IB 

Union Calendar No. 522 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3178 

[Report No. 114–674] 

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 

JULY 11, 2016 

Additional sponsors: Mr. ROE of Tennessee, Mr. POLIS, Mrs. BLACKBURN, 

Mr. MACARTHUR, Mr. COFFMAN, Mr. CURBELO of Florida, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. COURTNEY, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. 

POCAN, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. WILSON of Florida, and Mr. WILSON of South 

Carolina 

JULY 11, 2016 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 23, 2015] 


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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. 


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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 Edu8 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1015a) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a)— 

10 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘first11 time,’’; 

12 (B) in paragraph (3) in the matter pre13 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘first14 time,’’; and 

15 (C) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘first16 time,’’; 

17 (2) in subsection (b)— 

18 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘first19 time,’’; and 

20 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘first21 time,’’; 

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

23 and (l); 

24 (4) by redesignating subsections (h), (i), and (k) 

25 as subsections (c), (d), and (e), respectively; and 


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1 (5) by striking subsection (d) (as so redesig2 nated) and inserting the following new subsection: 

3 ‘‘(d) CONSUMER INFORMATION.— 

4 ‘‘(1) AVAILABILITY OF TITLE IV INSTITUTION IN5 FORMATION.—The Secretary shall develop and make 

6 publicly available a website to be known as the ‘Col7 lege Dashboard website’ in accordance with this sec8 tion and prominently display on such website, in 

9 simple, understandable, and unbiased terms for the 

10 most recent academic year for which satisfactory data 

11 are available, the following information with respect 

12 to each institution of higher education that partici13 pates in a program under title IV: 

14 ‘‘(A) A link to the website of the institution. 

15 ‘‘(B) An identification of the type of insti16 tution as one of the following: 

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

18 higher education. 

19 ‘‘(ii) A four-year private, nonprofit in20 stitution of higher education. 

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

22 institution of higher education. 

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

24 higher education. 


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1 ‘‘(v) A two-year private, nonprofit in2 stitution of higher education. 

3 ‘‘(vi) A two-year private, for-profit in4 stitution of higher education. 

5 ‘‘(vii) A less than two-year public in6 stitution of higher education. 

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

8 nonprofit institution of higher education. 

9 ‘‘(ix) A less than two-year private, for10 profit institution of higher education. 

11 ‘‘(C) The number of students enrolled at the 

12 institution— 

13 ‘‘(i) as undergraduate students; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) as graduate students, if applica15 ble. 

16 ‘‘(D) The student-faculty ratio. 

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

18 certificate-seeking undergraduate students en19 rolled at the institution who obtain a degree or 

20 certificate within— 

21 ‘‘(i) 100 percent of the normal time for 

22 completion of, or graduation from, the pro23 gram in which the student is enrolled; 

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

25 for completion of, or graduation from, the 


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1 program in which the student is enrolled; 

2 and 

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

4 for completion of, or graduation from, the 

5 program in which the student is enrolled. 

6 ‘‘(F) The average net price per year for un7 dergraduate students receiving Federal student 

8 financial aid under title IV based on an income 

9 category selected by the user from a list con10 taining the following income categories: 

11 ‘‘(i) $0 to $30,000. 

12 ‘‘(ii) $30,001 to $48,000. 

13 ‘‘(iii) $48,001 to $75,000. 

14 ‘‘(iv) $75,001 to $110,000. 

15 ‘‘(v) $110,001 to $150,000. 

16 ‘‘(vi) Over $150,000. 

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

18 such institution. 

19 ‘‘(H) The percentage of undergraduate stu20 dents who obtained a certificate or degree from 

21 the institution who borrowed Federal student 

22 loans under title IV, and the average Federal 

23 student loan debt incurred by an undergraduate 

24 student who obtained a certificate or degree from 

25 the institution and borrowed Federal student 


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1 loans under title IV in the course of obtaining 

2 such certificate or degree. 

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

4 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on starting 

5 salaries in all major occupations. 

6 ‘‘(J) A link to the webpage of the institution 

7 containing campus safety data with respect to 

8 such institution. 

