I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2962 

To provide greater access to higher education for America’s students. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 8, 2015 

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia (for himself, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. 

BUTTERFIELD, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms. LINDA T. SA ́NCHEZ of 

California, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. 

RICHMOND, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. 

BLUMENAUER, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE

of Pennsylvania, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. DESAULNIER, Ms. EDWARDS, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. 

FATTAH, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. GENE GREEN of 

Texas, Mr. GUTIE ́RREZ, Ms. HAHN, Mr. HONDA, Mr. JEFFRIES, Mr. 

KENNEDY, Mr. KILMER, Mr. KIND, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Ms. 

LEE, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mr. BEN RAY

LUJA ́N of New Mexico, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. MOORE, 

Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. NORCROSS, Ms. NORTON, Ms. PLASKETT, Mr. 

POCAN, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. RUSH, Mr. SABLAN, Ms. 

LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. 

SWALWELL of California, Mr. TAKAI, Mrs. TORRES, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, 

Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. BEYER, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. 

DELANEY, and Mr. KEATING) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To provide greater access to higher education for America’s 

students. 

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 ‘‘America’s College 

3 Promise Act of 2015’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

5 The purpose of this Act is to help all individuals of 

6 the United States earn the education and skills the indi7 viduals need— 

8 (1) by making 2 years of community college 

9 free, through a new partnership with States and In10 dian tribes to help the States and Indian tribes— 

11 (A) waive resident community college tui12 tion and fees for eligible students; 

13 (B) maintain State and Indian tribe sup14 port for higher education; and 

15 (C) promote key reforms to improve stu16 dent outcomes; and 

17 (2) through a new partnership with minority18 serving institutions to— 

19 (A) encourage eligible students to enroll 

20 and successfully complete a baccalaureate de21 gree at participating institutions; and 

22 (B) promote key reforms to improve stu23 dent outcomes. 


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1 TITLE I—STATE AND INDIAN 

2 TRIBE GRANTS FOR COMMU3 NITY COLLEGES 

4 SEC. 101. IN GENERAL. 

5 From amounts appropriated under section 107(a) for 

6 any fiscal year, the Secretary shall award grants to eligible 

7 States and Indian tribes to pay the Federal share of ex8 penditures needed to carry out the activities and services 

9 described in section 105. 

10 SEC. 102. FEDERAL SHARE; NON-FEDERAL SHARE. 

11 (a) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

12 (1) FORMULA.—Subject to paragraph (2), the 

13 Federal share of a grant under this title shall be 

14 based on a formula, determined by the Secretary, 

15 that— 

16 (A) accounts for the State or Indian tribe’s 

17 share of eligible students; and 

18 (B) provides, for each eligible student in 

19 the State or Indian tribe, a per-student amount 

20 that is— 

21 (i) not less than 300 percent of the 

22 per-student amount of the State or Indian 

23 tribe share, determined under subsection 

24 (b), subject to clause (ii); and 

25 (ii) not greater than 75 percent of— 


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1 (I) for the 2016–2017 award 

2 year, the average resident community 

3 college tuition and fees per student in 

4 all States for the most recent year for 

5 which data are available; and 

6 (II) for each subsequent award 

7 year, the average resident community 

8 college tuition and fees per student in 

9 all States calculated under this sub10 clause for the preceding year, in11 creased by the lesser of— 

12 (aa) the percentage by which 

13 the average resident community 

14 college tuition and fees per stu15 dent in all States for the most re16 cent year for which data are 

17 available increased as compared 

18 to such average for the preceding 

19 year; or 

20 (bb) 3 percent. 

21 (2) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN INDIAN

22 TRIBES.—In any case in which not less than 75 per23 cent of the students at the community colleges oper24 ated or controlled by an Indian tribe are low-income 

25 students, the amount of the Federal share for such 


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1 Indian tribe shall be not less than 95 percent of the 

2 total amount needed to waive tuition and fees for all 

3 eligible students enrolled in such community col4 leges. 

