I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6951 

To lower the cost of postsecondary education for students and families. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 11, 2024 

Ms. FOXX (for herself, Mr. OWENS, Mr. GROTHMAN, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. 

SMUCKER, Mrs. MCCLAIN, Mrs. STEEL, and Mr. WILLIAMS of New York) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To lower the cost of postsecondary education for students 

and families. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘College Cost Reduction Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. References. 

TITLE I—TRANSPARENCY 

PART A—DEFINITIONS


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Sec. 101. Definitions. 

PART B—COLLEGE COSTS AND FINANCIAL VALUE

Sec. 111. Financial aid offers. 

Sec. 112. College scorecard website. 

Sec. 113. Postsecondary student data system. 

Sec. 114. Database of student information prohibited. 

TITLE II—ACCESS AND AFFORDABILITY 

PART A—FINANCIAL NEED

Sec. 201. Amount of need; cost of attendance; median cost of college. 

PART B—FINANCIAL AID

SUBPART 1—GRANTS

Sec. 211. Federal Pell Grant program. 

Sec. 212. Campus-based aid programs. 

SUBPART 2—LOANS

Sec. 221. Loan limits. 

Sec. 222. Loan repayment. 

Sec. 223. Loan rehabilitation. 

Sec. 224. Interest capitalization. 

Sec. 225. Origination fees. 

TITLE III—ACCOUNTABILITY AND STUDENT SUCCESS 

PART A—ACCOUNTABILITY

SUBPART 1—DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Sec. 301. Agreements with institutions. 

Sec. 302. Regulatory relief. 

Sec. 303. Limitation on authority of Secretary to propose or issue regulations 

and executive actions. 

Sec. 304. Office of Federal Student Aid. 

SUBPART 2—ACCREDITORS

Sec. 311. Accrediting agency recognition. 

Sec. 312. National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity 

(NACIQI). 

Sec. 313. Alternative quality assurance experimental site initiative. 

PART B—STUDENT SUCCESS

Sec. 321. Postsecondary student success grants. 

Sec. 322. Reverse Transfer Efficiency Act. 

Sec. 323. Transparent and fair transfer of credit policies. 


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1 SEC. 2. REFERENCES. 

2 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

3 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

4 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi5 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 

6 section or other provision of the Higher Education Act of 

7 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.). 

8 TITLE I—TRANSPARENCY 

9 PART A—DEFINITIONS 

10 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

11 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 103 of the Higher Edu12 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003) is amended by add13 ing at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(25) CIP CODE.—The term ‘CIP code’ means 

15 the six-digit taxonomic identification code assigned 

16 by an institution of higher education to a specific 

17 program of study at the institution, determined by 

18 the institution in accordance with the Classification 

19 of Instructional Programs published by the National 

20 Center for Education Statistics. 

21 ‘‘(26) CREDENTIAL LEVEL.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘credential 

23 level’ means the level of the degree or other cre24 dential awarded by an institution of higher edu25 cation to students who complete a program of 

26 study of the institution. Each degree or other 


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1 credential awarded by an institution shall be 

2 categorized by the institution as either under3 graduate credential level or graduate credential 

4 level. 

5 ‘‘(B) UNDERGRADUATE CREDENTIAL.— 

6 When used with respect to a credential or cre7 dential level, the term ‘undergraduate creden8 tial’ includes credentials such as an under9 graduate certificate, an associate degree, a 

10 bachelor’s degree, and a post-baccalaureate cer11 tificate. 

12 ‘‘(C) GRADUATE CREDENTIAL.—When 

13 used with respect to a credential or credential 

14 level, the term ‘graduate credential’ includes 

15 credentials such as a master’s degree, a doc16 toral degree, a professional degree, and a post17 graduate certificate. 

18 ‘‘(27) PROGRAM OF STUDY.—The term ‘pro19 gram of study’ means an academic program of study 

20 offered to students by an institution of higher edu21 cation that— 

22 ‘‘(A) upon completion of the program, re23 sults in the award of a credential to a student, 

24 including a degree, diploma, or certificate, for 

25 one credential level; 


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1 ‘‘(B) is certified as a program of study in 

2 the institution’s program participation agree3 ment under section 487; and 

4 ‘‘(C) is classified by a combination of— 

5 ‘‘(i) a CIP code; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) one credential level, determined 

7 by the credential awarded upon completion 

8 of the program. 

9 ‘‘(28) PROGRAM LENGTH.—The term ‘program 

10 length’ means the minimum amount of time in 

11 weeks, months, or years that is specified in the cata12 log, marketing materials, or other official publica13 tions of an institution of higher education for a full14 time student to complete the requirements for a spe15 cific program of study and to obtain the degree or 

16 credential awarded by such program. 

17 ‘‘(29) TIME TO CREDENTIAL.—The term ‘time 

18 to credential’ means, with respect to a student, the 

19 actual amount of time in weeks, months, or years it 

20 takes the student to complete the requirements for 

21 a specific program of study and to obtain the degree 

22 or credential awarded by such program. 

23 ‘‘(30) VALUE-ADDED EARNINGS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) CALCULATION.—With respect to a 

25 student who received Federal financial aid 


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1 under title IV and who completed a program of 

2 study offered by an institution of higher edu3 cation, the term ‘value-added earnings’ 

4 means— 

5 ‘‘(i) the annual earnings of such stu6 dent measured during the applicable earn7 ings measurement period for such program 

8 (as determined under subparagraph (C)); 

9 minus 

10 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a student who 

11 completed a program of study that 

12 awards— 

13 ‘‘(I) an undergraduate credential, 

14 150 percent of the poverty line appli15 cable to a single individual as deter16 mined under section 673(2) of the 

17 Community Services Block Grant Act 

18 (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)) for such year; or 

19 ‘‘(II) a graduate credential, 300 

20 percent of the poverty line applicable 

21 to a single individual as determined 

22 under section 673(2) of the Commu23 nity Services Block Grant Act (42 

24 U.S.C. 9902(2)) for such year. 

25 ‘‘(B) GEOGRAPHIC ADJUSTMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro2 vided in clause (ii), the Secretary shall use 

3 the geographic location of the institution at 

4 which a student completed a program of 

5 study to adjust the value-added earnings of 

6 the student calculated under subclause (A) 

7 by dividing— 

8 ‘‘(I) the difference between sub9 clauses (I) and (II) of such subpara10 graph; by 

11 ‘‘(II) the most recent regional 

12 price parity index of the Bureau of 

13 Economics Analysis for the State or, 

14 as applicable, metropolitan area in 

15 which such institution is located. 

16 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—The value-added 

17 earnings of a student calculated under sub18 paragraph (A) shall not be adjusted based 

19 on geographic location in accordance with 

20 clause (i) if such student attended prin21 cipally through distance education. 

22 ‘‘(C) EARNINGS MEASUREMENT PERIOD.— 

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose 

24 of calculating the value-added earnings of 

25 a student, except as provided in clause (ii), 


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1 the annual earnings of a student shall be 

2 measured— 

3 ‘‘(I) in the case of a program of 

4 study that awards an undergraduate 

5 certificate, post baccalaureate certifi6 cate, or graduate certificate, one year 

7 after the student completes such pro8 gram; 

9 ‘‘(II) in the case of a program of 

10 study that awards an associate’s de11 gree or master’s degree, 2 years after 

12 the student completes such program; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(III) in the case of a program of 

15 study that awards a bachelor’s degree, 

16 doctoral degree, or professional de17 gree, 4 years after the student com18 pletes such program. 

19 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary 

20 may, as the Secretary determines appro21 priate based on the characteristics of a 

22 program of study, extend an earnings 

23 measurement period described in clause (i) 

24 for a program of study that— 


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1 ‘‘(I) requires completion of an 

2 additional educational program after 

3 completion of the program of study in 

4 order to obtain a licensure associated 

5 with the credential awarded for such 

6 program of study; and 

7 ‘‘(II) when combined with the 

8 program length of such additional 

9 educational program for licensure, has 

10 a total program length that exceeds 

11 the relevant earnings measurement 

12 period prescribed for such program of 

13 study under clause (i), 

14 except that in no case shall the annual 

15 earnings of a student be measured more 

16 than 5 years after the student completes a 

17 program of study.’’. 

18 PART B—COLLEGE COSTS AND FINANCIAL 

19 VALUE 

20 SEC. 111. FINANCIAL AID OFFERS. 

21 (a) INSTITUTION FINANCIAL AID OFFER.—Section 

22 484 of the Higher Education Opportunity Act (20 U.S.C. 

23 1092 note) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 484. INSTITUTION FINANCIAL AID OFFER FORM. 

2 ‘‘(a) STANDARD FORM AND TERMINOLOGY.—The 

3 Secretary of Education, in consultation with the heads of 

4 relevant Federal agencies, shall develop standard termi5 nology and a standard form for financial aid offers based 

6 on recommendations from representatives of students, vet7 erans, servicemembers, families of students, institutions of 

8 higher education (including community colleges, for-profit 

9 institutions, four-year public institutions, and four-year 

10 private nonprofit institutions), financial aid experts, sec11 ondary school and postsecondary counselors, college access 

12 professionals, nonprofit organizations, and consumer 

13 groups. 

14 ‘‘(b) KEY REQUIRED CONTENTS FOR AID OFFER.— 

15 The standard form developed pursuant to subsection (a) 

16 shall be titled ‘Financial Aid Offer’ and shall include the 

17 following items in a consumer-friendly manner that is sim18 ple and understandable, with costs listed first, followed by 

19 grants and scholarships, clearly separated from each other 

20 with separate headings: 

21 ‘‘(1) COST INFORMATION.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Information on the 

23 student’s estimated cost of attendance, includ24 ing the following: 

25 ‘‘(i) DIRECT COSTS.—The total cost of 

26 all items described in section 472 of the 


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

2 1087ll) that are billed to the student by 

3 the institution or otherwise required by the 

4 institution for enrollment, including such 

5 total cost disaggregated by the cost of each 

6 such item, including, as determined under 

7 such section— 

8 ‘‘(I) tuition and fees (and other 

9 required expenses); and 

10 ‘‘(II) housing and food for a stu11 dent electing institutionally owned or 

12 operated food services or institution13 ally owned or operated housing. 

14 ‘‘(ii) INDIRECT COSTS.—The total cost 

15 (including such total cost disaggregated by 

16 the cost of each item) as determined under 

17 section 472 of the Higher Education Act 

18 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087ll), of— 

19 ‘‘(I) housing and food for a stu20 dent not electing institutionally owned 

21 or operated food services and not liv22 ing in institutionally owned or oper23 ated housing; 

24 ‘‘(II) books, school supplies, 

25 equipment, course materials, and 


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1 rental or purchase of a personal com2 puter; 

3 ‘‘(III) transportation; 

4 ‘‘(IV) any other item described in 

5 such section and not described in 

6 clause (i) determined to be necessary 

7 by the institution. 

8 ‘‘(B) The academic period covered by the 

9 financial aid offer, and an explanation that the 

10 amount of financial aid offered may change— 

11 ‘‘(i) for academic periods not covered 

12 by the aid offer; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) by program. 

14 ‘‘(C) An indication of whether cost and aid 

15 estimates are based on full-time or part-time 

16 enrollment. 

17 ‘‘(D) An indication, as applicable, about 

18 whether any costs described in subparagraph 

19 (A)(i) which are subject to change are— 

20 ‘‘(i) estimated based on the previous 

21 year; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) set for the academic period indi23 cated in accordance with subparagraph 

24 (B). 


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1 ‘‘(2) GRANTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS.—The aggre2 gate amount of grants and scholarships, differen3 tiated by source, that the student does not have to 

4 repay, such as grant aid offered under title IV of the 

5 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et 

6 seq.), grant aid offered through other Federal pro7 grams, grant aid offered by the institution, grant aid 

8 offered by the State, and, if known, grant aid or 

9 scholarship from an outside source to the student for 

10 such academic period, including a disclosure that the 

11 grants and scholarships do not have to be repaid, ex12 cept that institutions shall be authorized to list indi13 vidual grants and scholarships by name at the dis14 cretion of the institution. 

15 ‘‘(3) NET PRICE.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The net price that the 

17 student, is estimated to have to pay for the stu18 dent to attend the institution for such academic 

19 period, including the following: 

20 ‘‘(i) MINIMUM AMOUNT COVERED BY

21 STUDENT FOR ENROLLMENT.—The net 

22 price of tuition and fees (and other re23 quired expenses), which is equal to— 

24 ‘‘(I) the sum of the costs de25 scribed in paragraph (1)(A) that are 


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1 required for students (as determined 

2 under paragraph (5)(B)) for the pe3 riod indicated in paragraph (1)(B); 

4 minus 

5 ‘‘(II) the total amount of grant 

6 and scholarship aid described in para7 graph (2) that is included in the fi8 nancial aid offer and available to the 

9 student for the costs described in sub10 clause (I). 

