IIB 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3178 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 12, 2016 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

AN ACT 

To simplify and streamline the information regarding institutions of higher education made publicly available by the 

Secretary of Education, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strengthening Trans3 parency in Higher Education Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. COLLEGE DASHBOARD WEBSITE. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 132 of the Higher 

6 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1015a) is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘first9 time,’’; 

10 (B) in paragraph (3) in the matter pre11 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘first12 time,’’; and 

13 (C) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘first14 time,’’; 

15 (2) in subsection (b)— 

16 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘first17 time,’’; and 

18 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘first19 time,’’; 

20 (3) by striking subsections (c) through (g), (j), 

21 and (l); 

22 (4) by redesignating subsections (h), (i), and 

23 (k) as subsections (c), (d), and (e), respectively; and 

24 (5) by striking subsection (d) (as so redesig25 nated) and inserting the following new subsection: 

26 ‘‘(d) CONSUMER INFORMATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) AVAILABILITY OF TITLE IV INSTITUTION

2 INFORMATION.—The Secretary shall develop and 

3 make publicly available a website to be known as the 

4 ‘College Dashboard website’ in accordance with this 

5 section and prominently display on such website, in 

6 simple, understandable, and unbiased terms for the 

7 most recent academic year for which satisfactory 

8 data are available, the following information with re9 spect to each institution of higher education that 

10 participates in a program under title IV: 

11 ‘‘(A) A link to the website of the institu12 tion. 

13 ‘‘(B) An identification of the type of insti14 tution as one of the following: 

15 ‘‘(i) A four-year public institution of 

16 higher education. 

17 ‘‘(ii) A four-year private, nonprofit in18 stitution of higher education. 

19 ‘‘(iii) A four-year private, for-profit 

20 institution of higher education. 

21 ‘‘(iv) A two-year public institution of 

22 higher education. 

23 ‘‘(v) A two-year private, nonprofit in24 stitution of higher education. 


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1 ‘‘(vi) A two-year private, for-profit in2 stitution of higher education. 

3 ‘‘(vii) A less than two-year public in4 stitution of higher education. 

5 ‘‘(viii) A less than two-year private, 

6 nonprofit institution of higher education. 

7 ‘‘(ix) A less than two-year private, 

8 for-profit institution of higher education. 

9 ‘‘(C) The number of students enrolled at 

10 the institution— 

11 ‘‘(i) as undergraduate students; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) as graduate students, if applica13 ble. 

14 ‘‘(D) The student-faculty ratio. 

15 ‘‘(E) The percentage of degree-seeking or 

16 certificate-seeking undergraduate students en17 rolled at the institution who obtain a degree or 

18 certificate within— 

19 ‘‘(i) 100 percent of the normal time 

20 for completion of, or graduation from, the 

21 program in which the student is enrolled; 

22 ‘‘(ii) 150 percent of the normal time 

23 for completion of, or graduation from, the 

24 program in which the student is enrolled; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) 200 percent of the normal time 

2 for completion of, or graduation from, the 

3 program in which the student is enrolled. 

4 ‘‘(F) The average net price per year for 

5 undergraduate students receiving Federal stu6 dent financial aid under title IV based on an in7 come category selected by the user from a list 

8 containing the following income categories: 

9 ‘‘(i) $0 to $30,000. 

10 ‘‘(ii) $30,001 to $48,000. 

11 ‘‘(iii) $48,001 to $75,000. 

12 ‘‘(iv) $75,001 to $110,000. 

13 ‘‘(v) $110,001 to $150,000. 

14 ‘‘(vi) Over $150,000. 

15 ‘‘(G) A link to the net price calculator for 

16 such institution. 

17 ‘‘(H) The percentage of undergraduate 

18 students who obtained a certificate or degree 

19 from the institution who borrowed Federal stu20 dent loans under title IV, and the average Fed21 eral student loan debt incurred by an under22 graduate student who obtained a certificate or 

23 degree from the institution and borrowed Fed24 eral student loans under title IV in the course 

25 of obtaining such certificate or degree. 


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1 ‘‘(I) A link to national and regional data 

2 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on starting 

3 salaries in all major occupations. 

4 ‘‘(J) A link to the webpage of the institu5 tion containing campus safety data with respect 

6 to such institution. 

7 ‘‘(2) OTHER INFORMATION.—The Secretary 

8 shall publish on Internet webpages that are linked to 

9 through the College Dashboard website for the most 

10 recent academic year for which satisfactory data is 

11 available the following information with respect to 

12 each institution of higher education that participates 

13 in a program under title IV: 

14 ‘‘(A) ENROLLMENT.— 

15 ‘‘(i) The percentages of male and fe16 male undergraduate students enrolled at 

17 the institution. 