5 (b) STATE OR TRIBAL SHARE.— 

6 (1) FORMULA.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The State or tribal 

8 share of a grant under this title for each fiscal 

9 year shall be the amount needed to pay 25 per10 cent of the average community college resident 

11 tuition and fees per student in all States in the 

12 2016–2017 award year for all eligible students 

13 in the State or Indian tribe, respectively, for 

14 such fiscal year, except as provided in subpara15 graph (B). 

16 (B) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN INDIAN

17 TRIBES.—In a case in which not less than 5 

18 percent of the students at the community col19 leges operated or controlled by an Indian tribe 

20 are low-income students, the amount of such 

21 Indian tribe’s tribal share shall not exceed 5 

22 percent of the total amount needed to waive tui23 tion and fees for all eligible students enrolled in 

24 such community colleges. 


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1 (2) NEED-BASED AID.—A State or Indian tribe 

2 may include any need-based financial aid provided 

3 through State or tribal funds to eligible students as 

4 part of the State or tribal share. 

5 (3) NO IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—A State or 

6 Indian tribe shall not include in-kind contributions 

7 for purposes of the State or tribal share described 

8 in paragraph (1). 

9 SEC. 103. ELIGIBILITY. 

10 To be eligible for a grant under this title, a State 

11 or Indian tribe shall agree to waive community college 

12 resident tuition and fees for all eligible students for each 

13 year of the grant. 

14 SEC. 104. APPLICATIONS. 

15 (a) SUBMISSION.—For each fiscal year for which a 

16 State or Indian tribe desires a grant under this title, an 

17 application shall be submitted to the Secretary at such 

18 time, in such manner, and containing such information as 

19 the Secretary may require. Such application shall be sub20 mitted by— 

21 (1) in the case of a State, the Governor, the 

22 State agency with jurisdiction over higher education, 

23 or another agency designated by the Governor to ad24 minister the program under this title; or 


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1 (2) in the case of an Indian tribe, the governing 

2 body of such tribe. 

3 (b) CONTENTS.—Each State or Indian tribe applica4 tion shall include, at a minimum— 

5 (1) an estimate of the number of eligible stu6 dents in the State or Indian tribe and the cost of 

7 waiving community college resident tuition and fees 

8 for all eligible students for each fiscal year covered 

9 by the grant, with annual increases of an amount 

10 that shall not exceed 3 percent of the prior year’s 

11 average resident community college tuition and fees; 

12 (2) an assurance that all community colleges in 

13 the State or under the jurisdiction of the Indian 

14 tribe, respectively, will waive resident tuition and 

15 fees for eligible students in programs that are— 

16 (A) academic programs with credits that 

17 can fully transfer via articulation agreement to18 ward a baccalaureate degree or postbaccalau19 reate degree at any public institution of higher 

20 education in the State; or 

21 (B) occupational skills training programs 

22 that lead to a recognized postsecondary creden23 tial that is in an in-demand industry sector or 

24 occupation in the State; 


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1 (3) a description of the promising and evidence2 based institutional reforms and innovative practices 

3 to improve student outcomes, including completion 

4 or transfer rates, that have been or will be adopted 

5 by the participating community colleges, such as— 

6 (A) providing comprehensive academic and 

7 student support services, including mentoring 

8 and advising, especially for low-income, first9 generation, adult, and other underrepresented 

10 students; 

11 (B) providing accelerated learning opportu12 nities, such as dual or concurrent enrollment 

13 programs; 

14 (C) advancing competency-based education; 

15 (D) strengthening remedial education, es16 pecially for low-income, first-generation, adult 

17 and other underrepresented students; 

18 (E) implementing course redesigns of high19 enrollment courses to improve student outcomes 

20 and reduce cost; or 

21 (F) utilizing career pathways or degree 

22 pathways; 