11 ‘‘(ii) ESTIMATED ANNUAL NET PRICE

12 OF ATTENDANCE.—The estimated net 

13 price of attendance, which is equal to— 

14 ‘‘(I) the cost of attendance for 

15 the student for the period indicated in 

16 paragraph (1)(B); minus 

17 ‘‘(II) the total amount of grant 

18 and scholarship aid described in para19 graph (2). 

20 ‘‘(B) DISCLOSURE.—A disclosure that the 

21 net price is based on an estimate of the total 

22 cost of attendance for the year and not nec23 essarily equivalent to the amount the student 

24 will owe directly to the institution. 

25 ‘‘(4) LOANS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) Information on any education loan of2 fered through any Federal or State program 

3 (including any loan under part D or part E of 

4 title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

5 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.; 20 U.S.C. 1087aa et 

6 seq.)) that the institution offers for the student 

7 for the academic period covered by the offer, 

8 which shall be made— 

9 ‘‘(i) with clear use of the word ‘loan’ 

10 to describe the recommended loan 

11 amounts; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) with clear labeling of subsidized 

13 and unsubsidized loans. 

14 ‘‘(B) If applicable, a disclosure that such 

15 loans have to be repaid with interest. 

16 ‘‘(C) Information on any other loan that 

17 the student or parent has applied for and been 

18 approved for, regardless of the source. 

19 ‘‘(5) STUDENT EMPLOYMENT.—Information on 

20 work-study employment opportunities (including 

21 work-study programs under part C of title IV of the 

22 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087–51 

23 et seq.), institutional work-study programs, or State 

24 work-study programs), including— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the maximum annual amount the stu2 dent may earn through the program; and 

3 ‘‘(B) a disclosure that any amounts re4 ceived pursuant to such a program may be— 

5 ‘‘(i) subject to the availability of quali6 fied employment opportunities upon stu7 dents enrollment; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) disbursed over time as earned by 

9 the student. 

10 ‘‘(6) PROCESS FOR ACCEPTING, ADJUSTING, OR

11 DECLINING AID AND NEXT STEPS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) The deadlines and a summary of the 

13 process (including the next steps) for— 

14 ‘‘(i) accepting the financial aid of15 fered; 

16 ‘‘(ii) adjusting the amount of aid of17 fered; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) declining the aid offered. 

19 ‘‘(B) Information on when and how costs 

20 described in paragraph (1)(A)(i) must be paid, 

21 including whether such costs are required or op22 tional for the student. 

23 ‘‘(C) A disclosure that verification of infor24 mation provided on the Free Application for 


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1 Federal Student Aid may require the student to 

2 submit further documentation. 

3 ‘‘(D) Information about where a student or 

4 the student’s family can seek additional infor5 mation regarding the financial aid offered, in6 cluding contact information for the institution’s 

7 financial aid office and the Department of Edu8 cation’s website on financial aid. 

9 ‘‘(E) Information about where a student or 

10 a student’s family can seek additional informa11 tion on college costs and student outcomes, in12 cluding a link to the Department of Education’s 

13 College Scorecard website (or successor 

14 website). 

15 ‘‘(7) NET PRICE CALCULATOR.—A link to the 

16 universal net price calculator described in section 

17 132(c)(4). 

18 ‘‘(8) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—Any other 

19 information the Secretary of Education, in consulta20 tion with the heads of relevant Federal agencies, in21 cluding the Secretary of the Treasury and the Direc22 tor of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, 

23 determines necessary, based on the results and input 

24 of the consumer testing under subsection (h)(2), and 

25 limited only to effectively communicating college 


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1 costs and financial aid eligibility to students and 

2 parents. 

3 ‘‘(c) OTHER REQUIRED CONTENTS FOR AID

4 OFFER.—The standard form developed under subsection 

5 (a) shall include, in addition to the information described 

6 in subsection (b), the following information in a concise 

7 format determined by the Secretary of Education, in con8 sultation with the heads of relevant Federal agencies and 

9 the individuals and entities described in subsection (a): 

10 ‘‘(1) Additional options and potential resources 

11 for paying for the amount listed in subsection (b)(3), 

12 such as tuition payment plans. 

13 ‘‘(2) The following information relating to pri14 vate student loans: 

15 ‘‘(A) A disclosure that private education 

16 loans may be available to cover remaining need, 

17 except that the institution may not include pri18 vate education loans other than under the con19 ditions described in subsection (b)(4)(C) and 

20 must include a disclosure that such loans— 

21 ‘‘(i) are subject to an additional appli22 cation process; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) must be repaid by the borrower 

24 or their co-signer, and may not be eligible 


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1 for the benefits available for loans made 

2 under title IV. 

3 ‘‘(B) A statement that students consid4 ering borrowing to cover the cost of attendance 

5 should consider available Federal student loans 

6 prior to applying for private education loans, in7 cluding an explanation that Federal student 

8 loans offer generally more favorable terms and 

9 beneficial repayment options than private loans. 

10 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS FOR

11 FINANCIAL AID OFFER.—The financial aid offer shall 

12 meet the following requirements: 

13 ‘‘(1) Clearly distinguish between the aid offered 

14 under paragraphs (2) and (4) of subsection (b), by 

15 including a subtotal for the aid offered in each of 

16 such paragraphs and by refraining from commin17 gling the different types of aid described in such 

18 paragraphs. 

19 ‘‘(2) Use standard terminology and definitions, 

20 as described in subsection (f)(1), and use plain lan21 guage where possible. 

22 ‘‘(3) Use the standard aid offer described in 

23 subsection (f)(2). 

24 ‘‘(e) SUPPLEMENTAL CONTENT AND DISCLOSURES

25 TO BE PROVIDED.—In addition to the standard form deVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 Jan 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6951.IH H6951

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1 scribed under subsection (a), institutions shall provide, in 

2 supplemental documents or through easily accessible 

3 weblinks to the institution’s portal or a website, the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(1) The renewability requirements and condi6 tions under which the student can expect to receive 

7 similar amounts of such financial aid for each aca8 demic period the student is enrolled at the institu9 tion. 

10 ‘‘(2) Whether the aid offer may change if aid 

11 from outside sources is applied after the student re12 ceives the initial aid offer, and, if applicable, how 

13 that aid will change. 

14 ‘‘(3) If loans under part D or part E of title 

15 IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

16 1087a et seq.; 20 U.S.C. 1087aa et seq.) or other 

17 education loans offered through Federal programs 

18 are included— 

19 ‘‘(A) a disclosure that the interest rates 

20 and fees on such loans are set annually and af21 fect total cost over time, and a link to any 

22 website that includes current information on in23 terest rates and fees; and 

24 ‘‘(B) if an institution’s recommended Fed25 eral student loan aid offered in subsection 


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1 (b)(4) is less than the Federal maximum avail2 able to the student, the institution shall provide 

3 additional information on Federal student loans 

4 including the types and amounts for which the 

5 student is eligible and the process for request6 ing higher loan amounts if offered loan 

7 amounts were included. 

8 ‘‘(4) If the institution opts not to disclose other 

9 items described in subsection (b)(1)(A)(ii)(V) as 

10 part of the aid offer, a list of such other items and 

11 the allowance amount for each such item. 

12 ‘‘(f) STANDARD INFORMATION ESTABLISHED BY

13 SECRETARY.— 

14 ‘‘(1) STANDARD TERMINOLOGY.—Not later 

15 than 3 months after the date of enactment of the 

16 College Cost Reduction Act, the Secretary of Edu17 cation, in consultation with the heads of relevant 

18 Federal agencies, and the individuals and entities 

19 described in subsection (a) shall establish standard 

20 terminology and definitions for the terms described 

21 in subsection (b). 

22 ‘‘(2) STANDARD FORM.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Edu24 cation shall develop multiple draft financial aid 

25 offers for consumer testing, carry out consumer 


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1 testing for such forms, and establish a finalized 

2 standard financial aid offer in accordance 

3 with— 

4 ‘‘(i) the process established under sub5 section (h); and 

6 ‘‘(ii) the requirements of this section. 

7 ‘‘(B) SEPARATE FINANCIAL AID OFFERS.— 

8 The Secretary shall develop separate financial 

9 aid offers for— 

10 ‘‘(i) undergraduate students; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) graduate students. 

12 ‘‘(g) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION; REMOVAL OF IN13 FORMATION.—Nothing in this section shall preclude an in14 stitution from— 

15 ‘‘(1) supplementing the financial aid offer with 

16 additional information, provided that such informa17 tion utilizes the same standard terminology identi18 fied in subsection (f)(1) and does not misrepresent 

19 costs, financial aid offered, or net price; or 

20 ‘‘(2) deleting a required item or disclosure if— 

21 ‘‘(A) the student is ineligible for such aid; 

22 ‘‘(B) the institution does not participate in 

23 the aid program or type; 

24 ‘‘(C) the aid offer does not include the aid 

25 program or type; or 


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1 ‘‘(D) a cost of attendance item is not ap2 plicable to the student. 

3 ‘‘(h) DEVELOPMENT OF FINANCIAL AID OFFER.— 

4 ‘‘(1) DRAFT FORM.—Not later than 9 months 

5 after the date of enactment of the College Cost Re6 duction Act, the Secretary of Education, in consulta7 tion with the heads of relevant Federal agencies and 

8 the individuals and entities described in subsection 

9 (a) shall design and produce multiple draft financial 

10 aid offers for consumer testing with postsecondary 

11 students or prospective students. In developing that 

12 form, the Secretary shall ensure that— 

13 ‘‘(A) the headings described in paragraphs 

14 (1) through (4) of subsection (b) are in the 

15 same font, appears in the same order, and are 

16 displayed prominently on the financial aid offer, 

17 such that none of that information is inappro18 priately omitted or deemphasized; 

19 ‘‘(B) the other information required under 

20 subsection (b) appears in a standard format 

21 and design on the financial aid offer; and 

22 ‘‘(C) the institution may include a logo or 

23 brand alongside the title of the financial aid 

24 offer. 

25 ‘‘(2) CONSUMER TESTING.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 9 

2 months after the date of enactment of the Col3 lege Cost Reduction Act, the Secretary of Edu4 cation, in consultation with the heads of rel5 evant Federal agencies, shall establish a process 

6 to submit the financial aid offer drafts devel7 oped under paragraph (1) for consumer testing 

8 among representatives of students (including 

9 low-income students, first generation college 

10 students, adult students, veterans, 

11 servicemembers, and prospective students), stu12 dents’ families (including low-income families, 

13 families with first generation college students, 

14 and families with prospective students), institu15 tions of higher education, secondary school and 

16 postsecondary counselors, and nonprofit con17 sumer groups. 

18 ‘‘(B) LENGTH OF CONSUMER TESTING.— 

19 The Secretary of Education shall ensure that 

20 the consumer testing under this paragraph lasts 

21 not longer than 8 months after the process for 

22 consumer testing is developed under subpara23 graph (A). 

24 ‘‘(3) FINAL FORM.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The results of con2 sumer testing under paragraph (2) shall be 

3 used in the development of the finalized stand4 ard financial aid offer required under sub5 section (f)(2). 

6 ‘‘(B) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Not 

7 later than 3 months after the date on which the 

8 consumer testing under paragraph (2) con9 cludes, the Secretary of Education shall submit 

10 to Congress, and publish on its website— 

11 ‘‘(i) the final standard financial aid 

12 offer; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) a report detailing the results of 

14 such testing, including whether the Sec15 retary of Education added, modified, or 

16 moved any additional items to the stand17 ard financial aid offer pursuant to sub18 section (b)(6). 

19 ‘‘(4) AUTHORITY TO MODIFY.—The Secretary 

20 of Education may modify or remove the definitions, 

21 terms, formatting, and design of the financial aid 

22 offer based on the results of consumer testing re23 quired under this subsection and before finalizing 

24 the form, or in subsequent consumer testing. The 


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1 Secretary may also recommend additional changes to 

2 Congress. 

3 ‘‘(i) COST OF ATTENDANCE DEFINED.—In this sec4 tion, the term ‘cost of attendance’ has the meaning given 

5 such term in section 472 of the Higher Education Act of 

6 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087ll).’’. 

7 (b) USE OF MANDATORY FINANCIAL AID OFFER AND

8 TERMS.—Part B of title I of the Higher Education Act 

9 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1011 et seq.) is amended by adding 

10 at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 124. USE OF MANDATORY FINANCIAL AID OFFER AND 

12 TERMS. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro14 vision of law, each institution of higher education that re15 ceives Federal financial assistance under this Act shall— 

16 ‘‘(1) use the financial aid offer developed under 

17 section 484 of the Higher Education Opportunity 

18 Act (20 U.S.C. 1092 note) in providing paper, mo19 bile-optimized offers, or other electronic offers to all 

20 students who apply for aid and are accepted at the 

21 institution; and 

22 ‘‘(2) use the standard terminology and defini23 tions developed by the Secretary of Education under 

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1 tions from the institution related to financial aid of2 fers. 

