II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1460 

To amend title VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for 

college retention challenge grants. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 16, 2009 

Mr. BROWN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend title VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

to provide for college retention challenge grants. 

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 ‘‘Building Student Suc5 cess Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the overwhelming majority of new jobs cre9 ated by the United States economy will require at 

10 least some college; 


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1 (2) the United States has slipped from number 

2 1 in the world in the percentage of workers with col3 lege degrees; 

4 (3) in order to restore the United States stand5 ing with respect to the percentage of workers with 

6 college degrees, it will be necessary to increase the 

7 percentage of 25- to 34-year-olds attaining college 

8 degrees from 40 percent to 60 percent; 

9 (4) there is a national imperative to ensure that 

10 a greater number of citizens attain postsecondary 

11 degrees and credentials; 

12 (5) community colleges enroll more than 46 

13 percent of all the students in American higher edu14 cation taking credit-bearing courses; 

15 (6) community colleges enroll disproportionate 

16 percentages of low-income individuals, first genera17 tion college students, and underrepresented racial 

18 and ethnic minorities; 

19 (7) the graduation and completion rates of com20 munity colleges can be substantially improved from 

21 current rates; 

22 (8) community colleges receive far fewer re23 sources per student than other types of institutions 

24 of higher education; and 


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1 (9) the Federal Government has an interest in 

2 ensuring that community colleges receive greater 

3 support to help students complete their programs 

4 and achieve their personal goals. 

5 SEC. 3. COLLEGE RETENTION CHALLENGE GRANTS. 

6 Title VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

7 U.S.C. 1133 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

8 the following: 

9 ‘‘PART F—COLLEGE RETENTION CHALLENGE 

10 GRANTS 

11 ‘‘SEC. 791. COLLEGE RETENTION CHALLENGE GRANTS. 

12 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM TO

13 STATES.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

15 ‘‘(A) AWARD.—From amounts appro16 priated under subsection (d), the Secretary 

17 shall award grants, from allotments under para18 graph (2), to States to pay the Federal share 

19 of the costs of carrying out the activities de20 scribed in paragraph (4). 

21 ‘‘(B) GRANT TERMS.—Grants awarded 

22 under this paragraph shall be for a period of 5 

23 years. 

24 ‘‘(C) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 ‘‘(i) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The 

2 term ‘community college’ means a public 

3 institution of higher education whose high4 est degree offered is predominantly an as5 sociate’s degree. 

6 ‘‘(ii) OPEN ENROLLMENT INSTITU7 TION.—The term ‘open enrollment institu8 tion’ means a community college or an in9 stitution of higher education that has an 

10 admission policy whereby the college or in11 stitution will accept any student who ap12 plies for admission. 

13 ‘‘(2) ALLOTMENTS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara15 graph (B), in making grant payments to grant16 ees under this subsection, the allotment to each 

17 grantee for a fiscal year shall be equal to the 

18 sum of— 

19 ‘‘(i) the amount that bears the same 

20 relation to 50 percent of the amount ap21 propriated under subsection (d) for such 

22 fiscal year as the number of residents in 

23 the State aged 15 through 44 who are liv24 ing below the poverty line applicable to the 

25 individual’s family size (as determined 


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1 under section 673(2) of the Community 

2 Service Block Grant Act) bears to the total 

3 number of such residents in all States; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) the amount that bears the same 

5 relation to 50 percent of the amount ap6 propriated under subsection (d) for such 

7 fiscal year as the number of residents in 

8 the State who are enrolled in open enroll9 ment institutions bears to the total number 

10 of such residents in all States. 

11 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM ALLOTMENT.—The allot12 ment for each State under this section for a fis13 cal year shall not be an amount that is less 

14 than 0.5 percent of the total amount appro15 priated under subsection (d) for such fiscal 

16 year. 

17 ‘‘(C) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—A 

18 State may not use more than 5 percent if its 

19 allotment for administrative expenses. 

20 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.—A State that desires to re21 ceive a grant under this subsection shall submit an 

22 application to the Secretary at such time, in such 

23 manner, and accompanied by such information as 

24 the Secretary may require, including the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) A list of the open enrollment institu2 tions in the State and the number of students 

3 enrolled in such institutions. 

4 ‘‘(B) A description of any data systems 

5 and performance accountability systems that 

6 the State uses to monitor its institutions of 

7 higher education. 

8 ‘‘(C) A description of any existing state9 wide initiatives to improve retention and com10 pletion rates at institutions of higher education 

11 in the State. 

12 ‘‘(D) An assurance that the State will dis13 seminate the findings and best practices from 

14 the activities funded under the grant. 

15 ‘‘(E) An assurance that the State will— 

16 ‘‘(i) review its policies and programs 

17 with respect to access, retention, and com18 pletion based on the outcomes of activities 

19 funded under the grant; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) develop or revise policies to sup21 port institutional success improvements. 