23 (4) a description of how the State or Indian 

24 tribe will promote alignment between its public sec25 ondary school and postsecondary education systems, 


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1 including between 2-year and 4-year public institu2 tions of higher education and with minority-serving 

3 institutions described in section 371 of the Higher 

4 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q), to ex5 pand awareness of and access to postsecondary edu6 cation, reduce the need for remediation and repeated 

7 coursework, and improve student outcomes; 

8 (5) a description of how the State or Indian 

9 tribe will ensure that programs leading to a recog10 nized postsecondary credential meet the quality cri11 teria established by the State under section 123(a) 

12 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

13 (29 U.S.C. 3153(a)) or other quality criteria deter14 mined appropriate by the State or Indian tribe; 

15 (6) an assurance that all participating commu16 nity colleges in the State or under the authority of 

17 the Indian tribe have entered into program partici18 pation agreements under section 487 of the Higher 

19 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094); 

20 (7) an assurance that, for each year of the 

21 grant, the State or Indian tribe will notify each eligi22 ble student of the student’s remaining eligibility for 

23 assistance under this title; and 

24 (8) a description of how the State or Indian 

25 tribe will promote the improved performance of pubVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Jul 09, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2962.IH H2962

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1 lic institutions of higher education through funding 

2 reform, including through the use of a performance3 based model that allocates a portion of the State or 

4 Indian tribe’s public higher education expenditures 

5 based on the performance of those institutions on 

6 State-specified metrics, including successful student 

7 outcomes, while ensuring that existing funding gaps 

8 for underresourced institutions are not exacerbated. 

9 SEC. 105. ALLOWABLE USES OF FUNDS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—A State or Indian tribe shall use 

11 a grant under this title only to provide funds to partici12 pating community colleges to waive resident tuition and 

13 fees for eligible students who are enrolled in— 

14 (1) academic programs with credits that can 

15 fully transfer via articulation agreement toward a 

16 baccalaureate degree or postbaccalaureate degree at 

17 any public institution of higher education in the 

18 State; or 

19 (2) occupational skills training programs that 

20 lead to a recognized postsecondary credential that is 

21 in an in-demand industry sector or occupation in the 

22 State. 

23 (b) ADDITIONAL USES.—If a State or Indian tribe 

24 demonstrates to the Secretary that it has grant funds re25 maining after meeting the demand for activities described 


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1 in subsection (a), the State or Indian tribe may use those 

2 funds to carry out one or more of the following: 

3 (1) Expanding the waiver of resident tuition 

4 and fees at community college to students who are 

5 returning students or otherwise not enrolling in 

6 postsecondary education for the first time, and who 

7 meet the student eligibility requirements of clauses 

8 (i) through (v) of section 106(4)(A). 

9 (2) Expanding the scope and capacity of high10 quality academic and occupational skills training 

11 programs at community colleges. 

12 (3) Improving postsecondary education readi13 ness in the State or Indian tribe, through outreach 

14 and early intervention. 

15 (4) Expanding access to dual or concurrent en16 rollment programs. 

17 (5) Improving affordability at 4-year public in18 stitutions of higher education. 

19 (c) USE OF FUNDS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE PUR20 POSES.—A State or Indian tribe that receives a grant 

21 under this title may not use any funds provided under this 

22 title for administrative purposes relating to the grant 

23 under this title. 

24 (d) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—A State or Indian 

25 tribe receiving a grant under this title is entitled to receive 


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1 its full allotment of funds under this title for a fiscal year 

2 only if, for each year of the grant, the State or Indian 

3 tribe provides financial support for public higher education 

4 at a level equal to or exceeding the average amount pro5 vided per full-time equivalent student for public institu6 tions of higher education for the 3 consecutive preceding 

7 State or Indian tribe fiscal years. In making the calcula8 tion under this subsection, the State or Indian tribe shall 

9 exclude capital expenses and research and development 

10 costs and include need-based financial aid for students 

11 who attend public institutions of higher education. 

