II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1716 

To provide access to higher education for the students of the United States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 8, 2015 

Ms. BALDWIN (for herself, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. BROWN, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. CARDIN, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. MARKEY, and Mr. WHITEHOUSE) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To provide access to higher education for the students of 

the United States. 

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 ‘‘America’s College 

5 Promise Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

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

8 the United States earn the education and skills the indi9 viduals need— 


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1 (1) by making 2 years of community college 

2 free, through a new partnership with States and In3 dian tribes to help the States and Indian tribes— 

4 (A) waive resident community college tui5 tion and fees for eligible students; 

6 (B) maintain State and Indian tribe sup7 port for higher education; and 

8 (C) promote key reforms to improve stu9 dent outcomes; and 

10 (2) through a new partnership with minority11 serving institutions to— 

12 (A) encourage eligible students to enroll 

13 and successfully complete a baccalaureate de14 gree at participating institutions; and 

15 (B) promote key reforms to improve stu16 dent outcomes. 

17 TITLE I—STATE AND INDIAN 

18 TRIBE GRANTS FOR COMMU19 NITY COLLEGE 

20 SEC. 101. IN GENERAL. 

21 From amounts appropriated under section 107(a) for 

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

23 States and Indian tribes to pay the Federal share of ex24 penditures needed to carry out the activities and services 

25 described in section 105. 


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

2 (a) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

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

4 Federal share of a grant under this title shall be 

5 based on a formula, determined by the Secretary, 

6 that— 

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

8 share of eligible students; and 

9 (B) provides, for each eligible student in 

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

11 that is— 

12 (i) not less than 300 percent of the 

13 per-student amount of the State or Indian 

14 tribe share, determined under subsection 

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

16 (ii) not greater than 75 percent of— 

17 (I) for the 2016–2017 award 

18 year, the average resident community 

19 college tuition and fees per student in 

20 all States for the most recent year for 

21 which data are available; and 

22 (II) for each subsequent award 

23 year, the average resident community 

24 college tuition and fees per student in 

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1 clause for the preceding year, in2 creased by the lesser of— 

3 (aa) the percentage by which 

4 the average resident community 

5 college tuition and fees per stu6 dent in all States for the most re7 cent year for which data are 

8 available increased as compared 

9 to such average for the preceding 

10 year; or 

11 (bb) 3 percent. 

12 (2) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN INDIAN

13 TRIBES.—In any case in which not less than 75 per14 cent of the students at the community colleges oper15 ated or controlled by an Indian tribe are low-income 

16 students, the amount of the Federal share for such 

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

18 total amount needed to waive tuition and fees for all 

19 eligible students enrolled in such community col20 leges. 

21 (b) STATE OR TRIBAL SHARE.— 

22 (1) FORMULA.— 

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

24 share of a grant under this title for each fiscal 

25 year shall be the amount needed to pay 25 perVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:25 Jul 09, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1716.IS S1716

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1 cent of the average community college resident 

2 tuition and fees per student in all States in the 

3 2016–2017 award year for all eligible students 

4 in the State or Indian tribe, respectively, for 

5 such fiscal year, except as provided in subpara6 graph (B). 

7 (B) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN INDIAN

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

9 percent of the students at the community col10 leges operated or controlled by an Indian tribe 

11 are low-income students, the amount of such 

12 Indian tribe’s tribal share shall not exceed 5 

13 percent of the total amount needed to waive tui14 tion and fees for all eligible students enrolled in 

15 such community colleges. 

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

17 may include any need-based financial aid provided 

18 through State or tribal funds to eligible students as 

19 part of the State or tribal share. 

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

21 Indian tribe shall not include in-kind contributions 

22 for purposes of the State or tribal share described 

23 in paragraph (1). 


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1 SEC. 103. ELIGIBILITY. 

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

3 or Indian tribe shall agree to waive community college 

4 resident tuition and fees for all eligible students for each 

5 year of the grant. 

6 SEC. 104. APPLICATIONS. 

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

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

9 application shall be submitted to the Secretary at such 

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

11 the Secretary may require. Such application shall be sub12 mitted by— 

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

14 State agency with jurisdiction over higher education, 

15 or another agency designated by the Governor to ad16 minister the program under this title; or 

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

18 body of such tribe. 