3 ‘‘(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The requirements under 

4 this section shall take effect on the first date on which 

5 the Secretary releases the Free Application for Federal 

6 Student Aid for the applicable award year associated with 

7 that application, if such date occurs not less than 1 year 

8 after the Secretary of Education finalizes the standard 

9 terminology and form developed in accordance with section 

10 484 of the Higher Education Opportunity Act (20 U.S.C. 

11 1092 note). 

12 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES.—Notwith13 standing any other provision of law, the Secretary shall 

14 not have the authority to prescribe regulations to carry 

15 out this section.’’. 

16 SEC. 112. COLLEGE SCORECARD WEBSITE. 

17 (a) COLLEGE SCORECARD WEBSITE.— 

18 (1) DEFINITIONS; CONFORMING AMEND19 MENTS.—Section 132 of the Higher Education Act 

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

21 (A) by amending subsection (a) to read as 

22 follows: 

23 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

24 ‘‘(1) COLLEGE SCORECARD WEBSITE.—The 

25 term ‘College Scorecard website’ means the College 


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1 Scorecard website required under subsection (c) and 

2 includes any successor website. 

3 ‘‘(2) COST OF ATTENDANCE.—The term ‘cost of 

4 attendance’ has the meaning given such term in sec5 tion 472. 

6 ‘‘(3) TOTAL NET PRICE REQUIRED FOR COM7 PLETION.—The term ‘total net price required for 

8 completion’ means, with respect to the period of 

9 completion of a program of study— 

10 ‘‘(A) the sum of the required costs de11 scribed in section 484(b)(3)(A)(i)(I) charged to 

12 a student for such period of completion; minus 

13 ‘‘(B) the total amount of grant and schol14 arship aid described in paragraph (2) of section 

15 484(b) that is available to the student for the 

16 costs described in subparagraph (A) for comple17 tion of a program of study.’’; 

18 (B) by striking subsections (b) through 

19 (g); and 

20 (C) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub21 section (b). 

22 (2) SCORECARD AUTHORIZED.—Section 132 of 

23 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

24 1015a) is further amended— 

25 (A) by striking subsection (i); and 


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1 (B) by inserting after subsection (b) the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(c) CONSUMER INFORMATION.— 

4 ‘‘(1) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION FOR

5 TITLE IV INSTITUTIONS AND PROGRAMS.—Not later 

6 than 18 months after the date of the enactment of 

7 the College Cost Reduction Act, the Secretary shall 

8 make publicly available on the College Scorecard 

9 website the following aggregated information with 

10 respect to each institution of higher education and 

11 each program of study at such institution, as appli12 cable, that participates in a program under title IV: 

13 ‘‘(A) A link to the website of the institu14 tion. 

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

16 such institution. 

17 ‘‘(C) A link to the website of the institu18 tion containing campus safety data with respect 

19 to such institution. 

20 ‘‘(D) The geographic location of the insti21 tution. 

22 ‘‘(E) Information on the type of institu23 tion, including sector, size, predominant and 

24 highest credential awarded, research intensity, 


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1 programs of study offered, and other character2 istics of the institution. 

3 ‘‘(F) Information on student enrollment, 

4 including the number and percentage of stu5 dents enrolled full-time, less than full-time, and 

6 enrolled in distance education. 

7 ‘‘(G) Information on student progression 

8 and completion, including time to credential 

9 and rates of withdrawal, retention, transfer, or 

10 completion. 

11 ‘‘(H) Information on college costs and fi12 nancial aid, including average, median, min13 imum, and maximum values of— 

14 ‘‘(i) the cost of attendance, including 

15 such cost disaggregated by the costs de16 scribed in paragraphs (1) through (14) of 

17 section 472(a); 

18 ‘‘(ii) the grants and scholarships re19 ceived by students at the institution and 

20 the number and percentage of such stu21 dents receiving such grants and scholar22 ships, disaggregated by source and whether 

23 such aid is need-based, merit-based, an 

24 athletic scholarship, or other type of grant 

25 or scholarship; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the total net price required for 

2 completion for students who received Fed3 eral financial assistance described in para4 graph (2)(I). 

5 ‘‘(I) Information on student debt and re6 payment, including— 

7 ‘‘(i) the average, median, minimum, 

8 and maximum amounts borrowed by stu9 dents under title IV; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) information with respect to re11 payment of loans made under title IV, in12 cluding borrower-based repayment rates, 

13 dollar-based repayment rates, and time 

14 spent in repayment. 

15 ‘‘(J) Information on the earnings of stu16 dents who received Federal financial assistance 

17 described in paragraph (2)(I), including the av18 erage, median, minimum, and maximum values 

19 of— 

20 ‘‘(i) with respect to students who com21 plete a program of study in an award 

22 year— 

23 ‘‘(I) the annual earnings of such 

24 students; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) the value-added earnings of 

2 such students; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) with respect to students who do 

4 not complete a program of study in an 

5 award year, the annual earnings of such 

6 students. 

7 ‘‘(2) DISAGGREGATED INFORMATION.—The 

8 Secretary shall ensure the information described in 

9 paragraph (1) is disaggregated, as applicable, by the 

10 following student characteristics: 

11 ‘‘(A) Financial circumstances including— 

12 ‘‘(i) household income categories, as 

13 determined by students’ adjusted gross in14 come, family size, and poverty line (as de15 fined in section 401(a)); and 

16 ‘‘(ii) student aid index categories, as 

17 determined by the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(B) Sex. 

19 ‘‘(C) Race and ethnicity. 

20 ‘‘(D) Classification as a student with a dis21 ability. 

22 ‘‘(E) Enrollment status. 

23 ‘‘(F) Residency status. 

24 ‘‘(G) Status as an international student. 


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1 ‘‘(H) Status as a recipient of Federal fi2 nancial assistance, including— 

3 ‘‘(i) a Pell grant; 

4 ‘‘(ii) a loan made under title IV; and 

5 ‘‘(iii) veterans’ education benefits (as 

6 defined in section 480(c)). 

7 ‘‘(J) Status as a participant in a program 

8 described in section 116(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the 

9 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

10 U.S.C. 3131(b)(3)(A)(ii)). 

11 ‘‘(3) INSTITUTIONAL AND PROGRAM COMPARI12 SON.—The Secretary shall include on the College 

13 Scorecard website a method for users to easily com14 pare institutions and programs, including in a man15 ner that allows for such comparison based on— 

16 ‘‘(A) the institutional and program infor17 mation described in paragraph (1); and 

18 ‘‘(B) the student characteristics described 

19 in paragraph (2). 

20 ‘‘(4) UNIVERSAL NET PRICE CALCULATOR.— 

21 The Secretary shall include on the College Scorecard 

22 website a universal net price calculator that enables 

23 users to answer questions and receive personalized 

24 pricing information for each institution of higher 


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1 education and program of study offered by such in2 stitution. 

3 ‘‘(5) UPDATES.— 

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

5 the College Scorecard website not less than an6 nually. 

7 ‘‘(B) TECHNOLOGY AND FORMAT.—The 

8 Secretary shall regularly assess the format and 

9 technology of the College Scorecard website and 

10 make any changes or updates that the Sec11 retary considers appropriate. 

12 ‘‘(6) CONSUMER TESTING.—In developing and 

13 maintaining the College Scorecard website, the Sec14 retary, in consultation with appropriate departments 

15 and agencies of the Federal Government, shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) not later than 6 months after the 

17 date of the enactment of the College Cost Re18 duction Act, and not less than once every 3 

19 years thereafter, consumer testing with appro20 priate persons, including current and prospec21 tive college students, family members of such 

22 students, institutions of higher education, and 

23 experts, to ensure that the College Scorecard 

24 website is usable and easily understandable and 


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1 provides useful and relevant information to stu2 dents and families; and 

3 ‘‘(B) prominently display on such website 

4 in simple, understandable, and unbiased terms 

5 for the most recent academic year for which 

6 satisfactory data is available, the information 

7 described in paragraphs (1) and (2) that was 

8 determined to be useful and relevant to stu9 dents and families based on the consumer test10 ing described in subparagraph (A) for each in11 stitution and program of study (as applicable). 

12 ‘‘(7) PROVISION OF APPROPRIATE LINKS TO

13 PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS AFTER SUBMISSION OF

14 FAFSA.—The Secretary shall provide to each student 

15 who submits a Free Application for Federal Student 

16 Aid described in section 483 a link to the webpage 

17 of the College Scorecard website that contains the 

18 information required under paragraph (1) for each 

19 institution of higher education such student includes 

20 on such application. 

21 ‘‘(8) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—The Sec22 retary, in consultation with each appropriate head of 

23 a department or agency of the Federal Government, 

24 shall ensure, to the greatest extent practicable, that 

25 any information related to higher education that is 


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1 published by such department or agency is con2 sistent with the information published on the College 

3 Scorecard website. 

4 ‘‘(9) DATA COLLECTION AND DUPLICATED RE5 PORTING.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 

6 this section, to the extent that another provision of 

7 this section requires the same reporting or collection 

8 of data that is required under this Act, an institu9 tion of higher education, or the Secretary or Com10 missioner, shall use the reporting or data required 

11 under this subsection to satisfy both requirements. 

12 ‘‘(10) DATA PRIVACY.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

14 ensure any information made available under 

15 this section is made available in accordance 

16 with the privacy laws described in section 

17 132(f)(1)(C)(iv). 

18 ‘‘(B) SMALL INSTITUTIONS AND PROGRAM

19 OF STUDY.—For purposes of publishing the in20 formation described in paragraphs (1) and (2), 

21 for any year for which the number of students 

22 is determined by the Secretary to be of insuffi23 cient size to maintain the privacy of student 

24 data, the Secretary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) aggregate up to 4 years of addi2 tional data for such program of study to 

3 obtain data for a sufficient number of stu4 dents to maintain student privacy; 

5 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a program of 

6 study, if the method described in clause (i) 

7 is insufficient to maintain student privacy, 

8 aggregate data for students who completed 

9 or who were enrolled in, as applicable, 

10 similar program of study of the institution 

11 to obtain data for a sufficient number of 

12 students to maintain student privacy; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a program of 

14 study, if the methods described in clauses 

15 (i) and (ii) are insufficient to maintain stu16 dent privacy, or additional data described 

17 in such clauses is not available or can not 

18 be aggregated, aggregate data with respect 

19 to all students who completed or were en20 rolled in, as applicable, any program of 

21 study of the institution of the same creden22 tial level, in lieu of data specific to stu23 dents in such program of study.’’. 

24 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Higher Edu25 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), as amended 


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

2 striking ‘‘College Navigator’’ each place it appears and in3 serting ‘‘College Scorecard’’. 

4 (c) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any law (other 

5 than the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 

6 et seq.)), regulation, document, record, or other paper of 

7 the United States to the College Navigator website shall 

8 be considered to be a reference to the College Scorecard 

9 website. 

10 SEC. 113. POSTSECONDARY STUDENT DATA SYSTEM. 

11 Section 132 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

12 U.S.C. 1015a) is further amended— 

13 (1) by redesignating subsections (j) and (k) as 

14 subsections (d) and (e), respectively; 

15 (2) by redesignating subsection (l) as subsection 

16 (g); and 

17 (3) by inserting after subsection (e), as so re18 designated, the following: 

19 ‘‘(f) POSTSECONDARY STUDENT DATA SYSTEM.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

21 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT OF SYSTEM.—Not 

22 later than 3 years after the date of enactment 

23 of the College Cost Reduction Act, the Commis24 sioner of the National Center for Education 

25 Statistics (referred to in this subsection as the 


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1 ‘Commissioner’) in consultation with the Direc2 tor of the Institute of Education Sciences (re3 ferred to as ‘the Director’) shall develop and 

4 maintain a secure and privacy-protected post5 secondary student-level data system in order 

6 to— 

7 ‘‘(i) accurately evaluate student en8 rollment patterns, progression, completion, 

9 and postcollegiate outcomes, and higher 

10 education costs and financial aid; 

11 ‘‘(ii) assist with transparency, institu12 tional improvement, and analysis of Fed13 eral aid programs; 

14 ‘‘(iii) provide accurate, complete, and 

15 customizable information for students and 

16 families making decisions about postsec17 ondary education; and 

18 ‘‘(iv) reduce the reporting burden on 

19 institutions of higher education in accord20 ance with section 111 of the College Cost 

21 Reduction Act. 

22 ‘‘(B) AVOIDING DUPLICATE REPORTING.— 

23 Notwithstanding any other provision of this sec24 tion, to the extent that another provision of this 

25 section requires the same reporting or collection 


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1 of data that is required under this subsection, 

2 an institution of higher education, or the Sec3 retary or Commissioner, shall use the reporting 

4 or data required for the postsecondary student 

5 data system under this subsection to satisfy 

6 both requirements. 