12 (e) ANNUAL REPORT.—A State or Indian tribe re13 ceiving a grant under this title shall submit an annual re14 port to the Secretary describing the uses of grant funds 

15 under this title, the progress made in fulfilling the require16 ments of the grant, and rates of graduation, transfer and 

17 attainment of recognized postsecondary credentials at par18 ticipating community colleges, and including any other in19 formation as the Secretary may require. 

20 (f) REPORTING BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary an21 nually shall— 

22 (1) compile and analyze the information de23 scribed in subsection (e); and 

24 (2) prepare and submit a report to the Com25 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 


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1 of the Senate and the Committee on Education and 

2 the Workforce of the House of Representatives con3 taining the analysis described in paragraph (1) and 

4 an identification of State and Indian tribe best prac5 tices for achieving the purpose of this title. 

6 (g) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 

7 provide technical assistance to eligible States and Indian 

8 tribes concerning best practices regarding the promising 

9 and evidence-based institutional reforms and innovative 

10 practices to improve student outcomes as described in sec11 tion 104(b)(3) and shall disseminate such best practices 

12 among the States and Indian tribes. 

13 (h) CONTINUATION OF FUNDING.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State or Indian tribe re15 ceiving a grant under this title for a fiscal year may 

16 continue to receive funding under this title for fu17 ture fiscal years conditioned on the availability of 

18 budget authority and on meeting the requirements 

19 of the grant, as determined by the Secretary. 

20 (2) DISCONTINUATION.—The Secretary may 

21 discontinue funding of the Federal share of a grant 

22 under this title if the State or Indian tribe has vio23 lated the terms of the grant or is not making ade24 quate progress in implementing the reforms deVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Jul 09, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2962.IH H2962

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1 scribed in the application submitted under section 

2 104. 

3 SEC. 106. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this title: 

5 (1) CAREER PATHWAY.—The term ‘‘career 

6 pathway’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

7 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

8 (29 U.S.C. 3102). 

9 (2) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘‘commu10 nity college’’ means a public institution of higher 

11 education at which the highest degree that is pre12 dominantly awarded to students is an associate’s de13 gree, including 2-year tribally controlled colleges 

14 under section 316 of the Higher Education Act of 

15 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c) and public 2-year State in16 stitutions of higher education. 

17 (3) DUAL OR CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT PRO18 GRAM.—The term ‘‘dual or concurrent enrollment 

19 program’’ means an academic program through 

20 which a secondary school student is able simulta21 neously to earn credit toward a secondary school di22 ploma and a postsecondary degree or other recog23 nized postsecondary credential, including early col24 lege high school programs. 

25 (4) ELIGIBLE STUDENT.— 


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1 (A) DEFINITION.—The term ‘‘eligible stu2 dent’’ means a student who— 

3 (i)(I) enrolls in a community college 

4 for the first time, regardless of age, after 

5 the date of enactment of this Act; or 

6 (II) is enrolled in a community col7 lege, for the first time, as of the date of 

8 enactment of this Act; 

9 (ii) attends the community college on 

10 not less than a half-time basis; 

11 (iii) is maintaining satisfactory 

12 progress, as defined in section 484(c) of 

13 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

14 U.S.C. 1091(c)), in the student’s course of 

15 study; 

16 (iv) qualifies for resident tuition, as 

17 determined by the State or Indian tribe; 

18 and 

19 (v) is enrolled in an eligible program 

20 described in section 104(b)(2). 

21 (B) SPECIAL RULE.—An otherwise eligible 

22 student shall lose eligibility 3 calendar years 

23 after first receiving benefits under this title. 

24 (5) IN-DEMAND INDUSTRY SECTOR OR OCCUPA25 TION.—The term ‘‘in-demand industry sector or ocVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Jul 09, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2962.IH H2962

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1 cupation’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

2 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

3 (29 U.S.C. 3102). 