18 ‘‘(ii) The percentages of under19 graduate students enrolled at the institu20 tion— 

21 ‘‘(I) full-time; and 

22 ‘‘(II) less than full-time. 

23 ‘‘(iii) In the case of an institution 

24 other than an institution that provides all 

25 courses and programs through distance 


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1 education, of the undergraduate students 

2 enrolled at the institution— 

3 ‘‘(I) the percentage of such stu4 dents who are from the State in which 

5 the institution is located; 

6 ‘‘(II) the percentage of such stu7 dents who are from other States; and 

8 ‘‘(III) the percentage of such stu9 dents who are international students. 

10 ‘‘(iv) The percentages of under11 graduate students enrolled at the institu12 tion, disaggregated by— 

13 ‘‘(I) race and ethnic background; 

14 ‘‘(II) classification as a student 

15 with a disability; 

16 ‘‘(III) recipients of a Federal Pell 

17 Grant; 

18 ‘‘(IV) recipients of assistance 

19 under a tuition assistance program 

20 conducted by the Department of De21 fense under section 1784a or 2007 of 

22 title 10, United States Code, or other 

23 authorities available to the Depart24 ment of Defense or veterans’ eduVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Jul 13, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3178.RFS H3178

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1 cation benefits (as defined in section 

2 480); and 

3 ‘‘(V) recipients of a Federal stu4 dent loan under title IV. 

5 ‘‘(B) COMPLETION.—The information re6 quired under paragraph (1)(E), disaggregated 

7 by— 

8 ‘‘(i) recipients of a Federal Pell 

9 Grant; 

10 ‘‘(ii) recipients of a loan made under 

11 part D of title IV (other than a Federal 

12 Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan) who 

13 did not receive a Federal Pell Grant; 

14 ‘‘(iii) individuals who did not receive a 

15 Federal Pell Grant or a loan made under 

16 part D of title IV (other than a Federal 

17 Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan); 

18 ‘‘(iv) race and ethnic background; 

19 ‘‘(v) classification as a student with a 

20 disability; 

21 ‘‘(vi) recipients of assistance under a 

22 tuition assistance program conducted by 

23 the Department of Defense under section 

24 1784a or 2007 of title 10, United States 

25 Code, or other authorities available to the 


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1 Department of Defense or veterans’ edu2 cation benefits (as defined in section 480); 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(vii) male and female. 

5 ‘‘(C) COSTS.— 

6 ‘‘(i) The cost of attendance for full7 time undergraduate students enrolled in 

8 the institution who live on campus. 

9 ‘‘(ii) The cost of attendance for full10 time undergraduate students enrolled in 

11 the institution who live off campus. 

12 ‘‘(iii) The cost of tuition and fees for 

13 full-time undergraduate students enrolled 

14 in the institution. 

15 ‘‘(iv) The cost of tuition and fees per 

16 credit hour or credit hour equivalency for 

17 undergraduate students enrolled in the in18 stitution less than full time. 

19 ‘‘(v) In the case of a public institution 

20 of higher education (other than an institu21 tion described in clause (vi)) and notwith22 standing subsection (b)(1), the costs de23 scribed in clauses (i) and (ii) for— 

24 ‘‘(I) full-time students enrolled in 

25 the institution who are residents of 


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1 the State in which the institution is 

2 located; and 

3 ‘‘(II) full-time students enrolled 

4 in the institution who are not resi5 dents of such State. 

6 ‘‘(vi) In the case of a public institu7 tion of higher education that offers dif8 ferent tuition rates for students who are 

9 residents of a geographic subdivision small10 er than a State and students not located in 

11 such geographic subdivision and notwith12 standing subsection (b)(1), the costs de13 scribed in clauses (i) and (ii) for— 

14 ‘‘(I) full-time students enrolled at 

15 the institution who are residents of 

16 such geographic subdivision; 

17 ‘‘(II) full-time students enrolled 

18 at the institution who are residents of 

19 the State in which the institution is 

20 located but not residents of such geo21 graphic subdivision; and 

22 ‘‘(III) full-time students enrolled 

23 at the institution who are not resi24 dents of such State. 

25 ‘‘(D) FINANCIAL AID.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) The average annual grant amount 

2 (including Federal, State, and institutional 

3 aid) awarded to an undergraduate student 

4 enrolled at the institution who receives fi5 nancial aid. 

6 ‘‘(ii) The percentage of undergraduate 

7 students enrolled at the institution receiv8 ing Federal, State, and institutional 

9 grants, student loans, and any other type 

10 of student financial assistance known by 

11 the institution, provided publicly or 

12 through the institution, such as Federal 

13 work-study funds. 