7 ‘‘(C) DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.—In devel8 oping the postsecondary student data system 

9 described in this subsection, the Commissioner, 

10 in consultation with the Director, shall— 

11 ‘‘(i) focus on the needs of— 

12 ‘‘(I) users of the data system; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(II) entities, including institu15 tions of higher education, reporting to 

16 the data system; 

17 ‘‘(ii) take into consideration, to the 

18 extent practicable— 

19 ‘‘(I) the guidelines outlined in— 

20 ‘‘(aa) the ‘United States 

21 Web Design Standards’ main22 tained by the General Services 

23 Administration; and 

24 ‘‘(bb) the ‘Digital Services 

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1 book for Procuring Digital Serv2 ices Using Agile Processes’ of the 

3 United States Digital Service; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(II) the relevant successor docu6 ments or recommendations of such 

7 guidelines; 

8 ‘‘(iii) use modern, relevant privacy9 and security-enhancing technology, and en10 hance and update the data system as nec11 essary to carry out the purpose of this sub12 section; 

13 ‘‘(iv) ensure data privacy and security 

14 is consistent with any relevant Federal law 

15 relating to privacy or data security, includ16 ing— 

17 ‘‘(I) the requirements of sub18 chapter II of chapter 35 of title 44, 

19 United States Code, specifying secu20 rity categorization under the Federal 

21 Information Processing Standards or 

22 any relevant successor of such stand23 ards; 

24 ‘‘(II) security requirements that 

25 are consistent with the Federal agency 


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1 responsibilities in section 3554 of title 

2 44, United States Code, or any rel3 evant successor of such responsibil4 ities; and 

5 ‘‘(III) security requirements, 

6 guidelines, and controls consistent 

7 with cybersecurity standards and best 

8 practices developed by the National 

9 Institute of Standards and Tech10 nology, including frameworks, con11 sistent with section 2(c) of the Na12 tional Institute of Standards and 

13 Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 272(c)), or 

14 any relevant successor of such frame15 works; 

16 ‘‘(v) follow Federal data minimization 

17 practices to ensure only the minimum 

18 amount of data is collected to meet the 

19 system’s goals, in accordance with Federal 

20 data minimization standards and guide21 lines developed by the National Institute of 

22 Standards and Technology; and 

23 ‘‘(vi) provide notice to students out24 lining the data included in the system and 

25 how the data are used. 


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1 ‘‘(D) LIMITATION.—The data system de2 veloped under this subsection may only include 

3 data with respect to— 

4 ‘‘(i) students receiving— 

5 ‘‘(I) Federal financial assistance 

6 under title IV of this Act; or 

7 ‘‘(II) veteran’s education bene8 fits, as defined in section 480(c); and 

9 ‘‘(ii) participants in a program de10 scribed in section 116(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the 

11 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

12 (29 U.S.C. 3131(b)(3)(A)(ii)). 

13 ‘‘(2) DATA ELEMENTS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years 

15 after the date of enactment of the College Cost 

16 Reduction Act, the Commissioner, in consulta17 tion with the Postsecondary Student Data Sys18 tem Advisory Committee and the Director, es19 tablished under subparagraph (B), shall deter20 mine— 

21 ‘‘(i) the data elements to be included 

22 in the postsecondary student data system, 

23 in accordance with subparagraphs (C) and 

24 (D); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) how to include the data elements 

2 required under subparagraph (C), and any 

3 additional data elements selected under 

4 subparagraph (D), in the postsecondary 

5 student data system. 

6 ‘‘(B) POSTSECONDARY STUDENT DATA

7 SYSTEM ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

8 ‘‘(i) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later 

9 than 1 year after the date of enactment of 

10 the College Cost Reduction Act, the Com11 missioner, in consultation with the Direc12 tor, shall establish a Postsecondary Stu13 dent Data System Advisory Committee (re14 ferred to in this subsection as the ‘Advi15 sory Committee’), whose members shall in16 clude— 

17 ‘‘(I) the Chief Privacy Officer of 

18 the Department or an official of the 

19 Department delegated the duties of 

20 overseeing data privacy at the Depart21 ment; 

22 ‘‘(II) the Chief Security Officer 

23 of the Department or an official of 

24 the Department delegated the duties 


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1 of overseeing data security at the De2 partment; 

3 ‘‘(III) representatives of diverse 

4 institutions of higher education, which 

5 shall include equal representation be6 tween 2-year and 4-year institutions 

7 of higher education, and from public, 

8 nonprofit, and proprietary institutions 

9 of higher education, including minor10 ity-serving institutions; 

11 ‘‘(IV) representatives from State 

12 higher education agencies, entities, 

13 bodies, or boards; 

14 ‘‘(V) representatives of postsec15 ondary students; 

16 ‘‘(VI) representatives from rel17 evant Federal agencies; 

18 ‘‘(VII) individuals with expertise 

19 in data privacy and security; and 

20 ‘‘(VIII) other stakeholders (in21 cluding individuals with consumer 

22 protection and postsecondary edu23 cation research). 


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1 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS.—The Commis2 sioner, working with the Director, shall en3 sure that the Advisory Committee— 

4 ‘‘(I) adheres to all requirements 

5 under chapter 10 of title 5, United 

6 States Code (commonly known as the 

7 ‘Federal Advisory Committee Act’); 

8 ‘‘(II) establishes operating and 

9 meeting procedures and guidelines 

10 necessary to execute its advisory du11 ties; and 

12 ‘‘(III) is provided with appro13 priate staffing and resources to exe14 cute its advisory duties. 

15 ‘‘(C) REQUIRED DATA ELEMENTS.—The 

16 data elements in the postsecondary student 

17 data system shall include the following: 

18 ‘‘(i) Student-level data elements nec19 essary to calculate the information within 

20 the surveys designated by the Commis21 sioner as ‘student-related surveys’ in the 

22 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data 

23 System (IPEDS), as such surveys are in 

24 effect on the day before the date of enact25 ment of the College Cost Reduction Act, 


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1 except that in the case that collection of 

2 such elements would conflict with the pro3 hibition under subparagraph (F), such ele4 ments in conflict with such prohibition 

5 shall be included in the aggregate instead 

6 of at the student level. 

7 ‘‘(ii) Student-level data elements re8 ported by institutions in accordance with 

9 section 668.408 of title 34, Code of Fed10 eral Regulations, as in effect on July 1, 

11 2024. 

12 ‘‘(iii) Student-level data elements nec13 essary to allow for reporting student en14 rollment, persistence, progression (includ15 ing credit accumulation) retention, trans16 fer, completion, and time and credits to 

17 credential measures for all credential levels 

18 separately (including certificate, associate, 

19 baccalaureate, and advanced degree levels), 

20 within and across institutions of higher 

21 education (including across all categories 

22 of institution level, control, and predomi23 nant degree awarded). The data elements 

24 shall allow for reporting about all such 


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1 data disaggregated by the following cat2 egories: 

3 ‘‘(I) Enrollment status as a first4 time student, recent transfer student, 

5 or other nonfirst-time student. 

6 ‘‘(II) Attendance intensity, 

7 whether full-time or part-time. 

8 ‘‘(III) Credential-seeking status, 

9 by credential level (including non10 credit-seeking and noncredit creden11 tials). 

12 ‘‘(IV) Race or ethnicity, in a 

13 manner that captures all the racial 

14 groups specified in the most recent 

15 American Community Survey of the 

16 Bureau of the Census. 

17 ‘‘(V) Age intervals. 

18 ‘‘(VI) Sex. 

19 ‘‘(VII) Status as a first genera20 tion college student (as defined in sec21 tion 402A(h)). 

22 ‘‘(VIII) Economic status. 

23 ‘‘(IX) Measures related to college 

24 readiness, including participation in 


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1 postsecondary remedial coursework or 

2 gateway course completion. 

3 ‘‘(X) Program of study. 

4 ‘‘(XI) Status as an online edu5 cation student, whether exclusively or 

6 partially enrolled in online education. 

7 ‘‘(XII) Military or veteran benefit 

8 status (as determined based on receipt 

9 of veteran’s education benefits, as de10 fined in section 480(c)). 

11 ‘‘(XIII) Federal Pell Grant re12 cipient status under section 401 and 

13 Federal loan recipient status under 

14 title IV. 

15 ‘‘(XIV) Status as a participant in 

16 a program described in section 

17 116(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Workforce In18 novation and Opportunity Act (29 

19 U.S.C. 3131(b)(3)(A)(ii)). 

20 ‘‘(D) REEVALUATION.—Not less than once 

21 every 3 years after the implementation of the 

22 postsecondary student data system described in 

23 this subsection, the Commissioner, in consulta24 tion with the Advisory Committee described in 

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1 tor, shall report to Congress the data elements 

2 included in the postsecondary student data sys3 tem and recommend any additional data ele4 ments to be included in such system. 

5 ‘‘(E) PROHIBITIONS.—The postsecondary 

6 student data system shall not include individual 

7 health data (including data relating to physical 

8 health or mental health), student discipline 

9 records or data, elementary and secondary edu10 cation data, an exact address, course grades, 

11 postsecondary entrance examination results, po12 litical affiliation, religion, or any other data in 

13 the postsecondary student data system not de14 scribed in this subsection. 

15 ‘‘(3) PERIODIC MATCHING WITH OTHER FED16 ERAL DATA SYSTEMS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) DATA SHARING AGREEMENTS.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Commis19 sioner, in consultation with the Director, 

20 shall ensure secure and privacy-protected 

21 periodic data matches by entering into 

22 data sharing agreements with each of the 

23 following Federal agencies and offices: 

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1 ternal Revenue Service, in order to 

2 calculate aggregate program- and in3 stitution-level earnings of postsec4 ondary students described in subpara5 graph (B)(ii). 

6 ‘‘(II) The Secretary of Defense, 

7 in order to assess the use of postsec8 ondary educational benefits and the 

9 outcomes of servicemembers who are 

10 receiving veteran’s education benefits 

11 (as defined in section 480(c)). 

12 ‘‘(III) The Secretary of Veterans 

13 Affairs, in order to assess the use of 

14 postsecondary educational benefits 

15 and outcomes of veterans who are re16 ceiving veteran’s education benefits 

17 (as defined in section 480(c)). 

18 ‘‘(IV) The Director of the Bu19 reau of the Census, in order to assess 

20 the employment outcomes of former 

21 postsecondary education students de22 scribed in paragraph (1)(D). 

23 ‘‘(V) The Chief Operating Officer 

24 of the Office of Federal Student Aid, 

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1 ondary educational benefits provided 

2 under this Act. 

3 ‘‘(VI) The Commissioner of the 

4 Social Security Administration, in 

5 order to evaluate labor market out6 comes of former postsecondary edu7 cation students described in para8 graph (1)(D). 

9 ‘‘(VII) The Secretary of Health 

10 and Human Services, in order to 

11 evaluate the wages of former postsec12 ondary education students described 

13 in paragraph (1)(D). 

14 ‘‘(ii) DATA SHARING AGREEMENTS.— 

15 The heads of Federal agencies and offices 

16 described under clause (i) shall enter into 

17 data sharing agreements with the Commis18 sioner to ensure secure and privacy-pro19 tected periodic data matches as described 

20 in this paragraph. 

21 ‘‘(B) CATEGORIES OF DATA.—The Com22 missioner, in consultation with the Director, 

23 shall, at a minimum, seek to ensure that the se24 cure and privacy-protected periodic data 

25 matches described in subparagraph (A) permit 


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1 consistent reporting of the following categories 

2 of data for students described in paragraph 

3 (1)(D) who completed a program of study and 

4 who did not complete a program of study: 

5 ‘‘(i) Enrollment, retention, transfer, 

6 and completion outcomes. 

7 ‘‘(ii) Financial indicators for postsec8 ondary students receiving Federal grants 

9 and loans, including grant and loan aid by 

10 source, cumulative student debt, loan re11 payment status, and repayment plan. 

12 ‘‘(iii) Post-completion outcomes, in13 cluding earnings and employment (includ14 ing industry, occupation, and location of 

15 employment, and further education, by 

16 program of study and credential level) and 

17 as measured at time intervals appropriate 

18 to the credential sought and earned. 

19 ‘‘(C) PERIODIC DATA MATCH STREAM20 LINING AND CONFIDENTIALITY.— 

21 ‘‘(i) STREAMLINING.—In carrying out 

22 the secure and privacy-protected periodic 

23 data matches under this paragraph, the 

24 Commissioner shall— 


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1 ‘‘(I) ensure that such matches 

2 are not continuous, but occur only pe3 riodically at appropriate intervals, as 

4 determined by the Commissioner to 

5 meet the goals of subparagraph (A); 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(II) seek to— 

8 ‘‘(aa) streamline the data 

9 collection and reporting require10 ments for institutions of higher 

11 education; 

12 ‘‘(bb) minimize duplicative 

13 reporting across or within Fed14 eral agencies or departments, in15 cluding reporting requirements 

16 applicable to institutions of high17 er education under the Workforce 

18 Innovation and Opportunity Act 

19 (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) and the 

20 Carl D. Perkins Career and 

21 Technical Education Act of 2006; 

22 ‘‘(cc) protect student pri23 vacy; and 

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1 efit programs available to bor2 rowers based on data available 

3 from different Federal data sys4 tems. 