4 (6) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

5 has the meaning given the term in section 102 of the 

6 Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 

7 (25 U.S.C. 479a). 

8 (7) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

9 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

10 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 

11 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

12 (8) RECOGNIZED POSTSECONDARY CREDEN13 TIAL.—The term ‘‘recognized postsecondary creden14 tial’’ has the meaning as described in section 3 of 

15 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

16 U.S.C. 3102). 

17 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

18 the Secretary of Education. 

19 (10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean20 ing given the term in section 103 of the Higher 

21 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003). 

22 SEC. 107. APPROPRIATIONS. 

23 (a) AUTHORIZATION AND APPROPRIATIONS.—For 

24 the purpose of making grants under this title, there are 


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1 authorized to be appropriated, and there are appro2 priated— 

3 (1) $1,365,000,000 for fiscal year 2016; 

4 (2) $3,020,000,000 for fiscal year 2017; 

5 (3) $3,854,000,000 for fiscal year 2018; 

6 (4) $5,395,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; 

7 (5) $7,061,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; 

8 (6) $8,085,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; 

9 (7) $10,182,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; 

10 (8) $13,019,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; 

11 (9) $13,583,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; and 

12 (10) $14,171,000,000 for fiscal year 2025 and 

13 each succeeding fiscal year. 

14 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Funds appropriated under sub15 section (a) shall remain available to the Secretary until 

16 expended. 

17 (c) INSUFFICIENT FUNDS.—If the amount appro18 priated under subsection (a) for a fiscal year is not suffi19 cient to award each participating State and Indian tribe 

20 a grant under this title that is equal to the minimum 

21 amount of the Federal share described in section 102(a), 

22 the Secretary may ratably reduce the amount of each such 

23 grant or take other actions necessary to ensure an equi24 table distribution of such amount. 


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1 TITLE II—GRANTS TO HISTORI2 CALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND 

3 UNIVERSITIES, HISPANIC4 SERVING INSTITUTIONS, 

5 ASIAN AMERICAN AND NA6 TIVE AMERICAN PACIFIC IS7 LANDER-SERVING INSTITU8 TIONS, TRIBAL COLLEGES 

9 AND UNIVERSITIES, ALASKA 

10 NATIVE-SERVING INSTITU11 TIONS, NATIVE HAWAIIAN12 SERVING INSTITUTIONS, PRE13 DOMINANTLY BLACK INSTI14 TUTIONS, AND NATIVE AMER15 ICAN-SERVING NONTRIBAL 

16 INSTITUTIONS 

17 SEC. 201. PATHWAYS TO STUDENT SUCCESS FOR HISTORI18 CALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated 

20 under section 204(a) for any fiscal year, the Secretary 

21 shall award grants to participating 4-year historically 

22 black colleges or universities that meet the requirements 

23 of subsection (b) to— 


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1 (1) encourage students to enroll as first-time 

2 students and successfully complete a bachelor’s de3 gree at participating institutions; 

4 (2) provide incentives to community college stu5 dents to transfer to participating institutions 

6 through strong transfer pathways to complete a 

7 bachelor’s degree program; and 

8 (3) support participating institutions to better 

9 serve new and existing students by engaging in re10 forms and innovations designed to improve comple11 tion rates and other student outcomes. 

12 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

13 under the program under this section, an institution shall 

14 be a historically black college or university that— 

15 (1) has a student body of which not less than 

16 35 percent are low-income students; 

17 (2) commits to maintaining or adopting and im18 plementing promising and evidence-based institu19 tional reforms and innovative practices to improve 

20 the completion rates and other student outcomes, 

21 such as— 

22 (A) providing comprehensive academic and 

23 student support services, including mentoring 

24 and advising; 


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1 (B) providing accelerated learning opportu2 nities and degree pathways, such as dual enroll3 ment and pathways to graduate and profes4 sional degree programs; 