14 ‘‘(iii) The cohort default rate (as de15 fined in section 435(m)) for such institu16 tion. 

17 ‘‘(E) FACULTY INFORMATION.— 

18 ‘‘(i) The ratio of the number of course 

19 sections taught by part-time instructors to 

20 the number of course sections taught by 

21 full-time faculty, disaggregated by course 

22 sections intended primarily for under23 graduate students and course sections in24 tended primarily for graduate students. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) The mean and median years of 

2 employment for part-time instructors. 

3 ‘‘(3) OTHER DATA MATTERS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) COMPLETION DATA.—The Commis5 sioner of Education Statistics shall ensure that 

6 the information required under paragraph 

7 (1)(E) includes information with respect to all 

8 students at an institution, including students 

9 other than first-time, full-time students and 

10 students who transfer to another institution, in 

11 a manner that the Commissioner considers ap12 propriate. 

13 ‘‘(B) ADJUSTMENT OF INCOME CAT14 EGORIES.—The Secretary may annually adjust 

15 the range of each of the income categories de16 scribed in paragraph (1)(F) to account for a 

17 change in the Consumer Price Index for All 

18 Urban Consumers as determined by the Bureau 

19 of Labor Statistics if the Secretary determines 

20 an adjustment is necessary. 

21 ‘‘(4) INSTITUTIONAL COMPARISON.—The Sec22 retary shall include on the College Dashboard 

23 website a method for users to easily compare the in24 formation required under paragraphs (1) and (2) be25 tween institutions. 


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1 ‘‘(5) UPDATES.— 

2 ‘‘(A) DATA.—The Secretary shall update 

3 the College Dashboard website not less than an4 nually. 

5 ‘‘(B) TECHNOLOGY AND FORMAT.—The 

6 Secretary shall regularly assess the format and 

7 technology of the College Dashboard website 

8 and make any changes or updates that the Sec9 retary considers appropriate. 

10 ‘‘(6) CONSUMER TESTING.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In developing and 

12 maintaining the College Dashboard website, the 

13 Secretary, in consultation with appropriate de14 partments and agencies of the Federal Govern15 ment, shall conduct consumer testing with ap16 propriate persons, including current and pro17 spective college students, family members of 

18 such students, institutions of higher education, 

19 and experts, to ensure that the College Dash20 board website is usable and easily understand21 able and provides useful and relevant informa22 tion to students and families. 

23 ‘‘(B) RECOMMENDATIONS FOR

24 CHANGES.—The Secretary shall submit to the 

25 authorizing committees any recommendations 


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1 that the Secretary considers appropriate for 

2 changing the information required to be pro3 vided on the College Dashboard website under 

4 paragraphs (1) and (2) based on the results of 

5 the consumer testing conducted under subpara6 graph (A). 

7 ‘‘(7) PROVISION OF APPROPRIATE LINKS TO

8 PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS AFTER SUBMISSION OF

9 FAFSA.—The Secretary shall provide to each student 

10 who submits a Free Application for Federal Student 

11 Aid described in section 483 a link to the webpage 

12 of the College Dashboard website that contains the 

13 information required under paragraph (1) for each 

14 institution of higher education such student includes 

15 on such Application. 

16 ‘‘(8) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—The Sec17 retary, in consultation with each appropriate head of 

18 a department or agency of the Federal Government, 

19 shall ensure to the greatest extent practicable that 

20 any information related to higher education that is 

21 published by such department or agency is con22 sistent with the information published on the College 

23 Dashboard website. 

24 ‘‘(9) REFERENCES TO COLLEGE NAVIGATOR

25 WEBSITE.—Any reference in this Act to the College 


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1 Navigator website shall be considered a reference to 

2 the College Dashboard website.’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Higher Edu4 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), as amended 

5 by subsection (a) of this section, is further amended— 

6 (1) in section 131(h) (20 U.S.C. 1015(h)), by 

7 striking ‘‘College Navigator’’ and inserting ‘‘College 

8 Dashboard’’; and 

9 (2) in section 132(a) (20 U.S.C. 1015a(a)), by 

10 striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following 

11 new paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(1) COLLEGE DASHBOARD WEBSITE.—The 

13 term ‘College Dashboard website’ means the College 

14 Dashboard website required under subsection (d).’’. 

15 (c) DEVELOPMENT.—The Secretary of Education 

16 shall develop and publish the College Dashboard website 

17 required under section 132 of the Higher Education Act 

18 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1015a), as amended by subsections 

19 (a) and (b) of this section, not later than 1 year after 

20 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

21 (d) COLLEGE NAVIGATOR WEBSITE MAINTE22 NANCE.—The Secretary shall maintain the College Navi23 gator website required under section 132 of the Higher 

24 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1015a), as in effect 

25 the day before the date of the enactment of this Act, in 


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1 the manner required under the Higher Education Act of 

2 1965, as in effect on such day, until the College Dash3 board website referred to in subsection (c) is complete and 

4 publicly available on the Internet. 