5 ‘‘(ii) REVIEW.—Not less often than 

6 once every 3 years after the establishment 

7 of the postsecondary student data system 

8 under this subsection, the Commissioner, 

9 in consultation with the Advisory Com10 mittee and the Director, shall review meth11 ods for streamlining data collection from 

12 institutions of higher education and mini13 mizing duplicative reporting within the De14 partment and across Federal agencies that 

15 provide data for the postsecondary student 

16 data system. 

17 ‘‘(iii) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The Com18 missioner shall ensure that any periodic 

19 matching or sharing of data through peri20 odic data system matches established in 

21 accordance with this paragraph— 

22 ‘‘(I) complies with the security 

23 and privacy protections described in 

24 paragraph (1)(C)(iv) and other Fed25 eral data protection protocols; 


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1 ‘‘(II) follows industry best prac2 tices commensurate with the sensi3 tivity of specific data elements or 

4 metrics; 

5 ‘‘(III) does not result in the cre6 ation of a single standing, linked Fed7 eral database at the Department that 

8 maintains the information reported 

9 across other Federal agencies; and 

10 ‘‘(IV) discloses to postsecondary 

11 students what data are included in the 

12 data system and periodically matched 

13 and how the data are used. 

14 ‘‘(iv) CORRECTION.—The Commis15 sioner, in consultation with the Advisory 

16 Committee and Director, shall establish a 

17 process for students to request access to 

18 only their personal information for inspec19 tion and request corrections to inaccuracies 

20 in a manner that protects the student’s 

21 personally identifiable information. The 

22 Commissioner shall respond in writing to 

23 every request for a correction from a stu24 dent. 

25 ‘‘(4) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner 

2 shall make the summary aggregate information 

3 described in subparagraph (C), at a minimum, 

4 publicly available through a user-friendly con5 sumer information website and analytic tool for 

6 institutional and research use that— 

7 ‘‘(i) provides appropriate mechanisms 

8 for users to customize and filter informa9 tion by institutional and student character10 istics; 

11 ‘‘(ii) allows users to build summary 

12 aggregate reports of information, including 

13 reports that allow comparisons across mul14 tiple institutions and programs, subject to 

15 subparagraph (B); 

16 ‘‘(iii) uses appropriate statistical dis17 closure limitation techniques necessary to 

18 ensure that the data released to the public 

19 cannot be used to identify specific individ20 uals; and 

21 ‘‘(iv) provides users with appropriate 

22 contextual factors to make comparisons, 

23 which may include national median figures 

24 of the summary aggregate information de25 scribed in subparagraph (C). 


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1 ‘‘(B) NO PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE IN2 FORMATION AVAILABLE.—The summary aggre3 gate information described in this paragraph 

4 shall not include personally identifiable informa5 tion. 

6 ‘‘(C) SUMMARY AGGREGATE INFORMATION

7 AVAILABLE.—The summary aggregate informa8 tion described in this paragraph shall, at a min9 imum, include each of the following for each in10 stitution of higher education: 

11 ‘‘(i) Measures of student access, in12 cluding— 

13 ‘‘(I) admissions selectivity and 

14 yield; and 

15 ‘‘(II) enrollment, disaggregated 

16 by each category described in para17 graph (2)(C)(iii). 

18 ‘‘(ii) Measures of student progression, 

19 including retention rates and persistence 

20 rates, disaggregated by each category de21 scribed in paragraph (2)(C)(iii). 

22 ‘‘(iii) Measures of student completion, 

23 including— 

24 ‘‘(I) transfer rates and outcomes, 

25 completion rates, and time and credits 


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1 to credential, disaggregated by each 

2 category described in paragraph 

3 (2)(C)(iii); and 

4 ‘‘(II) number of completions, 

5 disaggregated by each category de6 scribed in paragraph (2)(C)(iii). 

7 ‘‘(iv) Measures of student costs, in8 cluding— 

9 ‘‘(I) tuition, required fees, cost of 

10 attendance, grants and scholarships, 

11 net price, and unmet need 

12 disaggregated by in-State tuition or 

13 in-district tuition status (if applica14 ble), direct and indirect costs, pro15 gram of study (if applicable), and cre16 dential level; and 

17 ‘‘(II) typical grant amounts and 

18 loan amounts received by students re19 ported separately from Federal, State, 

20 local, institutional, employers, and 

21 other sources, and cumulative debt, 

22 disaggregated by— 

23 ‘‘(aa) each category de24 scribed in paragraph (2)(C)(iii); 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) completion status. 

2 ‘‘(v) Measures of postcollegiate stu3 dent outcomes, including return on invest4 ment, employment rates, earnings, loan re5 payment and default rates, and further 

6 education rates. These measures shall— 

7 ‘‘(I) be disaggregated by— 

8 ‘‘(aa) each category de9 scribed in paragraph (2)(C)(iii); 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(bb) completion status; and 

12 ‘‘(II) be measured immediately 

13 after leaving postsecondary education 

14 and at time intervals appropriate to 

15 the credential sought or earned. 

16 ‘‘(D) DEVELOPMENT CRITERIA.—In devel17 oping the method and format of making the in18 formation described in this paragraph publicly 

19 available, the Commissioner shall— 

20 ‘‘(i) focus on the needs of the users of 

21 the information, which will include stu22 dents, families of students, potential stu23 dents, researchers, and other consumers of 

24 education data; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) take into consideration, to the 

2 extent practicable, the guidelines described 

3 in paragraph (1)(C)(ii)(I), and relevant 

4 successor documents or recommendations 

5 of such guidelines; 

6 ‘‘(iii) use modern, relevant technology 

7 and enhance and update the postsecondary 

8 student data system with information, as 

9 necessary to carry out the purpose of this 

10 paragraph; 

11 ‘‘(iv) ensure data privacy and security 

12 in accordance with standards and guide13 lines developed by the National Institute of 

14 Standards and Technology, and in accord15 ance with any other Federal law relating to 

16 privacy or security, including complying 

17 with the requirements of subchapter II of 

18 chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, 

19 specifying security categorization under the 

20 Federal Information Processing Standards, 

21 and security requirements, and setting of 

22 National Institute of Standards and Tech23 nology security baseline controls at the ap24 propriate level; and 


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1 ‘‘(v) conduct consumer testing to de2 termine how to make the information as 

3 meaningful to users as possible. 

4 ‘‘(5) PERMISSIBLE DISCLOSURES OF DATA.— 

5 ‘‘(A) DATA REPORTS AND QUERIES.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 

7 years after the date of enactment of the 

8 College Cost Reduction Act, the Commis9 sioner in consultation with the Director, 

10 shall develop and implement a secure and 

11 privacy-protected process for making stu12 dent-level, nonpersonally identifiable infor13 mation, with direct identifiers removed, 

14 from the postsecondary student data sys15 tem available for vetted research and eval16 uation purposes approved by the Commis17 sioner in a manner compatible with prac18 tices for disclosing National Center for 

19 Education Statistics restricted-use survey 

20 data as in effect on the day before the date 

21 of enactment of the College Cost Reduction 

22 Act, or by applying other research and dis23 closure restrictions to ensure data privacy 

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1 cation Statistics’ Disclosure Review Board 

2 (or successor body). 

3 ‘‘(ii) PROVIDING DATA REPORTS AND

4 QUERIES TO INSTITUTIONS AND STATES.— 

5 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Commis6 sioner shall provide feedback reports, 

7 at least annually, to each institution 

8 of higher education, each postsec9 ondary education system that fully 

10 participates in the postsecondary stu11 dent data system, and each State 

12 higher education body as designated 

13 by the governor. 

14 ‘‘(II) FEEDBACK REPORTS.—The 

15 feedback reports provided under this 

16 clause shall include program-level and 

17 institution-level information from the 

18 postsecondary student data system re19 garding students who are associated 

20 with the institution or, for State rep21 resentatives, the institutions within 

22 that State, on or before the date of 

23 the report, on measures including stu24 dent mobility (including transfer and 

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1 comes, provided that the feedback ag2 gregate summary reports protect the 

3 privacy of individuals. 

4 ‘‘(III) DETERMINATION OF CON5 TENT.—The content of the feedback 

6 reports shall be determined by the 

7 Commissioner in consultation with the 

8 Advisory Committee and the Director. 

9 ‘‘(iii) PERMITTING STATE DATA QUE10 RIES.—The Commissioner shall, in con11 sultation with the Advisory Committee and 

12 as soon as practicable, create a process 

13 through which States may submit lists of 

14 secondary school graduates within the 

15 State to receive summary aggregate out16 comes for those students who enrolled at 

17 an institution of higher education, includ18 ing postsecondary enrollment, retention 

19 and transfer, and college completion, pro20 vided that those data protect the privacy of 

21 individuals and that the State data sub22 mitted to the Commissioner are not stored 

23 in the postsecondary education system. 

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1 sure fair, secure and privacy-protected, and 

2 equitable access to data reports and que3 ries under this paragraph. 

4 ‘‘(B) DISCLOSURE LIMITATIONS.—In car5 rying out the public reporting and disclosure re6 quirements of this subsection, the Commis7 sioner shall use appropriate statistical disclo8 sure limitation techniques necessary to ensure 

9 that the data released to the public cannot in10 clude personally identifiable information or be 

11 used to identify specific individuals. 

12 ‘‘(C) SALE OF DATA PROHIBITED.—Data 

13 collected under this subsection, including the 

14 public-use data set and data comprising the 

15 summary aggregate information available under 

16 paragraph (4), shall not be sold to any third 

17 party by the Commissioner, including any insti18 tution of higher education or any other entity. 

19 ‘‘(D) LIMITATION ON USE BY OTHER FED20 ERAL AGENCIES.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner 

22 shall not allow any other Federal agency to 

23 use data collected under this subsection for 

24 any purpose except— 


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1 ‘‘(I) for vetted research and eval2 uation conducted by the other Federal 

3 agency, as described in subparagraph 

4 (A)(i); or 

5 ‘‘(II) for a purpose explicitly au6 thorized by an Act of Congress. 

7 ‘‘(ii) PROHIBITION ON LIMITATION OF

8 SERVICES.—The Secretary, or the head of 

9 any other Federal agency, shall not use 

10 data collected under this subsection to 

11 limit services to students. 

12 ‘‘(E) LAW ENFORCEMENT.—Personally 

13 identifiable information collected under this 

14 subsection shall not be used for any Federal, 

15 State, or local law enforcement activity or any 

16 other activity that would result in adverse ac17 tion against any student or a student’s family. 

18 ‘‘(F) LIMITATION OF USE FOR FEDERAL

19 RANKINGS OR SUMMATIVE RATING SYSTEM.— 

20 The comprehensive data collection and analysis 

21 necessary for the postsecondary student data 

22 system under this subsection shall not be used 

23 by the Secretary or any Federal entity to estab24 lish any Federal ranking system of institutions 

25 of higher education or a system that results in 


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1 a summative Federal rating of institutions of 

2 higher education. 

3 ‘‘(G) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 

4 in this paragraph shall be construed to prevent 

5 the use of individual categories of aggregate in6 formation to be used for accountability pur7 poses. 

8 ‘‘(H) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING

9 COMMERCIAL USE OF DATA.—Nothing in this 

10 paragraph shall be construed to prohibit third11 party entities from using publicly available in12 formation in this data system for commercial 

13 use. 

14 ‘‘(6) SUBMISSION OF DATA.— 

15 ‘‘(A) REQUIRED SUBMISSION.—Each insti16 tution of higher education participating in a 

17 program under title IV, or the assigned agent 

18 of such institution, shall, for each instructional 

19 program, and in accordance with section 

20 487(a)(17), collect, and submit to the Commis21 sioner, the data requested by the Commissioner 

22 to carry out this subsection. 

23 ‘‘(B) VOLUNTARY SUBMISSION.—Any insti24 tution of higher education not participating in 

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1 ticipate in the postsecondary student data sys2 tem under this subsection by collecting and sub3 mitting data to the Commissioner, as the Com4 missioner may request to carry out this sub5 section. 

6 ‘‘(C) PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFOR7 MATION.—In accordance with paragraph 

8 (2)(C)(i), if the submission of an element of 

9 student-level data is prohibited under para10 graph (2)(F) (or otherwise prohibited by law), 

11 the institution of higher education shall submit 

12 that data to the Commissioner in the aggregate. 

13 ‘‘(7) UNLAWFUL WILLFUL DISCLOSURE.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful 

15 for any person who obtains or has access to 

16 personally identifiable information in connection 

17 with the postsecondary student data system de18 scribed in this subsection to willfully disclose to 

19 any person (except as authorized in this Act or 

20 by any Federal law) such personally identifiable 

21 information. 