5 (C) advancing distance and competency6 based education; 

7 (D) partnering with employers, industry, 

8 not-for-profit associations, and other groups to 

9 provide opportunities to advance learning out10 side the classroom, including work-based learn11 ing opportunities such as internships or appren12 ticeships or programs designed to improve 

13 inter-cultural development and personal growth, 

14 such as foreign exchange and study abroad pro15 grams; 

16 (E) reforming remedial education, espe17 cially for low-income students, first generation 

18 college students, adult students, and other 

19 underrepresented students; or 

20 (F) implementing course redesigns of high21 enrollment courses to improve student outcomes 

22 and reduce cost; 

23 (3) sets performance goals for improving stu24 dent outcomes for the duration of the grant; and 


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1 (4) if receiving a grant for transfer students, 

2 has articulation agreements with community colleges 

3 at the national, State, or local level to ensure that 

4 community college credits can fully transfer to the 

5 participating institution. 

6 (c) GRANT AMOUNT.— 

7 (1) INITIAL AMOUNT.—For the first year that 

8 an eligible institution participates in the grant pro9 gram under this section and subject to paragraph 

10 (3), such eligible institution shall receive a grant in 

11 an amount based on the product of— 

12 (A) the actual cost of tuition and fees at 

13 the eligible institution in such year (referred to 

14 in this section as the per-student rebate); multi15 plied by 

16 (B) the number of eligible students en17 rolled in the eligible institution for the pre18 ceding year. 

19 (2) SUBSEQUENT INCREASES.—For each suc20 ceeding year after the first year of the grant pro21 gram under this section, each participating eligible 

22 institution shall receive a grant in the amount deter23 mined under paragraph (1) for such year, except 

24 that in no case shall the amount of the per-student 

25 rebate for an eligible institution increase by more 


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1 than 3 percent as compared to the amount of such 

2 rebate for the preceding year. 

3 (3) LIMITATIONS.— 

4 (A) MAXIMUM PER-STUDENT REBATE.— 

5 No eligible institution participating in the grant 

6 program under this section shall receive a per7 student rebate amount for any year that is 

8 greater than the national average of annual tui9 tion and fees at public 4-year institutions of 

10 higher education for such year, as determined 

11 by the Secretary. 

12 (B) FIRST YEAR TUITION AND FEES.— 

13 During the first year of participation in the 

14 grant program under this section, no eligible in15 stitution may increase tuition and fees at a rate 

16 greater than any annual increase at the eligible 

17 institution in the previous 5 years. 

18 (d) APPLICATION.—An eligible institution that de19 sires a grant under this section shall submit an application 

20 to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con21 taining such information as the Secretary may require. 

22 (e) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds awarded under this sec23 tion to a participating eligible institution shall be used to 

24 waive or significantly reduce tuition and fees for eligible 

25 students in an amount of not more than up to the annual 


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1 per-student rebate amount for each student, for not more 

2 than the first 60 credits an eligible student enrolls in the 

3 participating eligible institution. 

4 SEC. 202. PATHWAYS TO STUDENT SUCCESS FOR HISPANIC5 SERVING INSTITUTIONS, ASIAN AMERICAN 

6 AND NATIVE AMERICAN PACIFIC ISLANDER7 SERVING INSTITUTIONS, TRIBAL COLLEGES 

8 AND UNIVERSITIES, ALASKA NATIVE-SERV9 ING INSTITUTIONS, NATIVE HAWAIIAN-SERV10 ING INSTITUTIONS, PREDOMINANTLY BLACK 

11 INSTITUTIONS, AND NATIVE AMERICAN-SERV12 ING NONTRIBAL INSTITUTIONS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated 

14 under section 204(a) for any fiscal year, the Secretary 

15 shall award grants to participating 4-year minority-serving 

16 institutions to— 

17 (1) encourage students to enroll as first-time 

18 students and successfully complete a bachelor’s de19 gree at participating institutions; 

20 (2) provide incentives to community college stu21 dents to transfer to participating institutions 

22 through strong transfer pathways to complete a 

23 bachelor’s degree program; and 

24 (3) support participating institutions to better 

25 serve new and existing students by engaging in reVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Jul 09, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2962.IH H2962

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1 forms and innovations designed to improve comple2 tion rates and other student outcomes. 