9 ‘‘(2) OTHER INFORMATION.—The Secretary shall 

10 publish on Internet webpages that are linked to 

11 through the College Dashboard website for the most re12 cent academic year for which satisfactory data is 

13 available the following information with respect to 

14 each institution of higher education that participates 

15 in a program under title IV: 

16 ‘‘(A) ENROLLMENT.— 

17 ‘‘(i) The percentages of male and fe18 male undergraduate students enrolled at the 

19 institution. 

20 ‘‘(ii) The percentages of undergraduate 

21 students enrolled at the institution— 

22 ‘‘(I) full-time; and 

23 ‘‘(II) less than full-time. 

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

25 other than an institution that provides all 


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1 courses and programs through distance edu2 cation, of the undergraduate students en3 rolled at the institution— 

4 ‘‘(I) the percentage of such stu5 dents who are from the State in which 

6 the institution is located; 

7 ‘‘(II) the percentage of such stu8 dents who are from other States; and 

9 ‘‘(III) the percentage of such stu10 dents who are international students. 

11 ‘‘(iv) The percentages of undergraduate 

12 students enrolled at the institution, 

13 disaggregated by— 

14 ‘‘(I) race and ethnic background; 

15 ‘‘(II) classification as a student 

16 with a disability; 

17 ‘‘(III) recipients of a Federal Pell 

18 Grant; 

19 ‘‘(IV) recipients of assistance 

20 under a tuition assistance program 

21 conducted by the Department of De22 fense under section 1784a or 2007 of 

23 title 10, United States Code, or other 

24 authorities available to the Department 


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1 of Defense or veterans’ education bene2 fits (as defined in section 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 Grant; 

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

10 part D of title IV (other than a Federal Di11 rect Unsubsidized Stafford Loan) who did 

12 not receive a Federal Pell Grant; 

13 ‘‘(iii) individuals who did not receive 

14 a Federal Pell Grant or a loan made under 

15 part D of title IV (other than a Federal Di16 rect Unsubsidized Stafford Loan); 

17 ‘‘(iv) race and ethnic background; 

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

19 disability; and 

20 ‘‘(vi) recipients of assistance under a 

21 tuition assistance program conducted by the 

22 Department of Defense under section 1784a 

23 or 2007 of title 10, United States Code, or 

24 other authorities available to the DepartVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:21 Jul 12, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3178.RH H3178

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1 ment of Defense or veterans’ education bene2 fits (as defined in section 480). 

3 ‘‘(C) COSTS.— 

4 ‘‘(i) The cost of attendance for full-time 

5 undergraduate students enrolled in the in6 stitution who live on campus. 

7 ‘‘(ii) The cost of attendance for full8 time undergraduate students enrolled in the 

9 institution who live off campus. 

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

11 full-time undergraduate students enrolled in 

12 the institution. 

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

14 credit hour or credit hour equivalency for 

15 undergraduate students enrolled in the in16 stitution less than full time. 

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

18 of higher education (other than an institu19 tion described in clause (vi)) and notwith20 standing subsection (b)(1), the costs de21 scribed in clauses (i) and (ii) for— 

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

23 the institution who are residents of the 

24 State in which the institution is lo25 cated; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) full-time students enrolled in 

2 the institution who are not residents of 

3 such State. 

4 ‘‘(vi) In the case of a public institution 

5 of higher education that offers different tui6 tion rates for students who are residents of 

7 a geographic subdivision smaller than a 

8 State and students not located in such geo9 graphic subdivision and notwithstanding 

10 subsection (b)(1), the costs described in 

11 clauses (i) and (ii) for— 

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

13 the institution who are residents of 

14 such geographic subdivision; 

15 ‘‘(II) full-time students enrolled at 

16 the institution who are residents of the 

17 State in which the institution is lo18 cated but not residents of such geo19 graphic subdivision; and 

20 ‘‘(III) full-time students enrolled 

21 at the institution who are not residents 

22 of such State. 

23 ‘‘(D) FINANCIAL AID.— 

24 ‘‘(i) The average annual grant amount 

25 (including Federal, State, and institutional 


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1 aid) awarded to an undergraduate student 

2 enrolled at the institution who receives fi3 nancial aid. 

4 ‘‘(ii) The percentage of undergraduate 

5 students enrolled at the institution receiving 

6 Federal, State, and institutional grants, 

7 student loans, and any other type of student 

8 financial assistance known by the institu9 tion, provided publicly or through the insti10 tution, such as Federal work-study funds. 