22 ‘‘(B) PENALTY.—Any person who violates 

23 subparagraph (A) shall be subject to a penalty 

24 described under section 3572(f) of title 44, 

25 United States Code, and section 183(d)(6) of 


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1 the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 

2 U.S.C. 9573(d)(6)). 

3 ‘‘(C) EMPLOYEE OF OFFICER OF THE

4 UNITED STATES.—If a violation of subpara5 graph (A) is committed by any officer or em6 ployee of the United States, the officer or em7 ployee shall be dismissed from office or dis8 charged from employment upon conviction for 

9 the violation. 

10 ‘‘(8) DATA SECURITY.—The Commissioner shall 

11 produce and update as needed guidance and regula12 tions relating to privacy, security, and access which 

13 shall govern the use and disclosure of data collected 

14 in connection with the activities authorized in this 

15 subsection. The guidance and regulations developed 

16 and reviewed shall protect data from unauthorized 

17 access, use, and disclosure, and shall include— 

18 ‘‘(A) an audit capability, including manda19 tory and regularly conducted audits; 

20 ‘‘(B) access controls; 

21 ‘‘(C) requirements to ensure sufficient data 

22 security, quality, validity, and reliability; 

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1 chapter III of chapter 35 of title 44, United 

2 States Code; 

3 ‘‘(E) appropriate and applicable privacy 

4 and security protection, including data retention 

5 and destruction protocols and data minimiza6 tion, in accordance with the most recent Fed7 eral standards developed by the National Insti8 tute of Standards and Technology; and 

9 ‘‘(F) protocols for managing a breach, in10 cluding breach notifications, in accordance with 

11 the standards of National Center for Education 

12 Statistics. 

13 ‘‘(9) DATA COLLECTION.—The Commissioner 

14 shall ensure that data collection, maintenance, and 

15 use under this subsection complies with section 552a 

16 of title 5, United States Code. 

17 ‘‘(10) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

18 ‘‘(A) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU19 CATION.—The term ‘institution of higher edu20 cation’ has the meaning given the term in sec21 tion 102. 

22 ‘‘(B) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION.— 

23 The term ‘minority-serving institution’ means 

24 an institution of higher education listed in sec25 tion 371(a). 


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1 ‘‘(C) PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFOR2 MATION.—The term ‘personally identifiable in3 formation’ means personally identifiable infor4 mation within the meaning of section 444 of the 

5 General Education Provisions Act.’’. 

6 SEC. 114. DATABASE OF STUDENT INFORMATION PROHIB7 ITED. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 134(b) of the Higher 

9 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1015c(b)) is amended 

10 to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.—The provisions of subsection (a) 

12 shall not apply to a system (or a successor system)— 

13 ‘‘(1) that— 

14 ‘‘(A) is necessary for the operation of pro15 grams authorized by title II, IV, or VII; and 

16 ‘‘(B) was in use by the Secretary, directly 

17 or through a contractor, as of the day before 

18 the date of enactment of the College Cost Re19 duction Act; or 

20 ‘‘(2) required under section 132.’’. 

21 (b) PROGRAM PARTICIPATION AGREEMENTS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (17) of section 

23 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

24 U.S.C. 1094(a)) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(17) The institution or the assigned agent of 

2 the institution will collect and submit to the Com3 missioner for Education Statistics data in accord4 ance with section 132(f), the non-student related 

5 surveys within the Integrated Postsecondary Edu6 cation Data System (IPEDS), or any other Federal 

7 institution of higher education data collection effort 

8 (as designated by the Secretary), in a timely manner 

9 and to the satisfaction of the Secretary.’’. 

10 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

11 by paragraph (1) shall take effect no later than 3 

12 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

13 (c) REPORTING BURDEN.—The Secretary of Edu14 cation and the Commissioner for Education Statistics 

15 shall take such steps as are necessary to ensure that the 

16 development and maintenance of the postsecondary stu17 dent data system required under section 132(f) of the 

18 Higher Education Act of 1965, as added by section 113 

19 of this Act, occurs in a manner that reduces the reporting 

20 burden for entities that reported into the Integrated Post21 secondary Education Data System (IPEDS). 


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1 TITLE II—ACCESS AND 

2 AFFORDABILITY 

3 PART A—FINANCIAL NEED 

4 SEC. 201. AMOUNT OF NEED; COST OF ATTENDANCE; ME5 DIAN COST OF COLLEGE. 

6 (a) AMOUNT OF NEED.—Section 471 (20 U.S.C. 

7 1087kk), as amended by the FAFSA Simplification Act, 

8 is further amended by amending paragraph (1) to read 

9 as follows: 

10 ‘‘(1)(A) for award year 2024–2025, the cost of 

11 attendance of such student; and 

12 ‘‘(B) for award year 2025–2026 and each sub13 sequent award year, the median cost of college of the 

14 program of study of such student, minus’’. 

15 (b) COST OF ATTENDANCE.—Section 472(c) (20 

16 U.S.C. 1087ll(c)), as amended by the FAFSA Simplifica17 tion Act, is further amended by striking ‘‘of the institu18 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘of each program of study at the insti19 tution’’. 

20 (c) MEDIAN COST OF COLLEGE.—Part F of title IV 

21 (20 U.S.C. 1087kk), as amended by the FAFSA Sim22 plification Act, is further amended by inserting after sec23 tion 472, as amended by subsection (b), the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 472A. DETERMINATION OF MEDIAN COST OF COL2 LEGE. 

3 ‘‘For the purpose of this title, the term ‘median cost 

4 of college’, when used with respect to a program of study 

5 offered by one or more institutions of higher education for 

6 an award year, means the median of the cost of attendance 

7 (as defined in section 472) for the program of study across 

8 all institutions of higher education offering such a pro9 gram for the preceding award year.’’. 

10 PART B—FINANCIAL AID 

11 Subpart 1—Grants 

12 SEC. 211. FEDERAL PELL GRANT PROGRAM. 

13 (a) AWARD MAY NOT EXCEED MEDIAN COST OF

14 COLLEGE.—Section 401(b)(3) (20 U.S.C. 1070a(b)(3)), 

15 as amended by title VII of division FF of the Consolidated 

16 Appropriations Act, 2021 (title VII of division FF of Pub17 lic Law 116–260) (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘FAFSA 

18 Simplification Act’’), is further amended by adding at the 

19 end the following: 

20 ‘‘(3) AWARD MAY NOT EXCEED MEDIAN COST

21 OF COLLEGE.—No Federal Pell Grant under this 

22 subpart shall exceed the median cost of college (as 

23 defined in section 472A) for the program at which 

24 that student is in attendance. If, with respect to any 

25 student, it is determined that the amount of a Fed26 eral Pell Grant for that student exceeds the median 


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1 cost of college for such program for that year, the 

2 amount of the Federal Pell Grant shall be reduced 

3 until the Federal Pell Grant does not exceed the me4 dian cost of college for such program for that year.’’. 

5 (b) PELL PLUS PROGRAM.—Section 401 (20 U.S.C. 

6 1070a), as amended by the FAFSA Simplification Act, is 

7 further amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(k) PELL PLUS PROGRAM.— 

9 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each award year 

11 for which a student receives a Federal Pell 

12 Grant and meets the requirements of paragraph 

13 (2), the Secretary shall award such student an 

14 additional Federal Pell Grant, referred to as a 

15 ‘Federal Pell Plus Grant’, in an amount equal 

16 to the amount of the student’s Federal Pell 

17 Grant award determined under this section for 

18 such award year, except as provided in subpara19 graph (B). 

20 ‘‘(B) MEDIAN COST OF COLLEGE REDUC21 TIONS.—In any case in which a student is 

22 awarded a Federal Pell Grant under this sec23 tion and a Federal Pell Plus grant under this 

24 subsection for an award year, the combined 

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1 eral Pell Plus Grant of such student shall not 

2 exceed the median cost of college (as defined in 

3 section 472A) of the program in which the stu4 dent is in attendance for that year. In the case 

5 that such combined total exceeds the median 

6 cost of college for the program for that year, 

7 the Secretary shall reduce the amount of the 

8 Federal Pell Plus Grant awarded to the student 

9 until the combined total of such reduced Fed10 eral Pell Plus Grant and the Federal Pell Grant 

11 of the student does not exceed such median cost 

12 of college. 

13 ‘‘(2) STUDENT ELIGIBILITY.—A student meets 

14 the requirements of this paragraph, if the student— 

15 ‘‘(A) during the award year during which 

16 the student receives a Federal Pell Plus Grant 

17 under paragraph (1)— 

18 ‘‘(i) is enrolled in the student’s first 

19 undergraduate baccalaureate course of 

20 study; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) is maintaining progress toward 

22 completion within 100 percent of the ex23 pected time to completion, as determined 

24 by calculating the difference between— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the program length for the 

2 program of study in which such stu3 dent is in attendance; and 

4 ‘‘(II) the period of such program 

5 that such student has completed; and 

6 ‘‘(B) has completed at least 4 semesters, 

7 or the equivalent, of such program. 

8 ‘‘(3) DURATION LIMITS.—The period during 

9 which a student receives a Federal Pell Plus Grant 

10 under paragraph (1) shall be included in calculating 

11 the duration limits with respect to such student 

12 under subsection (d)(5), and to the extent that such 

13 period was a fraction of a semester or the equiva14 lent, only that same fraction of such semester or 

15 equivalent shall count towards such duration limits. 

16 ‘‘(4) PELL PLUS INSTITUTIONAL AND PRO17 GRAMMATIC ELIGIBILITY.—For purposes of this sub18 section, a Pell Plus institution is an eligible institu19 tion for purposes of this subpart that— 

20 ‘‘(A) notifies the Secretary that the institu21 tion desires to participate in the Pell Plus pro22 gram under this subsection— 

23 ‘‘(i) with respect to a specific program 

24 of study at the institution; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) with respect to each program of 

2 study at the institution; 

3 ‘‘(B) agrees to provide, to each student re4 ceiving a Federal Pell Plus Grant under para5 graph (1)— 

6 ‘‘(i) for each award year for which the 

7 student receives such Federal Pell Plus 

8 Grant, a notification that shall include— 

9 ‘‘(I) whether the student is main10 taining the progress toward comple11 tion required under paragraph 

12 (2)(A)(ii); 

13 ‘‘(II) in a case in which the stu14 dent is not maintaining such progress 

15 toward completion, a list of available 

16 student support services and addi17 tional resources to assist the student 

18 in completing the course of study for 

19 which the student is receiving the 

20 Federal Pell Plus Grant in the man21 ner described under paragraph 

22 (2)(A)(ii); and 

23 ‘‘(III) the amount of funds the 

24 student is receiving under the Federal 

25 Pell Plus Grant; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a student who, as 

2 of the end of the first semester of the third 

3 academic year of the program of study in 

4 which the student is in attendance, is not 

5 maintaining the progress toward comple6 tion required under paragraph (2)(A)(ii), a 

7 warning during such third academic year 

8 that the student will not be eligible for a 

9 Federal Pell Plus Grant under paragraph 

10 (1) for the fourth academic year of such 

11 course of study unless the student dem12 onstrates, by not later than the beginning 

13 of the fourth academic year, progress to14 ward completing such course of study by 

15 the end of the fourth academic year of 

16 such course of study; 

17 ‘‘(C) meets the requirements of paragraph 

18 (5); and 

19 ‘‘(D) the Secretary determines meets the 

20 requirements of this paragraph and paragraph 

21 (5). 

22 ‘‘(5) MAXIMUM TOTAL PRICE GUARANTEE.— 

23 ‘‘(A) GUARANTEE.—To be eligible to be a 

24 Pell Plus institution under this subsection, an 

25 eligible institution shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) provide to each student receiving 

2 a Federal Pell Grant, prior to the first 

3 award year in which the student enrolls at 

4 the institution— 

5 ‘‘(I) for each program of study 

6 participating in the Pell Plus pro7 gram, the maximum total price for 

8 completion of the program of study, 

9 determined by the institution in ac10 cordance with section 415C(e); and 

11 ‘‘(II) a guarantee that, for the 

12 minimum guarantee period for which 

13 the student receives a Federal Pell 

14 Grant, if the student is enrolled in 

15 any program of study participating in 

16 the Pell Plus program, the maximum 

17 total price for completion of such pro18 gram of study charged to the student 

19 will not exceed the median value20 added earnings of students who com21 pleted such program, based on the 

22 most recent data available on the Col23 lege Scorecard in the award year prior 

24 to the first award year in which the 

25 student enrolls at the institution; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) provide information about the 

2 guarantee described in clause (i)(II) to 

3 prospective students by including such in4 formation on the public website of the in5 stitution and in the catalog, marketing ma6 terials, and other official publications of 

7 the institution. 

