I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3178 

To simplify and streamline the information regarding institutions of higher 

education made publicly available by the Secretary of Education, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 23, 2015 

Ms. FOXX (for herself, Mr. MESSER, Mr. SABLAN, Mr. KLINE, Mr. SCOTT of 

Virginia, Mr. WALBERG, Mr. HECK of Nevada, Mr. CARTER of Georgia, 

Ms. STEFANIK, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. GRIJALVA, and Mr. 

DESAULNIER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strengthening Trans5 parency in Higher Education Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. COLLEGE DASHBOARD WEBSITE. 

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

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


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1 (1) in subsection (a)— 

2 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘first3 time,’’; 

4 (B) in paragraph (3) in the matter pre5 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘first6 time,’’; and 

7 (C) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘first8 time,’’; 

9 (2) in subsection (b)— 

10 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘first11 time’’; and 

12 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘first13 time’’; 

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

15 and (l); 

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

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

18 (5) by striking subsection (d) (as so redesig19 nated) and inserting the following new subsection: 

20 ‘‘(d) CONSUMER INFORMATION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) AVAILABILITY OF TITLE IV INSTITUTION

22 INFORMATION.—The Secretary shall develop and 

23 make publicly available a website to be known as the 

24 ‘College Dashboard website’ in accordance with this 

25 section and prominently display on such website, in 


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1 simple, understandable, and unbiased terms for the 

2 most recent academic year for which satisfactory 

3 data are available, the following information with re4 spect to each institution of higher education that 

5 participates in a program under title IV: 

6 ‘‘(A) A link to the website of the institu7 tion. 

8 ‘‘(B) An identification of the type of insti9 tution as one of the following: 

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

11 higher education. 

12 ‘‘(ii) A four-year private, nonprofit in13 stitution of higher education. 

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

15 institution of higher education. 

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

17 higher education. 

18 ‘‘(v) A two-year private, nonprofit in19 stitution of higher education. 

20 ‘‘(vi) A two-year private, for-profit in21 stitution of higher education. 

22 ‘‘(vii) A less than two-year public in23 stitution of higher education. 

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

25 nonprofit institution of higher education. 


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

2 for-profit institution of higher education. 

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

4 the institution— 

5 ‘‘(i) as undergraduate students; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) as graduate students, if applica7 ble. 

8 ‘‘(D) The student-faculty ratio. 

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

10 certificate-seeking undergraduate students en11 rolled at the institution who obtain a degree or 

12 certificate within— 

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

14 for completion of, or graduation from, the 

15 program in which the student is enrolled; 

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

17 for completion of, or graduation from, the 

18 program in which the student is enrolled; 

19 and 

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

21 for completion of, or graduation from, the 

22 program in which the student is enrolled. 

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

24 undergraduate students receiving Federal stu25 dent financial aid under title IV based on an inVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:47 Jul 25, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3178.IH H3178

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1 come category selected by the user from a list 

2 containing the following income categories: 

3 ‘‘(i) $0 to $30,000. 

4 ‘‘(ii) $30,001 to $48,000. 

5 ‘‘(iii) $48,001 to $75,000. 

6 ‘‘(iv) $75,001 to $110,000. 

7 ‘‘(v) $110,001 to $150,000. 

8 ‘‘(vi) Over $150,000. 

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

10 such institution. 

11 ‘‘(H) The percentage of undergraduate 

12 students who obtained a certificate or degree 

13 from the institution who borrowed Federal stu14 dent loans and the average Federal student 

15 loan debt incurred by an undergraduate student 

16 who obtained a certificate or degree from the 

17 institution and borrowed Federal student loans 

18 in the course of obtaining such certificate or de19 gree. 

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

21 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on starting 

22 salaries in all major occupations. 

23 ‘‘(J) A link to the webpage of the institu24 tion containing campus safety data with respect 

25 to such institution. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—The Sec2 retary shall publish on Internet webpages that are 

3 linked to through the College Dashboard website for 

4 the most recent academic year for which satisfactory 

5 data is available the following information with re6 spect to each institution of higher education that 

7 participates in a program under title IV: 

8 ‘‘(A) ENROLLMENT.— 

9 ‘‘(i) The percentages of male and fe10 male undergraduate students enrolled at 

11 the institution. 