22 ‘‘(F) A description of how the State will 

23 provide or coordinate the provision of the non24 Federal share from State resources or private 

25 contributions. 


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1 ‘‘(G) A description of the selection criteria 

2 for participating institutions, including how 

3 such criteria will ensure— 

4 ‘‘(i) to the extent practicable, an equi5 table geographic distribution of partici6 pating institutions within the State; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) that resources are targeted to 

8 the institutions that serve high percentages 

9 or numbers of students from groups under10 represented in higher education or stu11 dents with the greatest financial need. 

12 ‘‘(4) STATE ACTIVITIES.—A State that receives 

13 a grant under this subsection shall carry out the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(A) GRANT OR CONTRACT TO NONPROFIT

16 OR PUBLIC ENTITY.—The State shall award a 

17 grant or contract to a nonprofit or public entity 

18 that has expertise in improving student out19 comes in higher education, data management 

20 and analysis in higher education, and providing 

21 technical assistance to institutions of higher 

22 education for systemic reform to carry out a 

23 comprehensive program to improve college re24 tention and completion at selected open enroll25 ment institutions. 


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1 ‘‘(B) EVALUATION GRANT.—The State 

2 shall award a grant or contract for a rigorous, 

3 external evaluation of activities funded under 

4 the grant awarded under this subsection. 

5 ‘‘(C) REPORT.—The State shall report an6 nually to the Secretary on the implementation 

7 of the grant awarded under this subsection, in8 cluding information on student outcomes at 

9 participating campuses. 

10 ‘‘(5) ADDITIONAL PERMISSIBLE STATE ACTIV11 ITY.—A State that receives a grant under this sub12 section may collaborate with other States— 

13 ‘‘(A) to share data and best practices; and 

14 ‘‘(B) to develop common approaches to im15 proving student retention and completion. 

16 ‘‘(6) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

17 ‘‘(A) FEDERAL SHARE; NON-FEDERAL

18 SHARE.— 

19 ‘‘(i) FEDERAL SHARE.—The amount 

20 of the Federal share under this subsection 

for a fiscal year shall be equal to 2 21 ⁄3 of the 

22 costs of the activities described in para23 graph (4) that are carried out under the 

24 grant. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The 

2 amount of the non-Federal share under 

this subsection shall be equal to 1 3 ⁄3 of the 

4 costs of the activities described in para5 graph (4). The non-Federal share may be 

6 in cash or in-kind, and may be provided 

7 from State resources, contributions from 

8 private organizations, or both. 

9 ‘‘(B) REDUCTION FOR FAILURE TO PAY

10 NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—If a State fails to pro11 vide the full non-Federal share required under 

12 this subsection, the Secretary shall reduce the 

13 amount of the grant payment under this sub14 section proportionately. 

15 ‘‘(C) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive 

16 or reduce the amount of the non-Federal share 

17 for a State— 

18 ‘‘(i) experiencing extreme economic 

19 distress; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) recovering from a declared nat21 ural disaster. 

22 ‘‘(7) TEMPORARY INELIGIBILITY FOR SUBSE23 QUENT PAYMENTS.—The Secretary may determine a 

24 grantee to be temporarily ineligible to receive a 

25 grant payment under this subsection if— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the grantee fails to submit an annual 

2 report as required under paragraph (4)(C); or 

3 ‘‘(B) the Secretary determines, based on 

4 information in the annual report, that the 

5 grantee is not meeting the conditions of the 

6 grant or the goals of the application. 

7 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM TO IMPROVE COLLEGE RETENTION

8 AND COMPLETION.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A nonprofit or public entity 

10 awarded a grant or contract under subsection 

11 (a)(4)(A) shall carry out each of the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) Issue a competition for open enroll13 ment institutions to participate in the program 

14 described in subsection (c). 

15 ‘‘(B) Coordinate activities with the partici16 pating open enrollment institutions. 

17 ‘‘(C) Manage data, technical assistance, 

18 professional development in cooperation with 

19 participating open enrollment institutions. 

20 ‘‘(D) Provide expertise in the review and 

21 interpretation of data. 

22 ‘‘(E) Facilitate the development of the im23 provement strategies. 

24 ‘‘(F) Facilitate the development of policies 

25 and practices to sustain proven strategies. 


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1 ‘‘(G) Provide for institutional experimen2 tation with innovative practices in improving 

3 student retention and completion. 

4 ‘‘(H) Establish and maintain a web portal 

5 for sharing findings, best practices, and data 

6 among participating open enrollment institu7 tions and to deliver professional development 

8 and technical assistance to participating open 

9 enrollment institutions. 