19 (b) CONTENTS.—Each State or Indian tribe applica20 tion shall include, at a minimum— 

21 (1) an estimate of the number of eligible stu22 dents in the State or Indian tribe and the cost of 

23 waiving community college resident tuition and fees 

24 for all eligible students for each fiscal year covered 

25 by the grant, with annual increases of an amount 


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

2 average resident community college tuition and fees; 

3 (2) an assurance that all community colleges in 

4 the State or under the jurisdiction of the Indian 

5 tribe, respectively, will waive resident tuition and 

6 fees for eligible students in programs that are— 

7 (A) academic programs with credits that 

8 can fully transfer via articulation agreement to9 ward a baccalaureate degree or postbaccalau10 reate degree at any public institution of higher 

11 education in the State; or 

12 (B) occupational skills training programs 

13 that lead to a recognized postsecondary creden14 tial that is in an in-demand industry sector or 

15 occupation in the State; 

16 (3) a description of the promising and evidence17 based institutional reforms and innovative practices 

18 to improve student outcomes, including completion 

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

20 by the participating community colleges, such as— 

21 (A) providing comprehensive academic and 

22 student support services, including mentoring 

23 and advising, especially for first-generation and 

24 minority students; 


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1 (B) providing accelerated learning opportu2 nities, such as dual or concurrent enrollment 

3 programs; 

4 (C) advancing competency-based education; 

5 (D) strengthening remedial education, es6 pecially for low-income students, first genera7 tion students, adult students, and students 

8 from other underrepresented groups in postsec9 ondary education; 

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

12 and reduce cost; or 

13 (F) utilizing career pathways or degree 

14 pathways; 

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

16 tribe will promote alignment between its public sec17 ondary school and postsecondary education systems, 

18 including between 2-year and 4-year public institu19 tions of higher education and with minority-serving 

20 institutions described in section 371 of the Higher 

21 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q), to ex22 pand awareness of and access to postsecondary edu23 cation, reduce the need for remediation and repeated 

24 coursework, and improve student outcomes; 


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

2 tribe will ensure that programs leading to a recog3 nized postsecondary credential meet the quality cri4 teria established by the State under section 123(a) 

5 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

6 (29 U.S.C. 3153(a)) or other quality criteria deter7 mined appropriate by the State or Indian tribe; 

8 (6) an assurance that all participating commu9 nity colleges in the State or under the authority of 

10 the Indian tribe have entered into program partici11 pation agreements under section 487 of the Higher 

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

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

14 grant, the State or Indian tribe will notify each eligi15 ble student of the student’s remaining eligibility for 

16 assistance under this title; and 

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

18 tribe will promote the improved performance of pub19 lic institutions of higher education through funding 

20 reform, including through the use of a performance21 based model that allocates a portion of the State or 

22 Indian tribe’s public higher education expenditures 

23 based on the performance of those institutions on 

24 State-specified metrics, including successful student 

25 outcomes. 


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1 SEC. 105. ALLOWABLE USES OF FUNDS. 

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

3 a grant under this title only to provide funds to partici4 pating community colleges to waive resident tuition and 

5 fees for eligible students who are enrolled in— 

6 (1) academic programs with credits that can 

7 fully transfer via articulation agreement toward a 

8 baccalaureate degree or postbaccalaureate degree at 

9 any public institution of higher education in the 

10 State; or 

11 (2) occupational skills training programs that 

12 lead to a recognized postsecondary credential that is 

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

14 State. 

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

16 demonstrates to the Secretary that it has grant funds re17 maining after meeting the demand for activities described 

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

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

20 (1) Expanding the waiver of resident tuition 

21 and fees at community college to students who are 

22 returning students or otherwise not enrolling in 

23 postsecondary education for the first time, and who 

24 meet the student eligibility requirements of clauses 

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


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1 (2) Expanding the scope and capacity of high2 quality academic and occupational skills training 

3 programs at community colleges. 

4 (3) Improving postsecondary education readi5 ness in the State or Indian tribe, through outreach 

6 and early intervention. 

7 (4) Expanding access to dual or concurrent en8 rollment programs. 

9 (5) Improving affordability at 4-year public in10 stitutions of higher education. 

11 (c) USE OF FUNDS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE PUR12 POSES.—A State or Indian tribe that receives a grant 

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

14 title for administrative purposes relating to the grant 

15 under this title. 

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

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

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

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

20 tribe provides financial support for public higher education 

21 at a level equal to or exceeding the average amount pro22 vided per full-time equivalent student for public institu23 tions of higher education for the 3 consecutive preceding 

24 State or Indian tribe fiscal years. In making the calcula25 tion under this subsection, the State or Indian tribe shall 


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1 exclude capital expenses and research and development 

2 costs and include need-based financial aid for students 

3 who attend public institutions of higher education. 