12 ‘‘(ii) The percentages of under13 graduate students enrolled at the institu14 tion— 

15 ‘‘(I) full-time; and 

16 ‘‘(II) less than full-time. 

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

18 other than an institution that provides all 

19 courses and programs through distance 

20 education, of the undergraduate students 

21 enrolled at the institution— 

22 ‘‘(I) the percentage of such stu23 dents who are from the State in which 

24 the institution is located; 


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1 ‘‘(II) the percentage of such stu2 dents who are from other States; and 

3 ‘‘(III) the percentage of such stu4 dents who are international students. 

5 ‘‘(iv) The percentages of under6 graduate students enrolled at the institu7 tion, disaggregated by— 

8 ‘‘(I) race and ethnic background; 

9 ‘‘(II) classification as a student 

10 with a disability; 

11 ‘‘(III) recipients of a Federal Pell 

12 Grant; 

13 ‘‘(IV) recipients of assistance 

14 under a tuition assistance program 

15 conducted by the Department of De16 fense under section 1784a or 2007 of 

17 title 10, United States Code, or other 

18 authorities available to the Depart19 ment of Defense or veterans’ edu20 cation benefits (as defined in section 

21 480); and 

22 ‘‘(V) recipients of a Federal stu23 dent loan. 


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1 ‘‘(B) COMPLETION.—The information re2 quired under paragraph (1)(E), disaggregated 

3 by— 

4 ‘‘(i) recipients of a Federal Pell 

5 Grant; 

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

7 part D (other than a Federal Direct Un8 subsidized Stafford Loan) who did not re9 ceive a Federal Pell Grant; 

10 ‘‘(iii) persons who did not receive a 

11 Federal Pell Grant or a loan made under 

12 part D (other than a Federal Direct Un13 subsidized Stafford Loan); 

14 ‘‘(iv) race and ethnic background; 

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

16 disability; and 

17 ‘‘(vi) recipients of assistance under a 

18 tuition assistance program conducted by 

19 the Department of Defense under section 

20 1784a or 2007 of title 10, United States 

21 Code, or other authorities available to the 

22 Department of Defense or veterans’ edu23 cation benefits (as defined in section 480). 

24 ‘‘(C) COSTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) The cost of attendance for full2 time undergraduate students enrolled in 

3 the institution who live on campus. 

4 ‘‘(ii) The cost of attendance for full5 time undergraduate students enrolled in 

6 the institution who live off campus. 

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

8 full-time undergraduate students enrolled 

9 in the institution. 

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

11 credit hour or credit hour equivalency for 

12 undergraduate students enrolled in the in13 stitution less than full time. 

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

15 of higher education (other than an institu16 tion described in clause (vi)) and notwith17 standing subsection (b)(1), the costs de18 scribed in clauses (i) and (ii) for— 

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

20 the institution who are residents of 

21 the State in which the institution is 

22 located; and 

23 ‘‘(II) full-time students enrolled 

24 in the institution who are not resi25 dents of such State. 


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1 ‘‘(vi) In the case of a public institu2 tion of higher education that offers dif3 ferent tuition rates for students who are 

4 residents of a geographic subdivision small5 er than a State and students not located in 

6 such geographic subdivision and notwith7 standing subsection (b)(1), the costs de8 scribed in clauses (i) and (ii) for— 

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

10 the institution who are residents of 

11 such geographic subdivision; 

12 ‘‘(II) full-time students enrolled 

13 at the institution who are residents of 

14 the State in which the institution is 

15 located but not residents of such geo16 graphic subdivision; and 

17 ‘‘(III) full-time students enrolled 

18 at the institution who are not resi19 dents of such State. 

20 ‘‘(D) FINANCIAL AID.— 

21 ‘‘(i) The average annual grant amount 

22 (including Federal, State, and institutional 

23 aid) awarded to an undergraduate student 

24 enrolled at the institution who receives fi25 nancial aid. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) The percentage of undergraduate 

2 students enrolled at the institution receiv3 ing Federal, State, and institutional 

4 grants, student loans, and any other type 

5 of student financial assistance known by 

6 the institution, provided publicly or 

7 through the institution, such as Federal 

8 work-study funds. 

