABASE OF STUDENT INFOR10 MATION PROHIBITED.—Section 134(b) of the Higher 

11 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1015c(b)) is amend12 ed— 

13 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

14 the semicolon; 

15 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at 

16 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

17 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(3) is necessary to carry out section 493E.’’. 

19 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Part G of title IV 

20 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1088 

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

22 ‘‘SEC. 493E. INSTITUTIONAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

24 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION OF DATA.—Each institution 

25 of higher education participating in a program under 


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1 this title shall submit to the Secretary data, as de2 termined by the Secretary, sufficient to complete all 

3 student components of reporting required for the In4 tegrated Postsecondary Education Data System (re5 ferred to in this section as ‘IPEDS’). Not later than 

6 1 year after the date of enactment of the Student 

7 Right to Know Before You Go Act of 2013, the Sec8 retary shall submit to institutions of higher edu9 cation guidance related to the submission of data 

10 under this paragraph. 

11 ‘‘(2) REVIEW.—The Secretary shall review, 

12 every 5 years, the determination of the category of 

13 data that shall be submitted pursuant to paragraph 

14 (1). 

15 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF ADDITIONAL STUDENT

16 CLASSIFICATIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

18 the date of enactment of the Student Right to Know 

19 Before You Go Act of 2013, the Secretary shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) establish common definitions for in21 stitutions to follow in submitting the data re22 quired under this section; and 

23 ‘‘(B) determine both collection and submis24 sion requirements. 


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1 ‘‘(2) IDENTIFICATION OF UNIT RECORDS.—The 

2 Secretary shall require institutions to identify stu3 dent unit records to enable coding and reporting 

4 on— 

5 ‘‘(A) students who participate in remedial 

6 education at, or through, the institution; 

7 ‘‘(B) whether, and at what level, the stu8 dent is seeking a degree; and 

9 ‘‘(C) whether the student is seeking a cer10 tificate. 

11 ‘‘(c) ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW OUTCOME

12 METRICS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Data submitted to the Sec14 retary under subsection (a) shall be used to calculate 

15 all student components of IPEDS. 

16 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL MEASURES TO BE CAL17 CULATED.—In addition to student component out18 come measures required to be calculated by the Sec19 retary on the day before the date of enactment of 

20 the Student Right to Know Before You Go Act of 

21 2013, the Secretary shall also calculate, not later 

22 than 2 years after the date of enactment of the Stu23 dent Right to Know Before You Go Act of 2013, at 

24 the institutional and program specific level: 


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1 ‘‘(A) The percent of students who re2 ceive— 

3 ‘‘(i) Federal grants; 

4 ‘‘(ii) Federal loans; 

5 ‘‘(iii) State grants; 

6 ‘‘(iv) State loans; 

7 ‘‘(v) institutional grants; or 

8 ‘‘(vi) institutional loans. 

9 ‘‘(B) The average amount of total Federal 

10 loan debt upon student graduation assumed by 

11 students while enrolled at the institution. 

12 ‘‘(C) The average amount of total Federal 

13 loan debt of students who do not complete a 

14 program of study 2 years after the students’ 

15 last known enrollment in any institution of 

16 higher education. 

17 ‘‘(D) Student transfer rates by sector of 

18 transfer, which shall be defined as the percent19 age of students who leave an institution and 

20 successfully enroll in another institution, includ21 ing whether the receiving institution is a public 

22 4-year institution, public 2-year institution, 

23 public less-than-2-year institution, private non24 profit 4-year institution, private nonprofit 2- 

25 year institution, private nonprofit less-than-2- 


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1 year institution, private for-profit 4-year insti2 tution, private for-profit 2-year institution, or 

3 private for-profit less-than-2-year institution. 

4 ‘‘(E) Rates of continuation to higher levels 

5 of education. 

6 ‘‘(F) The percent of students who receive 

7 the degree level they initially sought. 

8 ‘‘(G) The outcome measures described in 

9 subparagraphs (A) through (F), in addition to 

10 all student level components of IPEDS required 

11 to be reported on the day before the date of en12 actment of the Student Right to Know Before 

13 You Go Act of 2013, shall also be made avail14 able on the basis of the following student type: 

15 ‘‘(i) Students who received a Federal 

16 Pell Grant. 

17 ‘‘(ii) Students who received a Federal 

18 Stafford Loan, but not a Federal Pell 

19 Grant. 

20 ‘‘(iii) Students who received neither a 

21 Federal Pell Grant, nor a Federal Stafford 

22 Loan. 

23 ‘‘(iv) Students who are identified as 

24 veterans who received assistance under the 

25 Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance 


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1 Program under chapter 33 of title 38, 

2 United States Code. The Secretary of Vet3 erans Affairs shall coordinate with the Sec4 retary to make available data sufficient to 

5 enable such reporting under this clause. 

6 ‘‘(v) Enrollment status, including the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(I) First-time, full-time stu9 dents. 

10 ‘‘(II) First-time, part-time stu11 dents. 

12 ‘‘(III) Non-first-time, full-time 

13 students. 

14 ‘‘(IV) Non-first-time, part-time 

15 students. 

16 ‘‘(vi) Enrollment intensity while en17 rolled at the institution, including the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(I) Full-time only. 

20 ‘‘(II) Part-time only. 

21 ‘‘(III) Mixed enrollment, both 

22 full- and part-time. 

23 ‘‘(H) Other information determined nec24 essary. 

25 ‘‘(d) LINKAGE TO EARNINGS RECORD DATA.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) EARNINGS METRICS.—The Secretary, in 

2 cooperation with the Commissioner of Social Secu3 rity, shall establish a system under which the stu4 dent components of IPEDS are used to create earn5 ings metrics. Such system shall enable the publica6 tion of data on median annual earnings and employ7 ment metrics, disaggregated by— 

8 ‘‘(A) educational program based on CIP 

9 code; 

10 ‘‘(B) credential received; 

11 ‘‘(C) educational institution; and 

12 ‘‘(D) State of employment. 