4 (e) ANNUAL REPORT.—A State or Indian tribe re5 ceiving a grant under this title shall submit an annual re6 port to the Secretary— 

7 (1) describing the uses of grant funds under 

8 this title, the progress made in fulfilling the require9 ments of the grant, and the rates of graduation, 

10 transfer, and attainment of a recognized postsec11 ondary credential for the students at participating 

12 community colleges; and 

13 (2) including any other information as the Sec14 retary may require. 

15 (f) REPORTING BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary an16 nually shall— 

17 (1) compile and analyze the information de18 scribed in subsection (e); and 

19 (2) prepare and submit a report to the Com20 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

21 of the Senate and the Committee on Education and 

22 the Workforce of the House of Representatives con23 taining the analysis described in paragraph (1) and 

24 an identification of State and Indian tribe best prac25 tices for achieving the purpose of this title. 


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1 (g) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 

2 provide technical assistance to eligible States and Indian 

3 tribes concerning best practices regarding the promising 

4 and evidence-based institutional reforms and innovative 

5 practices to improve student outcomes as described in sec6 tion 104(b)(3) and shall disseminate such best practices 

7 among the States and Indian tribes. 

8 (h) CONTINUATION OF FUNDING.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State or Indian tribe re10 ceiving a grant under this title for a fiscal year may 

11 continue to receive funding under this title for fu12 ture fiscal years conditioned on the availability of 

13 budget authority and on meeting the requirements 

14 of the grant, as determined by the Secretary. 

15 (2) DISCONTINUATION.—The Secretary may 

16 discontinue funding of the Federal share of a grant 

17 under this title if the State or Indian tribe has vio18 lated the terms of the grant or is not making ade19 quate progress in implementing the reforms de20 scribed in the application submitted under section 

21 104. 

22 SEC. 106. DEFINITIONS. 

23 In this title: 

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

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


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1 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

2 (29 U.S.C. 3102). 

3 (2) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘‘commu4 nity college’’ means a public institution of higher 

5 education at which the highest degree that is pre6 dominantly awarded to students is an associate’s de7 gree, including 2-year tribally controlled colleges 

8 under section 316 of the Higher Education Act of 

9 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c) and public 2-year State in10 stitutions of higher education. 

11 (3) DUAL OR CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT PRO12 GRAM.—The term ‘‘dual or concurrent enrollment 

13 program’’ means an academic program through 

14 which a secondary school student is able simulta15 neously to earn credit toward a secondary school di16 ploma and a postsecondary degree or other recog17 nized postsecondary credential, including an early 

18 college high school program. 

19 (4) ELIGIBLE STUDENT.— 

20 (A) DEFINITION.—The term ‘‘eligible stu21 dent’’ means a student who— 

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

23 for the first time, regardless of age, after 

24 the date of enactment of this Act; or 


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1 (II) is enrolled in a community col2 lege, for the first time, as of the date of 

3 enactment of this Act; 

4 (ii) attends the community college on 

5 not less than a half-time basis; 

6 (iii) is maintaining satisfactory 

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

8 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

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

10 study; 

11 (iv) qualifies for resident tuition, as 

12 determined by the State or Indian tribe; 

13 and 

14 (v) is enrolled in an eligible program 

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

16 (B) SPECIAL RULE.—An otherwise eligible 

17 student shall lose eligibility 3 calendar years 

18 after first receiving benefits under this title. 

19 (5) IN-DEMAND INDUSTRY SECTOR OR OCCUPA20 TION.—The term ‘‘in-demand industry sector or oc21 cupation’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

22 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

23 (29 U.S.C. 3102). 

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

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


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1 Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 

2 (25 U.S.C. 479a). 

3 (7) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

5 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 

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

7 (8) RECOGNIZED POSTSECONDARY CREDEN8 TIAL.—The term ‘‘recognized postsecondary creden9 tial’’ has the meaning as described in section 3 of 

10 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

11 U.S.C. 3102). 

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

13 the Secretary of Education. 