8 ‘‘(B) DURATION OF MINIMUM GUARANTEE

9 PERIOD.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The minimum pe11 riod during which a student shall be pro12 vided a guarantee under subparagraph (A) 

13 with respect to the maximum total price 

14 for completion of a program of study at an 

15 eligible institution shall be the median time 

16 to credential of students who completed 

17 any undergraduate program of study at 

18 the institution during the most recent 

19 award year for which data are available, 

20 except that such minimum guarantee pe21 riod shall not be less than the program 

22 length of the program of study in which 

23 the student is enrolled. 

24 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—An eligible institu25 tion shall not be required to provide a 


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1 maximum total price guarantee under sub2 paragraph (A) to a student after the con3 clusion of the 6-year period beginning on 

4 the first day on which the student enrolled 

5 at such institution.’’. 

6 (c) INFORMATION DISSEMINATION ACTIVITY.—Sec7 tion 485(a)(1) (20 U.S.C. 1092(a)(1)) is amended— 

8 (1) in subparagraph (U), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

9 the end; 

10 (2) in subparagraph (V), by striking the period 

11 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

12 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(W) in the case of an institution under 

14 section 401(k), any applicable information with 

15 respect to the institution’s participation in the 

16 Federal Pell Plus Grant program under such 

17 subsection.’’. 

18 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

19 this section shall take effect with respect to award year 

20 2025–2026 and each succeeding award year. 

21 SEC. 212. CAMPUS-BASED AID PROGRAMS. 

22 (a) TERMINATION OF CERTAIN PROGRAMS.—Not23 withstanding subparts 3 and 4 of part A, or part C, of 

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

25 1070 et seq.), or any other provision of law, except as exVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 Jan 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00082 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6951.IH H6951

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1 pressly authorized by an Act of Congress enacted after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, beginning on October 

3 1, 2026— 

4 (1) no funds are authorized to be appropriated, 

5 or may be expended, under this Act or any other Act 

6 to— 

7 (A) make payments to institutions for Fed8 eral Supplemental Educational Opportunity 

9 Grants under subpart 3 of part A of title IV of 

10 such Act (20 U.S.C. 1070b et seq.); or 

11 (B) make payments to States for the 

12 Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership 

13 Program under subpart 4 of part A of title IV 

14 (20 U.S.C. 1070c et seq.); and 

15 (2) the authority of the Secretary to carry out 

16 any program or activity described in paragraph (1) 

17 shall be terminated. 

18 (b) PROMISE GRANTS.—Subpart 4 of part A of title 

19 IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070c 

20 et seq.) is amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘Subpart 4—Promoting Real Opportunities to 

22 Maximize Investments and Savings in Education 

23 ‘‘SEC. 415A. PURPOSE. 

24 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this subpart to 

25 provide performance-based grants to— 


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1 ‘‘(1) assist institutions in providing certainty to 

2 students and families about postsecondary afford3 ability; 

4 ‘‘(2) increase postsecondary access and eco5 nomic mobility; and 

6 ‘‘(3) ensure that students, institutions, and tax7 payers receive a financial return for investments in 

8 postsecondary education. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 415B. PROMISE GRANTS. 

10 ‘‘For award year 2026–2027 and each succeeding 

11 award year, from reserved funds remitted to the Secretary 

12 in accordance with section 454(d) and additional funds au13 thorized under section 415E, as necessary, the Secretary 

14 shall award PROMISE grants to eligible institutions to 

15 carry out the purpose of this subpart. PROMISE grants 

16 awarded under this subpart shall be performance-based 

17 and shall be awarded to each eligible institution for a 6- 

18 year period in an amount that is determined in accordance 

19 with section 415D. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 415C. ELIGIBLE INSTITUTIONS; APPLICATION. 

21 ‘‘(a) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—To be eligible for a 

22 PROMISE grant under this subpart, an institution 

23 shall— 

24 ‘‘(1) be an institution of higher education under 

25 section 102, except that an institution described in 


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1 section 102(a)(1)(C) shall not be an eligible institu2 tion under this subpart; and 

3 ‘‘(2) meet the maximum total price guarantee 

4 requirements under subsection (c). 

5 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—An eligible institution seeking a 

6 PROMISE grant under this subpart (including a renewal 

7 of such a grant) shall submit to the Secretary an applica8 tion, at such time as the Secretary may require, that con9 tains the information required in this subsection. Such ap10 plication shall— 

11 ‘‘(1) demonstrate that the institution— 

12 ‘‘(A) meets the maximum total price guar13 antee requirements under subsection (c); and 

14 ‘‘(B) will continue to meet the maximum 

15 total price guarantee requirements for each 

16 award year during the grant period with respect 

17 to students first enrolling at the institution for 

18 each such award year; 

19 ‘‘(2) describe how grant funds awarded under 

20 this subpart will be used by the institution to carry 

21 out the purposes of this Act, including activities re22 lated to— 

23 ‘‘(A) postsecondary affordability, includ24 ing— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the expansion and continuation of 

2 the maximum total price guarantee re3 quirements under subsection (c); and 

4 ‘‘(ii) any other activities to be carried 

5 out by the institution to increase postsec6 ondary affordability and minimize the total 

7 net price required for completion (as de8 fined in section 132(a)) paid by students 

9 receiving need-based student aid; 

10 ‘‘(B) postsecondary access, which may in11 clude— 

12 ‘‘(i) the activities described in section 

13 485E of this Act; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) any other activities to be carried 

15 out by the institution to increase postsec16 ondary access and expand opportunities for 

17 low- and middle-income students; and 

18 ‘‘(C) postsecondary student success, which 

19 may include— 

20 ‘‘(i) activities to improve completion 

21 rates and reduce time to credential, includ22 ing the activities described in section 741 

23 of this Act, as amended by the College 

24 Cost Reduction Act; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) any other activities to be carried 

2 out by the institution to increase value3 added earnings and postsecondary student 

4 success; 

5 ‘‘(3) describe— 

6 ‘‘(A) how the institution will evaluate the 

7 effectiveness of the institution’s use of grant 

8 funds awarded under this subpart; and 

9 ‘‘(B) how the institution will collect and 

10 disseminate information on promising practices 

11 developed with the use of such grant funds; and 

12 ‘‘(4) in the case of an institution that has pre13 viously received a grant under this subpart, contain 

14 the evaluation required under paragraph (3) for 

15 each previous grant. 

16 ‘‘(c) MAXIMUM TOTAL PRICE GUARANTEE REQUIRE17 MENTS.—As a condition of eligibility for a PROMISE 

18 grant under this subpart, an institution shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) for each award year beginning after the 

20 date of enactment of the College Cost Reduction 

21 Act, not later than one year before the start of each 

22 such award year (except that, for the first award 

23 year beginning after such date of enactment, the in24 stitution shall meet these requirements as soon as 

25 practicable such date of enactment)— 


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1 ‘‘(A) determine the maximum total price 

2 for completion, in accordance with subsection 

3 (e), for each program of study at the institu4 tion— 

5 ‘‘(i) applicable to students in each in6 come category described in section 

7 132(c)(2)(A)(i); and 

8 ‘‘(ii) applicable to students in each 

9 student aid index category determined by 

10 the Secretary in accordance with section 

11 132(c)(2)(A)(ii); and 

12 ‘‘(B) publish such information on the insti13 tution’s website and in the institution’s catalog, 

14 marketing materials, or other official publica15 tions; 

16 ‘‘(2) for the award year for which the institu17 tion is applying for a PROMISE grant, and at least 

18 one award year preceding such award year, provide 

19 to each student who first enrolls, or plans to enroll, 

20 in the institution during the award year and who re21 ceives Federal financial aid under this title a max22 imum total price guarantee, in accordance with this 

23 section, for the minimum guarantee period applica24 ble to the student; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) provide to the Secretary an assurance that 

2 the institution will continue to meet each of the 

3 maximum total price guarantee requirements under 

4 this subsection for students who first enroll, or plan 

5 to enroll, in the institution during each award year 

6 included in the grant period. 

7 ‘‘(d) DURATION OF MINIMUM GUARANTEE PE8 RIOD.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The minimum period dur10 ing which a student shall be provided a guarantee 

11 under subsection (c) with respect to the maximum 

12 total price for completion of a program of study at 

13 an institution shall be the median time to credential 

14 of students who completed any undergraduate pro15 gram of study at the institution during the most re16 cent award year for which data are available, except 

17 that such minimum guarantee period shall not be 

18 less than the program length of the program of 

19 study in which the student is enrolled. 

20 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—An institution shall not be 

21 required to provide a maximum total price guarantee 

22 under subsection (c) to a student after the conclu23 sion of the 6-year period beginning on the first day 

24 on which the student enrolled at such institution. 


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1 ‘‘(e) DETERMINATION OF MAXIMUM TOTAL PRICE

2 FOR COMPLETION.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of sub4 section (c) and the Pell Plus program under section 

5 401(k), an institution shall determine, prior to the 

6 first award year in which a student enrolls at the in7 stitution, the maximum total price that may be 

8 charged to the student for completion of a program 

9 of study at the institution for the minimum guar10 antee period applicable to a student, before applica11 tion of any Federal Pell grants or other Federal fi12 nancial aid under this title. Such a maximum total 

13 price for completion shall be determined for students 

14 in each income category and student aid index cat15 egory (as determined in accordance with section 

16 132(c)(2)(A)). In determining the maximum total 

17 price for completion to be charged to each such cat18 egory of students, the institution may consider the 

19 ability of a category of students to pay tuition and 

20 fees (including the required costs described in sec21 tion 484(b)(3)(A)(i)(I)), but may not include in such 

22 consideration any Federal Pell grants or other Fed23 eral financial aid awards that may be available to 

24 such category of students under this title. 


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1 ‘‘(2) MULTIPLE MAXIMUM TOTAL PRICE GUAR2 ANTEES.—In the event that a student receives more 

3 than one maximum total price guarantee because the 

4 student is included in more than one category of stu5 dents for which the institution determines a max6 imum total price guarantee amount for the purposes 

7 of subsection (c), or the student is participating in 

8 the Pell Plus program under section 401(k), the 

9 maximum total price guarantee applicable to such 

10 student for the purposes of this section and the Pell 

11 Plus program shall be equal to the lowest such guar12 antee amount. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 415D. GRANT AMOUNTS; FLEXIBLE USE OF FUNDS. 

14 ‘‘(a) GRANT AMOUNT FORMULA.— 

15 ‘‘(1) FORMULA.—Subject to subsection (b), the 

16 amount of a PROMISE grant for an eligible institu17 tion for each year of the grant period shall be deter18 mined by the Secretary annually and shall be the 

19 amount determined by multiplying— 

20 ‘‘(A) the lesser of— 

21 ‘‘(i) the difference determined by sub22 tracting one from the quotient of— 

23 ‘‘(I) the average, for the 3 most 

24 recent award years for which data are 

25 available, of the median value-added 


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1 earnings (as defined in section 103) 

2 for each such award year of students 

3 who completed any program of study 

4 of the institution; divided by 

5 ‘‘(II) the average for the 3 most 

6 recent award years, of the maximum 

7 total price applicable for each such 

8 award year to students enrolled in the 

9 institution in any program of study 

10 who received financial aid under this 

11 title; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) the number two; 

13 ‘‘(B) the average, for the 3 most recent 

14 award years, of the total dollar amount of Fed15 eral Pell Grants (excluding Pell Plus Grants 

16 awarded under section 401(k)) awarded to stu17 dents enrolled in the institution in each such 

18 award year; and 

19 ‘‘(C) the average, for the 3 most recent 

20 award years, of the percentage of low-income 

21 students who received Federal financial assist22 ance under this title who were enrolled in the 

23 institution in each such award year who— 


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1 ‘‘(i) completed a program of study at 

2 the institution within 100 percent of the 

3 program length of such program; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) only in the case of a two-year in5 stitution or a less than two-year institu6 tion— 

7 ‘‘(I) transfer to a four-year insti8 tution; and 

9 ‘‘(II) within 4 years after first 

10 enrolling at the two-year or less than 

11 two-year institution, complete a pro12 gram of study at the four-year institu13 tion for which a bachelor’s degree (or 

14 substantially similar credential) is 

15 awarded. 

16 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION OF LOW-INCOME.—In this 

17 section, the term ‘low-income’, when used with re18 spect to a student, means that the student’s family 

19 income does not exceed the maximum income in the 

20 lowest income category described in section 

21 132(c)(2)(A)(i). 

22 ‘‘(b) MAXIMUM GRANT AMOUNT.—Notwithstanding 

23 subsection (a), the maximum amount an eligible institu24 tion may receive annually for a grant under this subpart 

25 shall be the amount equal to— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the average, for the 3 most recent award 

2 years, of the number of students enrolled in the in3 stitution in an award year who receive Federal fi4 nancial aid under this title; multiplied by 

5 ‘‘(2) $5,000. 