11 ‘‘(iii) The cohort default rate (as de12 fined in section 435(m)) for such institu13 tion. 

14 ‘‘(E) FACULTY INFORMATION.— 

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

16 sections taught by part-time instructors to 

17 the number of course sections taught by full18 time faculty, disaggregated by course sec19 tions intended primarily for undergraduate 

20 students and course sections intended pri21 marily for graduate students. 

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

23 employment for part-time instructors. 

24 ‘‘(3) OTHER DATA MATTERS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) COMPLETION DATA.—The Commis2 sioner of Education Statistics shall ensure that 

3 the information required under paragraph 

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

5 students at an institution, including students 

6 other than first-time, full-time students and stu7 dents who transfer to another institution, in a 

8 manner that the Commissioner considers appro9 priate. 

10 ‘‘(B) ADJUSTMENT OF INCOME CAT11 EGORIES.—The Secretary may annually adjust 

12 the range of each of the income categories de13 scribed in paragraph (1)(F) to account for a 

14 change in the Consumer Price Index for All 

15 Urban Consumers as determined by the Bureau 

16 of Labor Statistics if the Secretary determines 

17 an adjustment is necessary. 

18 ‘‘(4) INSTITUTIONAL COMPARISON.—The Sec19 retary shall include on the College Dashboard website 

20 a method for users to easily compare the information 

21 required under paragraphs (1) and (2) between insti22 tutions. 

23 ‘‘(5) UPDATES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) DATA.—The Secretary shall update the 

2 College Dashboard website not less than annu3 ally. 

4 ‘‘(B) TECHNOLOGY AND FORMAT.—The Sec5 retary shall regularly assess the format and tech6 nology of the College Dashboard website and 

7 make any changes or updates that the Secretary 

8 considers appropriate. 

9 ‘‘(6) CONSUMER TESTING.— 

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

11 maintaining the College Dashboard website, the 

12 Secretary, in consultation with appropriate de13 partments and agencies of the Federal Govern14 ment, shall conduct consumer testing with ap15 propriate persons, including current and pro16 spective college students, family members of such 

17 students, institutions of higher education, and 

18 experts, to ensure that the College Dashboard 

19 website is usable and easily understandable and 

20 provides useful and relevant information to stu21 dents and families. 

22 ‘‘(B) RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CHANGES.— 

23 The Secretary shall submit to the authorizing 

24 committees any recommendations that the Sec25 retary considers appropriate for changing the inVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:21 Jul 12, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3178.RH H3178

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1 formation required to be provided on the College 

2 Dashboard website under paragraphs (1) and (2) 

3 based on the results of the consumer testing con4 ducted under subparagraph (A). 

5 ‘‘(7) PROVISION OF APPROPRIATE LINKS TO PRO6 SPECTIVE STUDENTS AFTER SUBMISSION OF FAFSA.— 

7 The Secretary shall provide to each student who sub8 mits a Free Application for Federal Student Aid de9 scribed in section 483 a link to the webpage of the 

10 College Dashboard website that contains the informa11 tion required under paragraph (1) for each institu12 tion of higher education such student includes on such 

13 Application. 

14 ‘‘(8) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—The Sec15 retary, in consultation with each appropriate head of 

16 a department or agency of the Federal Government, 

17 shall ensure to the greatest extent practicable that any 

18 information related to higher education that is pub19 lished by such department or agency is consistent 

20 with the information published on the College Dash21 board website. 

22 ‘‘(9) REFERENCES TO COLLEGE NAVIGATOR

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

24 Navigator website shall be considered a reference to 

25 the College Dashboard website.’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Higher Edu2 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), as amended 

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

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

5 striking ‘‘College Navigator’’ and inserting ‘‘College 

6 Dashboard’’; and 

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

8 striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following 

9 new paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(1) COLLEGE DASHBOARD WEBSITE.—The term 

11 ‘College Dashboard website’ means the College Dash12 board website required under subsection (d).’’. 

13 (c) DEVELOPMENT.—The Secretary of Education shall 

14 develop and publish the College Dashboard website required 

15 under section 132 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

16 U.S.C. 1015a), as amended by subsections (a) and (b) of 

17 this section, not later than one year after the date of the 

18 enactment of this Act. 