3 (b) INSTITUTIONAL ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to 

4 participate and receive a grant under this section, an insti5 tution shall be a minority-serving institution that— 

6 (1) has a student body of which not less than 

7 35 percent are low-income students; 

8 (2) commits to maintaining or adopting and im9 plementing promising and evidence-based institu10 tional reforms and innovative practices to improve 

11 the completion rates and other student outcomes, 

12 such as— 

13 (A) providing comprehensive academic and 

14 student support services, including mentoring 

15 and advising; 

16 (B) providing accelerated learning opportu17 nities and degree pathways, such as dual enroll18 ment and pathways to graduate and profes19 sional degree programs; 

20 (C) advancing distance and competency21 based education; 

22 (D) partnering with employers, industry, 

23 not-for-profit associations, and other groups to 

24 provide opportunities to advance learning out25 side the classroom, including work-based learnVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Jul 09, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2962.IH H2962

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1 ing opportunities such as internships or appren2 ticeships or programs designed to improve 

3 inter-cultural development and personal growth, 

4 such as foreign exchange and study abroad pro5 grams; 

6 (E) reforming remedial education, espe7 cially for low-income students, first generation 

8 college students, adult students, and other 

9 underrepresented students; and 

10 (F) implementing course redesigns of high11 enrollment courses to improve student outcomes 

12 and reduce cost; 

13 (3) sets performance goals for improving stu14 dent outcomes for the duration of the grant; and 

15 (4) if receiving a grant for transfer students, 

16 has articulation agreements with community colleges 

17 at the national, State, or local levels to ensure that 

18 community college credits can fully transfer to the 

19 participating institution. 

20 (c) GRANT AMOUNT.— 

21 (1) INITIAL AMOUNT.—For the first year that 

22 an eligible institution participates in the grant pro23 gram under this section and subject to paragraph 

24 (3), such participating eligible institution shall reVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Jul 09, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2962.IH H2962

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1 ceive a grant in an amount based on the product 

2 of— 

3 (A) the actual cost of tuition and fees at 

4 the eligible institution in such year (referred to 

5 in this section as the per-student rebate); multi6 plied by 

7 (B) the number of eligible students en8 rolled in the eligible institution for the pre9 ceding year. 

10 (2) SUBSEQUENT INCREASES.—For each suc11 ceeding year after the first year of the grant pro12 gram under this section, each participating eligible 

13 institution shall receive a grant in the amount deter14 mined under paragraph (1) for such year, except 

15 that in no case shall the amount of the per-student 

16 rebate increase by more than 3 percent as compared 

17 to the amount of such rebate for the preceding year. 

18 (3) LIMITATIONS.— 

19 (A) MAXIMUM PER-STUDENT REBATE.— 

20 No eligible institution participating in the grant 

21 program under this section shall receive a per22 student rebate amount for a grant year greater 

23 than the national average of public four-year in24 stitutional tuition and fees, as determined by 

25 the Secretary. 


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1 (B) FIRST YEAR TUITION AND FEES.— 

2 During the first year of participation in the 

3 grant program under this section, no eligible in4 stitution may increase tuition and fees at a rate 

5 greater than any annual increase made by the 

6 institution in the previous 5 years. 

7 (d) APPLICATION.—An eligible institution shall sub8 mit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such 

9 a manner, and containing such information as determined 

10 by the Secretary. 

11 (e) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds awarded under this sec12 tion to a participating eligible institution shall be used to 

13 waive or significantly reduce tuition and fees for eligible 

14 students in an amount of not more than up to the annual 

15 per-student rebate amount for each student, for not more 

16 than the first 60 credits an eligible student enrolls in the 

17 participating eligible institution. 