9 ‘‘(iii) The cohort default rate (as de10 fined in section 435(m)) for such institu11 tion. 

12 ‘‘(E) FACULTY INFORMATION.— 

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

14 sections taught by part-time instructors to 

15 the number of course sections taught by 

16 full-time faculty, disaggregated by course 

17 sections intended primarily for under18 graduate students and course sections in19 tended primarily for graduate students. 

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

21 employment for part-time instructors. 

22 ‘‘(3) OTHER DATA MATTERS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) COMPLETION DATA.—The Commis24 sioner of Education Statistics shall ensure that 

25 the information required under paragraph 


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

2 students at an institution, including students 

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

4 students who transfer to another institution, in 

5 a manner that the Commissioner considers ap6 propriate. 

7 ‘‘(B) ADJUSTMENT OF INCOME CAT8 EGORIES.—The Secretary may annually adjust 

9 the range of each of the income categories de10 scribed in paragraph (1)(F) to account for a 

11 change in the Consumer Price Index for All 

12 Urban Consumers as determined by the Bureau 

13 of Labor Statistics if the Secretary determines 

14 an adjustment is necessary. 

15 ‘‘(4) INSTITUTIONAL COMPARISON.—The Sec16 retary shall include on the College Dashboard 

17 website a method for users to easily compare the in18 formation required under paragraphs (1) and (2) be19 tween institutions. 

20 ‘‘(5) UPDATES.— 

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

22 the College Dashboard website not less than an23 nually. 

24 ‘‘(B) TECHNOLOGY AND FORMAT.—The 

25 Secretary shall regularly assess the format and 


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1 technology of the College Dashboard website 

2 and make any changes or updates that the Sec3 retary considers appropriate. 

4 ‘‘(6) CONSUMER TESTING.— 

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

6 maintaining the College Dashboard website, the 

7 Secretary, in consultation with appropriate de8 partments and agencies of the Federal Govern9 ment, shall conduct consumer testing with ap10 propriate persons, including current and pro11 spective college students, family members of 

12 such students, institutions of higher education, 

13 and experts, to ensure that the College Dash14 board website is usable and easily understand15 able and provides useful and relevant informa16 tion to students and families. 

17 ‘‘(B) RECOMMENDATIONS FOR

18 CHANGES.—The Secretary shall submit to the 

19 authorizing committees any recommendations 

20 that the Secretary considers appropriate for 

21 changing the information required to be pro22 vided on the College Dashboard website under 

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

24 the consumer testing conducted under subpara25 graph (A). 


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1 ‘‘(7) PROVISION OF APPROPRIATE LINKS TO

2 PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS AFTER SUBMISSION OF

3 FAFSA.—The Secretary shall provide to each student 

4 that submits a Free Application for Federal Student 

5 Aid described in section 483 a link to the webpage 

6 of the College Dashboard website that contains the 

7 information required under paragraph (1) for each 

8 institution of higher education such student includes 

9 on such Application. 

10 ‘‘(8) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—The Sec11 retary, in consultation with each appropriate head of 

12 a department or agency of the Federal Government, 

13 shall ensure to the greatest extent practicable that 

14 any information related to higher education that is 

15 published by such department or agency is con16 sistent with the information published on the College 

17 Dashboard website. 

18 ‘‘(9) REFERENCES TO COLLEGE NAVIGATOR

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

20 Navigator website shall be considered a reference to 

21 the College Dashboard website.’’. 

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Higher Edu23 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), as amended 

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


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

2 striking ‘‘College Navigator’’ and inserting ‘‘College 

3 Dashboard’’; and 

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

5 striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following 

6 new paragraph: 

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

8 term ‘College Dashboard website’ means the College 

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

10 (c) DEVELOPMENT.—The Secretary of Education 

11 shall develop and publish the College Dashboard website 

12 required under section 132 of the Higher Education Act 

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

14 (a) and (b) of this section, not later than one year after 

15 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

16 (d) COLLEGE NAVIGATOR WEBSITE MAINTE17 NANCE.—The Secretary shall maintain the College Navi18 gator website required under section 132 of the Higher 

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

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

21 the manner required under the Higher Education Act of 

22 1965, as in effect on such day, until the College Dash23 board website referred to in subsection (c) is complete and 

24 publicly available on the Internet. 