19 (d) COLLEGE NAVIGATOR WEBSITE MAINTENANCE.— 

20 The Secretary shall maintain the College Navigator website 

21 required under section 132 of the Higher Education Act of 

22 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1015a), as in effect the day before the date 

23 of the enactment of this Act, in the manner required under 

24 the Higher Education Act of 1965, as in effect on such day, 


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1 until the College Dashboard website referred to in subsection 

2 (c) is complete and publicly available on the Internet. 

3 SEC. 3. NET PRICE CALCULATORS. 

4 Subsection (c) of section 132 of the Higher Education 

5 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1015a), as redesignated by section 

6 2(a)(4) of this Act, is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para8 graph (6); and 

9 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol10 lowing new paragraphs: 

11 ‘‘(4) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR NET PRICE

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

13 of the enactment of the Strengthening Transparency 

14 in Higher Education Act, a net price calculator for 

15 an institution of higher education shall meet the fol16 lowing requirements: 

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

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

19 calculator and prominently, clearly, and 

20 conspicuously posted in locations on the 

21 website of such institution where informa22 tion on costs and aid is provided and any 

23 other location that the institution considers 

24 appropriate; and 


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

2 other prominent links on the webpage where 

3 the link for the calculator is displayed. 

4 ‘‘(B) The webpage displaying the results for 

5 the calculator shall specify at least the following 

6 information: 

7 ‘‘(i) The net price (as calculated under 

8 subsection (a)(2)) for such institution, 

9 which shall be the most visually prominent 

10 figure on the results screen. 

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

12 ‘‘(I) tuition and fees; 

13 ‘‘(II) average annual cost of room 

14 and board for the institution for a full15 time undergraduate student enrolled in 

16 the institution; 

17 ‘‘(III) average annual cost of 

18 books and supplies for a full-time un19 dergraduate student enrolled in the in20 stitution; and 

21 ‘‘(IV) estimated cost of other ex22 penses (including personal expenses 

23 and transportation) for a full-time un24 dergraduate student enrolled in the in25 stitution. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) Estimated total need-based grant 

2 aid and merit-based grant aid from Fed3 eral, State, and institutional sources that 

4 may be available to a full-time under5 graduate student. 

6 ‘‘(iv) Percentage of the full-time under7 graduate students enrolled in the institution 

8 that received any type of grant aid de9 scribed in clause (iii). 

10 ‘‘(v) The disclaimer described in para11 graph (6). 

12 ‘‘(vi) In the case of a calculator that— 

13 ‘‘(I) includes questions to estimate 

14 the eligibility of a student or prospec15 tive student for veterans’ education 

16 benefits (as defined in section 480) or 

17 educational benefits for active duty 

18 service members, such benefits are dis19 played on the results screen in a man20 ner that clearly distinguishes such ben21 efits from the grant aid described in 

22 clause (iii); or 

23 ‘‘(II) does not include questions to 

24 estimate eligibility for the benefits de25 scribed in subclause (I), the results 


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1 screen indicates that certain students 

2 (or prospective students) may qualify 

3 for such benefits and includes a link to 

4 information about such benefits. 

5 ‘‘(C) The institution shall populate the cal6 culator with data from an academic year that is 

7 not more than 2 academic years prior to the 

8 most recent academic year. 

9 ‘‘(5) PROHIBITION ON USE OF DATA COLLECTED

10 BY THE NET PRICE CALCULATOR.—A net price calcu11 lator for an institution of higher education shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) clearly indicate which questions are 

13 required to be completed for an estimate of the 

14 net price from the calculator; 

15 ‘‘(B) in the case of a calculator that requests 

16 contact information from users, clearly mark 

17 such requests as optional and provide for an esti18 mate of the net price from the calculator without 

19 requiring users to enter such information; and 

20 ‘‘(C) prohibit any personally identifiable 

21 information 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 author25 ized to be appropriated to the Department of Education to 


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1 maintain the College Navigator website, $1,000,000 shall be 

2 available to carry out this Act and the amendments made 

3 by this Act. 

4 (b) NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.—No funds 

5 are authorized by this Act to be appropriated to carry out 

6 this Act or the amendments made by this Act. 


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Union Calendar No. 522 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3178 

[Report No. 114–674] 

A BILL 

To simplify and streamline the information regardother purposes. available by the Secretary of Education, and for ing institutions of higher education made publicly 

JULY 11, 2016 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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