18 SEC. 203. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this title: 

20 (1) ELIGIBLE STUDENT.— 

21 (A) DEFINITION.—The term ‘‘eligible stu22 dent’’ means a student, regardless of age, 

23 who— 


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1 (i)(I) enrolls in a historically black 

2 college or university, or minority-serving 

3 institution, for the first time; or 

4 (II) transfers from a community col5 lege into a historically black college or uni6 versity, or minority-serving institution, for 

7 the first time; 

8 (ii) attends the historically black col9 lege or university, or minority serving in10 stitution, on at least a half-time basis; 

11 (iii) maintains satisfactory academic 

12 progress; and 

13 (iv) is a low-income student. 

14 (B) SPECIAL RULES.— 

15 (i) FIRST 3 YEARS.—An otherwise eli16 gible student shall lose eligibility 3 cal17 endar years after first receiving benefits 

18 under this title. 

19 (ii) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN STU20 DENTS.—Notwithstanding subparagraph 

21 (A)(i), an otherwise eligible student whose 

22 parent or guardian was denied a Federal 

23 Direct PLUS loan under title IV of the 

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

25 1070 et seq.) after November 2011 and beVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Jul 09, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2962.IH H2962

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1 fore March 29, 2015, and who subse2 quently withdrew from a historically black 

3 college or university, or minority-serving 

4 institution, and has not yet completed a 

5 program of study at such historically black 

6 college or university or minority-serving in7 stitution, shall be eligible to participate 

8 under section 201 or 202 in order to com9 plete such program of study, subject to all 

10 other requirements of section 201 or 202 

11 (as the case may be). 

12 (2) HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE OR UNI13 VERSITY.—The term ‘‘historically black college or 

14 university’’ means a part B institution described in 

15 section 322(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

16 (20 U.S.C. 1061(2)). 

17 (3) LOW-INCOME STUDENT.—The term ‘‘low-in18 come student’’ has the meaning given such term by 

19 the Secretary, except that such term shall not ex20 clude any student eligible for a Federal Pell Grant 

21 under section 401 of the Higher Education Act of 

22 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a). 

23 (4) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 

24 term ‘‘minority-serving institution’’ means any pub25 lic or not-for-profit institution of higher education— 


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1 (A) described in paragraphs (2) through 

2 (7) of section 371(a) of the Higher Education 

3 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q); and 

4 (B) designated as a minority-serving insti5 tution by the Secretary. 

6 SEC. 204. APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 (a) AUTHORIZATION AND APPROPRIATIONS FOR

8 HBCU AND MSI GRANTS.—For the purpose of carrying 

9 out sections 201 and 202, there are authorized to be ap10 propriated, and there are appropriated— 

11 (1) $55,000,000 for fiscal year 2016; 

12 (2) $180,000,000 for fiscal year 2017; 

13 (3) $1,072,000,000 for fiscal year 2018; 

14 (4) $1,115,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; 

15 (5) $1,160,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; 

16 (6) $1,206,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; 

17 (7) $1,225,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; 

18 (8) $1,306,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; 

19 (9) $1,359,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; and 

20 (10) $1,414,000,000 for fiscal year 2025 and 

21 each succeeding fiscal year. 

22 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Funds appropriated under sub23 section (a) are to remain available to the Secretary until 

24 expended. 


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1 (c) INSUFFICIENT FUNDS.—If the amount appro2 priated under subsection (a) for a fiscal year is not suffi3 cient to award each participating institution in the grant 

4 programs under sections 201 and 202 a grant under this 

5 part equal to 100 percent of the grant amount determined 

6 under section 201(c), the Secretary may ratably reduce 

7 the amount of each such grant or take other actions nec8 essary to ensure an equitable distribution of such amount. 

Æ 


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