14 (10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean15 ing given the term in section 103 of the Higher 

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

17 SEC. 107. APPROPRIATIONS. 

18 (a) AUTHORIZATION AND APPROPRIATIONS.—For 

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

20 authorized to be appropriated, and there are appro21 priated— 

22 (1) $1,365,000,000 for fiscal year 2016; 

23 (2) $3,020,000,000 for fiscal year 2017; 

24 (3) $3,854,000,000 for fiscal year 2018; 

25 (4) $5,395,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; 


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1 (5) $7,061,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; 

2 (6) $8,085,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; 

3 (7) $10,182,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; 

4 (8) $13,019,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; 

5 (9) $13,583,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; and 

6 (10) $14,171,000,000 for fiscal year 2025 and 

7 each succeeding fiscal year. 

8 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Funds appropriated under sub9 section (a) shall remain available to the Secretary until 

10 expended. 

11 (c) INSUFFICIENT FUNDS.—If the amount appro12 priated under subsection (a) for a fiscal year is not suffi13 cient to award each participating State and Indian tribe 

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

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

16 the Secretary may ratably reduce the amount of each such 

17 grant or take other actions necessary to ensure an equi18 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— 

24 (1) applied in their entirety to student ac25 counts; and 


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1 (2) used to waive or significantly reduce tuition 

2 and fees for eligible students in an amount of not 

3 more than up to the annual per-student rebate 

4 amount for each student, for not more than the first 

5 60 credits an eligible student enrolls in the partici6 pating eligible institution. 

7 SEC. 202. PATHWAYS TO STUDENT SUCCESS FOR HISPANIC8 SERVING INSTITUTIONS, ASIAN AMERICAN 

9 AND NATIVE AMERICAN PACIFIC ISLANDER10 SERVING INSTITUTIONS, TRIBAL COLLEGES 

11 AND UNIVERSITIES, ALASKA NATIVE-SERV12 ING INSTITUTIONS, NATIVE HAWAIIAN-SERV13 ING INSTITUTIONS, PREDOMINANTLY BLACK 

14 INSTITUTIONS, AND NATIVE AMERICAN-SERV15 ING NONTRIBAL INSTITUTIONS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated 

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

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

19 institutions to— 

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

21 students and successfully complete a bachelor’s de22 gree at participating institutions; 

23 (2) provide incentives to community college stu24 dents to transfer to participating institutions 


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1 through strong transfer pathways to complete a 

2 bachelor’s degree program; and 

3 (3) support participating institutions to better 

4 serve new and existing students by engaging in re5 forms and innovations designed to improve comple6 tion rates and other student outcomes. 

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

8 participate and receive a grant under this section, an insti9 tution shall be a minority-serving institution that— 

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

11 35 percent are low-income students; 

12 (2) commits to maintaining or adopting and im13 plementing promising and evidence-based institu14 tional reforms and innovative practices to improve 

15 the completion rates and other student outcomes, 

16 such as— 

17 (A) providing comprehensive academic and 

18 student support services, including mentoring 

19 and advising; 

20 (B) providing accelerated learning opportu21 nities and degree pathways, such as dual enroll22 ment and pathways to graduate and profes23 sional degree programs; 

24 (C) advancing distance and competency25 based education; 


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1 (D) partnering with employers, industry, 

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

3 provide opportunities to advance learning out4 side the classroom, including work-based learn5 ing opportunities such as internships or appren6 ticeships or programs designed to improve 

7 inter-cultural development and personal growth, 

8 such as foreign exchange and study abroad pro9 grams; 

10 (E) reforming remedial education, espe11 cially for low-income students, first generation 

12 college students, adult students, and other 

13 underrepresented students; and 

14 (F) implementing course redesigns of high15 enrollment courses to improve student outcomes 

16 and reduce cost; 

17 (3) sets performance goals for improving stu18 dent outcomes for the duration of the grant; and 

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

20 has articulation agreements with community colleges 

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

22 community college credits can fully transfer to the 

23 participating institution. 

24 (c) GRANT AMOUNT.— 


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

2 an eligible institution participates in the grant pro3 gram under this section and subject to paragraph 

4 (3), such participating eligible institution shall re5 ceive a grant in an amount based on the product 

6 of— 

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

8 the eligible institution in such year (referred to 

9 in this section as the per-student rebate); multi10 plied by 

11 (B) the number of eligible students en12 rolled in the eligible institution for the pre13 ceding year. 

14 (2) SUBSEQUENT INCREASES.—For each suc15 ceeding year after the first year of the grant pro16 gram under this section, each participating eligible 

17 institution shall receive a grant in the amount deter18 mined under paragraph (1) for such year, except 

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

20 rebate increase by more than 3 percent as compared 

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

22 (3) LIMITATIONS.— 

23 (A) MAXIMUM PER-STUDENT REBATE.— 

24 No eligible institution participating in the grant 

25 program under this section shall receive a perVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:25 Jul 09, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1716.IS S1716

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•S 1716 IS

1 student rebate amount for a grant year greater 

2 than the national average of public four-year in3 stitutional tuition and fees, as determined by 

4 the Secretary. 