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1 SEC. 3. NET PRICE CALCULATORS. 

2 Subsection (c) of section 132 of the Higher Edu3 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1015a), as redesignated 

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

5 (1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para6 graph (6); and 

7 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol8 lowing new paragraphs: 

9 ‘‘(4) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR NET PRICE

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

11 of the enactment of the Strengthening Transparency 

12 in Higher Education Act, a net price calculator for 

13 an institution of higher education shall meet the fol14 lowing requirements: 

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

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

17 calculator and prominently, clearly, and 

18 conspicuously posted in locations on the 

19 website of such institution where informa20 tion on costs and aid is provided and any 

21 other location that the institution considers 

22 appropriate; and 

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

24 other prominent links on the webpage 

25 where the link for the calculator is dis26 played. 


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1 ‘‘(B) The webpage displaying the results 

2 for the calculator shall specify at least the fol3 lowing information: 

4 ‘‘(i) The net price (as calculated 

5 under subsection (a)(2)) for such institu6 tion, which shall be the most visually 

7 prominent figure on the results screen. 

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

9 ‘‘(I) tuition and fees; 

10 ‘‘(II) average annual cost of 

11 room and board for the institution for 

12 a full-time undergraduate student en13 rolled in the institution; 

14 ‘‘(III) average annual cost of 

15 books and supplies for a full-time un16 dergraduate student enrolled in the 

17 institution; and 

18 ‘‘(IV) estimated cost of other ex19 penses (including personal expenses 

20 and transportation) for a full-time un21 dergraduate student enrolled in the 

22 institution. 

23 ‘‘(iii) Estimated total need-based 

24 grant aid and merit-based grant aid from 

25 Federal, State, and institutional sources 


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1 that may be available to a full-time under2 graduate student. 

3 ‘‘(iv) Percentage of the full-time un4 dergraduate students enrolled in the insti5 tution that received any type of grant aid 

6 described in clause (iii). 

7 ‘‘(v) The disclaimer described in para8 graph (6). 

9 ‘‘(vi) In the case of a calculator 

10 that— 

11 ‘‘(I) includes questions to esti12 mate the eligibility of a student or 

13 prospective student for veterans’ edu14 cation benefits (as defined in section 

15 480) or educational benefits for active 

16 duty service members, such benefits 

17 are displayed on the results screen in 

18 a manner that clearly distinguishes 

19 such benefits from the grant aid de20 scribed in clause (iii); or 

21 ‘‘(II) does not include questions 

22 to estimate eligibility for the benefits 

23 described in subclause (I), the results 

24 screen indicates that certain students 

25 (or prospective students) may qualify 


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1 for such benefits and includes a link 

2 to information about such benefits. 

3 ‘‘(C) The institution shall populate the cal4 culator with data from an academic year that 

5 is not more than 2 academic years prior to the 

6 most recent academic year. 

7 ‘‘(5) PROHIBITION ON USE OF DATA COL8 LECTED BY THE NET PRICE CALCULATOR.—A net 

9 price calculator for an institution of higher edu10 cation shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) clearly indicate which questions are 

12 required to be completed for an estimate of the 

13 net price from the calculator; 

14 ‘‘(B) in the case of a calculator that re15 quests contact information from users, clearly 

16 mark such requests as optional and provide for 

17 an estimate of the net price from the calculator 

18 without requiring users to enter such informa19 tion; and 

20 ‘‘(C) prohibit any personally identifiable in21 formation provided by users from being sold or 

22 made available to third parties.’’. 

23 SEC. 4. FUNDING. 

24 (a) USE OF EXISTING FUNDS.—Of the amount au25 thorized to be appropriated to the Department of EduVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:47 Jul 25, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3178.IH H3178

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1 cation to maintain the College Navigator website, 

2 $1,000,000 shall be available to carry out this Act and 

3 the amendments made by this Act. 

4 (b) NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.—No 

5 funds are authorized by this Act to be appropriated to 

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

Æ 


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