10 ‘‘(2) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—A nonprofit or 

11 public entity awarded a grant or contract under sub12 section (a)(4)(A)— 

13 ‘‘(A) may expend not more than 20 per14 cent of the grant or contract funds on the ac15 tivities described in paragraph (1); and 

16 ‘‘(B) shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) expend the funds remaining after 

18 carrying out subparagraph (A) on the ac19 tivities described in subsection (c)(2); and 

20 ‘‘(ii) ensure that funds made available 

21 to participating campuses are of sufficient 

22 size and scope to carry out the activities 

23 described in subsection (c)(2). 

24 ‘‘(c) CAMPUS PARTICIPATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) OPEN ENROLLMENT INSTITUTION PARTICI2 PATION.—An open enrollment institution that de3 sires to participate in the program described in 

4 paragraph (2) shall submit an application to the 

5 nonprofit or public entity that shall include the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(A) An assurance to maintain its open 

8 admission policies. 

9 ‘‘(B) An assurance that the institution’s 

10 board of trustees is fully supportive of the insti11 tution’s student success plan. 

12 ‘‘(C) A description of the core team of in13 stitutional leaders who will lead the campus 

14 process for improvement of student retention 

15 and completion. Such team, at minimum, shall 

16 include the college president, the institutional 

17 research or institutional effectiveness officer (if 

18 the institution has such a position), the chief 

19 academic officer, the chief student services offi20 cer, and representatives of the faculty respon21 sible for programs and curricula in key areas 

22 such as developmental education, mathematics, 

23 and English. 

24 ‘‘(D) A description of the data team that 

25 will conduct in-depth examinations of data on 


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1 student outcomes disaggregated by race, eth2 nicity, gender, socioeconomic status, and dis3 ability status. Such team, may include the insti4 tutional research director, the senior planning 

5 administrator, information technology special6 ists, faculty, and student services staff. 

7 ‘‘(E) A description of any existing institu8 tion-wide efforts to improve retention and com9 pletion. 

10 ‘‘(F) A description of the institution’s cur11 rent capacity to— 

12 ‘‘(i) use data to devise strategies, 

13 monitor progress, and evaluate outcomes; 

14 ‘‘(ii) develop strategies to close any 

15 identified performance gaps among stu16 dents; 

17 ‘‘(iii) involve faculty, students, staff, 

18 and communities in the development and 

19 implementation of the strategies to im20 prove outcomes; 

21 ‘‘(iv) report data and outcomes to the 

22 public and to the campus community; and 

23 ‘‘(v) form partnerships with the com24 munity, local businesses, and others. 


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1 ‘‘(G) Data on student enrollment disaggre2 gated by full-time/part-time status, race, eth3 nicity, gender, and any available data related to 

4 socioeconomic status and disability status. 

5 ‘‘(H) Data on student success, including 

6 any available data on the performance indica7 tors described in paragraph (3). 

8 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES.—The program under this 

9 paragraph shall include the open enrollment institu10 tion working with the nonprofit or public entity to 

11 undertake a comprehensive program of institutional 

12 improvement to increase retention and completion, 

13 which shall include the following: 

14 ‘‘(A) Using data to devise strategies, mon15 itor progress, and evaluate outcomes. 

16 ‘‘(B) Developing strategies to close identi17 fied performance gaps among students. 

18 ‘‘(C) Involving faculty, students, staff, and 

19 communities in the development and implemen20 tation of the strategies to improve outcomes. 

21 ‘‘(D) Reporting data and outcomes to the 

22 public and to the campus community. 

23 ‘‘(E) Forming partnerships with the com24 munity, local businesses, and others. 


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1 ‘‘(F) Institutionalizing effective policies 

2 and practices to sustain improvements in reten3 tion and completion. 

4 ‘‘(3) PERFORMANCE INDICATORS.—In evalu5 ating the outcome of the activities described in para6 graph (2), an open enrollment institution partici7 pating in such program shall determine whether the 

8 program increased the percentage of students who— 

9 ‘‘(A) complete developmental courses and 

10 move on to credit-bearing courses; 

11 ‘‘(B) enroll in and complete ‘gatekeeper 

12 courses’ such as introductory mathematics and 

13 English; 

14 ‘‘(C) satisfactorily complete the courses in 

15 which they enroll; 

16 ‘‘(D) re-enroll from 1 semester to the next 

17 and from year to year; 

18 ‘‘(E) earn certificates and degrees; and 

19 ‘‘(F) transfer to 4-year or other institu20 tions of higher education. 

21 ‘‘(4) COLLECTION AND REPORTING OF DATA.— 

22 An open enrollment institution participating in the 

23 program described in paragraph (2) shall collect and 

24 report data disaggregated by full-time/part-time, 


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1 race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, and 

2 disability status. 

3 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

5 $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and each of the 4 suc6 ceeding fiscal years.’’. 

Æ 


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