5 (B) FIRST YEAR TUITION AND FEES.— 

6 During the first year of participation in the 

7 grant program under this section, no eligible in8 stitution may increase tuition and fees at a rate 

9 greater than any annual increase made by the 

10 institution in the previous 5 years. 

11 (d) APPLICATION.—An eligible institution shall sub12 mit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such 

13 a manner, and containing such information as determined 

14 by the Secretary. 

15 (e) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds awarded under this sec16 tion to a participating eligible institution shall be— 

17 (1) applied in their entirety to student ac18 counts; and 

19 (2) used to waive or significantly reduce tuition 

20 and fees for eligible students in an amount of not 

21 more than up to the annual per-student rebate 

22 amount for each student, for not more than the first 

23 60 credits an eligible student enrolls in the partici24 pating eligible institution. 


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1 SEC. 203. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this title: 

3 (1) ELIGIBLE STUDENT.— 

4 (A) DEFINITION.—The term ‘‘eligible stu5 dent’’ means a student, regardless of age, 

6 who— 

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

8 college or university, or minority-serving 

9 institution, for the first time; or 

10 (II) transfers from a community col11 lege into a historically black college or uni12 versity, or minority-serving institution, for 

13 the first time; 

14 (ii) attends the historically black col15 lege or university, or minority serving in16 stitution, on at least a half-time basis; 

17 (iii) maintains satisfactory academic 

18 progress; and 

19 (iv) is a low-income student. 

20 (B) SPECIAL RULES.— 

21 (i) FIRST 3 YEARS.—An otherwise eli22 gible student shall lose eligibility 3 cal23 endar years after first receiving benefits 

24 under this title. 

25 (ii) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN STU26 DENTS.—Notwithstanding subparagraph 


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

2 parent or guardian was denied a PLUS 

3 loan after November 2011 and before 

4 March 29, 2015, and who subsequently 

5 withdrew from a historically black college 

6 or university, or minority-serving institu7 tion, and has not yet completed a program 

8 of study at such historically black college 

9 or university or minority-serving institu10 tion, shall be eligible to participate under 

11 section 201 or 202 in order to complete 

12 such program of study, subject to all other 

13 requirements of section 201 or 202 (as the 

14 case may be). 

15 (2) HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE OR UNI16 VERSITY.—The term ‘‘historically black college or 

17 university’’ means a part B institution described in 

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

19 (20 U.S.C. 1061(2)). 

20 (3) LOW-INCOME STUDENT.—The term ‘‘low-in21 come student’’ has the meaning given such term by 

22 the Secretary, except that such term shall not ex23 clude any student eligible for a Federal Pell Grant 

24 under section 401 of the Higher Education Act of 

25 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a). 


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1 (4) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 

2 term ‘‘minority-serving institution’’ means any pub3 lic or not-for-profit institution of higher education— 

4 (A) described in paragraphs (2) through 

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

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

7 (B) designated as a minority-serving insti8 tution by the Secretary. 

9 SEC. 204. APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 (a) AUTHORIZATION AND APPROPRIATIONS FOR

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

12 out sections 201 and 202, there are authorized to be ap13 propriated, and there are appropriated— 

14 (1) $55,000,000 for fiscal year 2016; 

15 (2) $180,000,000 for fiscal year 2017; 

16 (3) $1,072,000,000 for fiscal year 2018; 

17 (4) $1,115,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; 

18 (5) $1,160,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; 

19 (6) $1,206,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; 

20 (7) $1,225,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; 

21 (8) $1,306,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; 

22 (9) $1,359,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; and 

23 (10) $1,414,000,000 for fiscal year 2025 and 

24 each succeeding fiscal year. 


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1 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Funds appropriated under sub2 section (a) are to remain available to the Secretary until 

3 expended. 

4 (c) INSUFFICIENT FUNDS.—If the amount appro5 priated under subsection (a) for a fiscal year is not suffi6 cient to award each participating institution in the grant 

7 programs under sections 201 and 202 a grant under this 

8 part equal to 100 percent of the grant amount determined 

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

10 the amount of each such grant or take other actions nec11 essary to ensure an equitable distribution of such amount. 

Æ 


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