5 SEC. 3. NET PRICE CALCULATORS. 

6 Subsection (c) of section 132 of the Higher Edu7 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1015a), as redesignated 

8 by section 2(a)(4) of this Act, is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para10 graph (6); and 

11 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol12 lowing new paragraphs: 

13 ‘‘(4) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR NET PRICE

14 CALCULATORS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

15 of the enactment of the Strengthening Transparency 

16 in Higher Education Act, a net price calculator for 

17 an institution of higher education shall meet the fol18 lowing requirements: 

19 ‘‘(A) The link for the calculator shall— 

20 ‘‘(i) be clearly labeled as a net price 

21 calculator and prominently, clearly, and 

22 conspicuously posted in locations on the 

23 website of such institution where informa24 tion on costs and aid is provided and any 


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1 other location that the institution considers 

2 appropriate; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) match in size and font to the 

4 other prominent links on the webpage 

5 where the link for the calculator is dis6 played. 

7 ‘‘(B) The webpage displaying the results 

8 for the calculator shall specify at least the fol9 lowing information: 

10 ‘‘(i) The net price (as calculated 

11 under subsection (a)(2)) for such institu12 tion, which shall be the most visually 

13 prominent figure on the results screen. 

14 ‘‘(ii) Cost of attendance, including— 

15 ‘‘(I) tuition and fees; 

16 ‘‘(II) average annual cost of 

17 room and board for the institution for 

18 a full-time undergraduate student en19 rolled in the institution; 

20 ‘‘(III) average annual cost of 

21 books and supplies for a full-time un22 dergraduate student enrolled in the 

23 institution; and 

24 ‘‘(IV) estimated cost of other ex25 penses (including personal expenses 


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1 and transportation) for a full-time un2 dergraduate student enrolled in the 

3 institution. 

4 ‘‘(iii) Estimated total need-based 

5 grant aid and merit-based grant aid from 

6 Federal, State, and institutional sources 

7 that may be available to a full-time under8 graduate student. 

9 ‘‘(iv) Percentage of the full-time un10 dergraduate students enrolled in the insti11 tution that received any type of grant aid 

12 described in clause (iii). 

13 ‘‘(v) The disclaimer described in para14 graph (6). 

15 ‘‘(vi) In the case of a calculator 

16 that— 

17 ‘‘(I) includes questions to esti18 mate the eligibility of a student or 

19 prospective student for veterans’ edu20 cation benefits (as defined in section 

21 480) or educational benefits for active 

22 duty service members, such benefits 

23 are displayed on the results screen in 

24 a manner that clearly distinguishes 


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1 such benefits from the grant aid de2 scribed in clause (iii); or 

3 ‘‘(II) does not include questions 

4 to estimate eligibility for the benefits 

5 described in subclause (I), the results 

6 screen indicates that certain students 

7 (or prospective students) may qualify 

8 for such benefits and includes a link 

9 to information about such benefits. 

10 ‘‘(C) The institution shall populate the cal11 culator with data from an academic year that 

12 is not more than 2 academic years prior to the 

13 most recent academic year. 

14 ‘‘(5) PROHIBITION ON USE OF DATA COL15 LECTED BY THE NET PRICE CALCULATOR.—A net 

16 price calculator for an institution of higher edu17 cation shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) clearly indicate which questions are 

19 required to be completed for an estimate of the 

20 net price from the calculator; 

21 ‘‘(B) in the case of a calculator that re22 quests contact information from users, clearly 

23 mark such requests as optional and provide for 

24 an estimate of the net price from the calculator 


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1 without requiring users to enter such informa2 tion; and 

3 ‘‘(C) prohibit any personally identifiable in4 formation provided by users from being sold or 

5 made available to third parties.’’. 

6 SEC. 4. FUNDING. 

7 (a) USE OF EXISTING FUNDS.—Of the amount au8 thorized to be appropriated to the Department of Edu9 cation to maintain the College Navigator website, 

10 $1,000,000 shall be available to carry out this Act and 

11 the amendments made by this Act. 

12 (b) NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.—No 

13 funds are authorized by this Act to be appropriated to 

14 carry out this Act or the amendments made by this Act. 

Passed the House of Representatives July 11, 2016. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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