13 ‘‘(2) STANDARD TIME PERIODS FOR REPORTING

14 EARNINGS OUTCOMES.—The Secretary shall make 

15 publicly available median annual earnings 

16 disaggregated by the categories described in sub17 paragraphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (1) for 

18 each of the following time periods: 

19 ‘‘(A) 2 years after educational program 

20 completion. 

21 ‘‘(B) 6 years after educational program 

22 completion. 

23 ‘‘(C) 15 years after educational program 

24 completion. 


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1 ‘‘(e) PUBLIC ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—The infor2 mation aggregated by the Secretary under this section 

3 shall be included in the IPEDS and posted on a website 

4 in a timely and user-friendly manner and in a way that 

5 does not allow for the dissemination of any personally 

6 identifiable information. 

7 ‘‘(f) ENSURING COMPARABILITY OF DATA METRIC.— 

8 For a period of 5 years following the date of enactment 

9 of the Student Right to Know Before You Go Act of 2013, 

10 the Secretary shall be responsible for publishing all stu11 dent components of IPEDS as such components would 

12 have been produced on the day before the date of enact13 ment of the Student Right to Know Before You Go Act 

14 of 2013. 

15 ‘‘(g) INVOLVEMENT OF STATES AND LEVERAGING OF

16 INVESTMENT IN EXISTING STATE-BASED SYSTEMS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 

18 444 of the General Education Provisions Act (20 

19 U.S.C. 1232g, commonly known as the ‘Family Edu20 cational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974’) except as 

21 provided in paragraph (2), in carrying out this sec22 tion, the Secretary shall consult extensively with 

23 State offices with existing student-level data collec24 tions from public and private institutions. 


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1 ‘‘(2) NO SHARING OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFI2 ABLE INFORMATION.—The Secretary, a State, or in3 stitution shall not share personally identifiable infor4 mation of a student in carrying out paragraph (1), 

5 except as necessary to enable individuals who are 

6 employed by the Department to meet the reporting 

7 requirements and data dissemination purposes and 

8 requirements under this Act. 

9 ‘‘(h) INVOLVEMENT OF INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER

10 EDUCATION IN DEVELOPING CALCULATION AND REPORT11 ING STANDARDS.—In carrying out this section, the Sec12 retary shall consult extensively with institutions of higher 

13 education and State agencies of higher education, particu14 larly in the formulation of the calculation and reporting 

15 standards outlined in subsections (b), (c), and (d), and 

16 the public access to information under subsection (e). 

17 ‘‘(i) USE OF DATA FOR INSTITUTIONAL IMPROVE18 MENT.—The Secretary shall create a process through 

19 which institutions of higher education participating in pro20 grams under this title and States may request and receive 

21 from the Department aggregate student outcome data for 

22 the purposes of institutional improvement and program 

23 evaluation. The Secretary shall promulgate regulations to 

24 ensure fair and equitable access to such data. In cases 

25 where institutional data are merged with Federal record 


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1 sets and the resulting data are used for Federal account2 ability purposes beyond reporting to the public, the Sec3 retary shall develop procedures to provide opportunities 

4 for institutional review of the disaggregated merged data. 

5 ‘‘(j) PRIVACY, SECURITY, AND USE OF INFORMA6 TION.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IDENTITY PROTECTION.—The data system 

8 developed under this section shall not permit an in9 dividual to be individually identified by users of the 

10 data system who are not actively working as data11 base administrators of the system. 

12 ‘‘(2) DATA AUDIT AND DATA GOVERNANCE SYS13 TEMS.—The data system developed under this sec14 tion shall include a data audit system assessing data 

15 quality, validity, and reliability and a data govern16 ance system to ensure compliance with all Federal 

17 standards of data quality and individual privacy. 

18 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITION AND UNAUTHORIZED USE.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Individual data col20 lected under this section shall not be used for 

21 any purpose not specifically authorized by Fed22 eral law. 

23 ‘‘(B) NO FEDERAL ACTION.—No action of 

24 Federal authority may be taken against an indiVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:29 May 11, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S915.IS S915

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1 vidual based on data collected within the data 

2 system developed under this section. 

3 ‘‘(C) GUIDELINES.—The Secretary shall 

4 issue guidelines to institutions regarding the 

5 amendment of the institutions required annual 

6 privacy notices to reference the data collection 

7 required under this section. 

8 ‘‘(4) INDIVIDUAL PRIVACY AND ACCESS TO

9 DATA.—Prior to implementation of this section, the 

10 Secretary shall publish for public comment assur11 ances that— 

12 ‘‘(A) that the system developed under this 

13 section does not disclose any personally identifi14 able information and complies with the require15 ments of section 444 of the General Education 

16 Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g) (commonly 

17 known as the ‘Family Educational Rights and 

18 Privacy Act’) and other applicable Federal and 

19 State privacy laws; and 

20 ‘‘(B) that there is a policy on the use of 

21 data collected under this section that prevents 

22 any use of data outside of the purposes of this 

23 section. 

24 ‘‘(k) PENALTIES FOR UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE

25 OF DATA.—Any individual who willfully discloses a perVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:29 May 11, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S915.IS S915

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1 sonal identifier (such as a name or social security number) 

2 provided under this section, in any manner to an entity 

3 not entitled to receive the identifier, shall be fined under 

4 title 18, United States Code, imprisoned not more than 

5 5 years, or both. 

6 ‘‘(l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

7 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

8 such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 

9 2014 through 2022.’’. 

Æ 


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