6 ‘‘(c) FLEXIBLE USE OF FUNDS.—A PROMISE 

7 grant awarded under this subpart shall be used by an eli8 gible institution to carry out the purposes of this subpart, 

9 including— 

10 ‘‘(1) carrying out activities included in the insti11 tution’s application for such grant related to post12 secondary affordability, access, and student success; 

13 ‘‘(2) evaluating the effectiveness of the activi14 ties carried out with such grant in accordance with 

15 section 415C(b)(3)(A); and 

16 ‘‘(3) collecting and disseminating promising 

17 practices related to the activities carried out with 

18 such grant, in accordance with section 

19 415C(b)(3)(B). 

20 ‘‘SEC. 415E. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

21 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION TO USE RESERVED FUNDS.— 

22 To carry out this subpart, there shall be available to the 

23 Secretary any funds remitted to the Secretary as risk24 sharing payments in accordance with section 454(d) for 


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1 any award year. The Secretary shall use the funds received 

2 through risk-sharing payments to provide the grants. 

3 ‘‘(b) SECONDARY AUTHORIZATION.—In addition to 

4 the amounts available to the Secretary under subsection 

5 (a), there are authorized to be appropriated, for fiscal year 

6 2026 and each of the 9 succeeding fiscal years, 

7 $2,000,000,000, to carry out this subpart in any award 

8 year for which the amounts available under subsection (a) 

9 are insufficient to fully fund the PROMISE grants award10 ed under this subpart in such award year. 

11 ‘‘(c) INSUFFICIENT FUNDS.—If the amounts made 

12 available to carry out this subpart for a fiscal year are 

13 not sufficient to provide grants to all eligible institutions 

14 in the amount determined under this subpart, the Sec15 retary shall first provide grants to the eligible institutions 

16 that have the highest percentage of students who are low17 income students (as defined in section 415D).’’. 

18 Subpart 2—Loans 

19 SEC. 221. LOAN LIMITS. 

20 (a) STAFFORD LOANS.— 

21 (1) AGGREGATE AND ANNUAL LIMITS FOR

22 GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL STUDENTS.—Section 

23 455(a) (20 U.S.C. 1087e(a)) is amended— 

24 (A) in paragraph (3)— 


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1 (i) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by insert2 ing before the period at the end the fol3 lowing: ‘‘, except that for any period of in4 struction beginning on or after July 1, 

5 2025, such maximum annual amount shall 

6 be determined in accordance with subpara7 graph (C)’’; 

8 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

9 before the period at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘for any period of instruction through 

11 June 30, 2025’’; and 

12 (iii) by adding at the end the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(C) ANNUAL LIMITS.—Notwithstanding 

15 any provision of this part or part B, for any pe16 riod of instruction beginning on or after July 1, 

17 2025, the maximum annual amount of Federal 

18 Direct Unsubsidized Stafford loans that a grad19 uate or professional student may borrow in any 

20 academic year (as defined in section 481(a)(2)) 

21 or its equivalent shall be median cost of college 

22 (as defined in section 472A) of the program of 

23 study in which the student is enrolled, except 

24 that the sum of such annual loan amount and 

25 other financial assistance (as defined in section 


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1 480(i)) that the student receives for such aca2 demic year may not exceed the cost of attend3 ance of such student. 

4 ‘‘(D) AGGREGATE LIMITS.—Notwith5 standing any provision of this part or part B, 

6 for any period of instruction beginning on or 

7 after July 1, 2025, the maximum aggregate 

8 amount of Federal Direct Unsubsidized Staf9 ford loans that— 

10 ‘‘(i) a graduate student may borrow 

11 shall be $100,000; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) a professional student may bor13 row shall be $150,000. 

14 ‘‘(E) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN STU15 DENTS.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The provisions 

17 listed in clause (ii) shall not apply with re18 spect to any individual who, as of June 30, 

19 2025, is enrolled in a program of study at 

20 an institution of higher education, and has 

21 received a loan (or on whose behalf a loan 

22 was made) under this part for such pro23 gram, during the individual’s expected time 

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1 mined by calculating by the difference be2 tween— 

3 ‘‘(I) the program length for the 

4 program of study in which such indi5 vidual is enrolled; and 

6 ‘‘(II) the period of such program 

7 that such individual has completed, 

8 except that such expected time to comple9 tion may not exceed 3 years. 

10 ‘‘(ii) PROVISIONS.—An individual de11 scribed in clause (i) shall not be subject to 

12 subparagraphs (C) and (D) of this para13 graph, or paragraph (4) or (6).’’. 

14 (2) ANNUAL LIMITS FOR UNDERGRADUATE

15 BORROWERS.—Section 455(a) (20 U.S.C. 1087e(a)) 

16 is further amended by adding at the end the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(4) ANNUAL AND AGGREGATE LOAN LIMITS

19 FOR UNDERGRADUATE AND ALL BORROWERS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS.— 

21 ‘‘(i) ANNUAL LOAN LIMITS.— 

22 ‘‘(I) SUBSIDIZED LOANS.—Not23 withstanding any provision of this 

24 part or part B, for any period of in25 struction beginning on or after July 1, 


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1 2025, the maximum annual amount of 

2 Federal Direct Stafford loans that an 

3 undergraduate student may borrow in 

4 any academic year (as defined in sec5 tion 481(a)(2)) or its equivalent shall 

6 be the difference between— 

7 ‘‘(aa) the median cost of col8 lege (as defined in section 472A) 

9 of the program of study in which 

10 the student is enrolled; and 

11 ‘‘(bb) the sum of the Fed12 eral Pell Grant and Federal Pell 

13 Plus Grant under section 401 

14 awarded to the student for such 

15 academic year, 

16 except that (1) the amount of such 

17 Federal Direct Stafford loans awarded 

18 to the student for such academic year 

19 may not exceed the maximum annual 

20 limit described in section 428(b)(1) 

21 that is applicable to such student; and 

22 (2) the sum of such Federal Direct 

23 Stafford Loans, the amount of such 

24 Federal Pell Grant, Federal Pell Plus 

25 Grant, and other financial assistance 


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1 (as defined in section 480(i)) that the 

2 student receives for such academic 

3 year may not exceed the cost of at4 tendance of such student. 

5 ‘‘(II) UNSUBSIDIZED LOANS.— 

6 Notwithstanding any provision of this 

7 part or part B, for any period of in8 struction beginning on or after July 1, 

9 2025, the maximum annual amount of 

10 Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford 

11 loans that an undergraduate student 

12 may borrow in any academic year (as 

13 defined in section 481(a)(2)) or its 

14 equivalent shall be the difference be15 tween— 

16 ‘‘(aa) the median cost of col17 lege (as defined in section 472A) 

18 of the program of study in which 

19 the student is enrolled; and 

20 ‘‘(bb) the sum of— 

21 ‘‘(AA) the amount of 

22 Federal Direct Stafford 

23 loans awarded to such stu24 dent for such academic year; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(BB) the amount of 

2 the Federal Pell Grant and 

3 Federal Pell Plus Grant 

4 under section 401 awarded 

5 to the student for such aca6 demic year, 

7 except that the sum of all Fed8 eral financial aid under this title 

9 and other financial assistance (as 

10 defined in section 480(i)) that 

11 such student receives for such 

12 academic year may not exceed 

13 the cost of attendance for such 

14 student. 

15 ‘‘(ii) AGGREGATE LIMITS.—Notwith16 standing any provision of this part or part 

17 B, for any period of instruction beginning 

18 on or after July 1, 2025, with respect to 

19 an undergraduate student— 

20 ‘‘(I) the maximum aggregate 

21 amount of Federal Direct Stafford 

22 loans and Federal Direct Unsub23 sidized Stafford loans that may be 

24 borrowed shall be $50,000; 


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1 ‘‘(II) the maximum aggregate 

2 amount of Federal Direct Stafford 

3 loans that may be borrowed shall be 

4 $23,000; and 

5 ‘‘(III) the maximum aggregate 

6 amount of Federal Direct Unsub7 sidized Stafford loans that may be 

8 borrowed shall be $50,000. 

9 ‘‘(B) STUDENTS IN A QUALIFYING UNDER10 GRADUATE PROGRAM.— 

11 ‘‘(i) AGGREGATE LIMITS.—Notwith12 standing the aggregate limits described in 

13 subparagraph (A)(ii), a student enrolled in 

14 a qualifying undergraduate program shall 

15 be subject to the aggregate limits for pro16 fessional students described in paragraph 

17 (3)(D)(ii). 

18 ‘‘(ii) QUALIFYING UNDERGRADUATE

19 PROGRAM DEFINED.—For purposes of this 

20 subparagraph, the term ‘qualifying under21 graduate program’ means a program of 

22 study— 

23 ‘‘(I) for which the total tuition 

24 and fees (including the required costs 

25 described in section 


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1 484(b)(3)(A)(i)(I)) exceeds the aggre2 gate limits for undergraduate students 

3 described in subparagraph (A)(ii); 

4 ‘‘(II) that meets certification re5 quirements of the Federal agency that 

6 directly regulates the program and 

7 provides final licensing and credentials 

8 to students upon completion; and 

9 ‘‘(III) that has had, for the pre10 vious three award years— 

11 ‘‘(aa) a verified completion 

12 rate of at least 70 percent, within 

13 150 percent of the program 

14 length of such program of study; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(bb) a verified job place17 ment rate of at least 70 percent, 

18 measured 180 days after comple19 tion. 

20 ‘‘(C) ALL STUDENTS.—The maximum ag21 gregate amount of loans made, insured, or 

22 guaranteed under this title to a student shall be 

23 $200,000.’’. 

24 (3) INSTITUTIONALLY DETERMINED LIMITS.— 

25 Section 455(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 


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1 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(a)) is further amended by adding 

2 at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(5) INSTITUTIONALLY DETERMINED LIMITS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

5 other provision of this subsection, an eligible in6 stitution (at the discretion of a financial aid ad7 ministrator at the institution) may prorate or 

8 limit the amount of a loan any student who is 

9 enrolled in a program of study for a period of 

10 instruction beginning on or after July 1, 2024, 

11 at that institution, may borrow under this part 

12 for an academic year— 

13 ‘‘(i) if the institution can reasonably 

14 demonstrate that outstanding amounts 

15 owed of loans made under this title are or 

16 would be excessive for students who com17 plete such program, based on the most re18 cently available data from the College 

19 Scorecard (or successor website of the De20 partment) on— 

21 ‘‘(I) the median of the value22 added earnings of students who com23 plete such program; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) the median debt owed, and 

2 the repayment rate, on loans made 

3 under this part, of such students; 

4 ‘‘(ii) in a case in which the student is 

5 enrolled on a less than full-time basis or 

6 the student is enrolled for less than the pe7 riod of enrollment to which the annual loan 

8 limit applies under this subsection, based 

9 on the student’s enrollment status; or 

10 ‘‘(iii) based on the year of the pro11 gram for which the student is seeking such 

12 loan. 

13 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION TO ALL STUDENTS.— 

14 Any proration or limiting of loan amounts 

15 under subparagraph (A) shall be applied in the 

16 same manner to all students enrolled in a pro17 gram of study. 

18 ‘‘(C) INCREASES FOR INDIVIDUAL STU19 DENTS.—Upon the request of a student whose 

20 loan amount for an academic year has been 

21 prorated or limited under subparagraph (A), an 

22 eligible institution (at the discretion of the fi23 nancial aid administrator at the institution) 

24 may increase such loan amount to an amount 

25 not exceeding the annual loan amount applicaVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 Jan 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00105 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6951.IH H6951

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1 ble to such student under this paragraph for 

2 such academic year.’’. 

3 (b) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY TO MAKE FED4 ERAL DIRECT PLUS LOANS TO ANY STUDENT OR PARENT

5 BORROWER.—Section 455(a) of the Higher Education Act 

6 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(a)) is amended by adding at 

7 the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(6) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY TO MAKE

9 FEDERAL DIRECT PLUS LOANS.—Notwithstanding 

10 any provision of this part or part B, except as pro11 vided in paragraph (3)(E), for any period of instruc12 tion beginning on or after July 1, 2025, no Federal 

13 Direct PLUS loans may be made to any parent bor14 rower or graduate or professional student bor15 rower.’’. 

16 SEC. 222. LOAN REPAYMENT. 

17 (a) REPAYMENT PLANS.—Section 455(d) of the 

18 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(d)) is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (1)(D) by inserting ‘‘(includ21 ing a repayment assistance plan under 455(e)(9))’’ 

22 after ‘‘an income contingent repayment plan’’; and 

23 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(6) REPAYMENT PLANS FOR LOANS MADE ON

25 OR AFTER JULY 1, 2024.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) DESIGN AND SELECTION.—Notwith2 standing paragraph (1), beginning on July 1, 

3 2024, the Secretary shall offer a borrower of a 

4 loan made under this part on or after July 1, 

5 2024, two plans for repayment of such loan, in6 cluding principal and interest on the loan. The 

7 borrower shall be entitled to accelerate, without 

8 penalty, repayment on such loans. The borrower 

9 may choose— 

10 ‘‘(i) a standard repayment plan with a 

11 fixed monthly repayment amount paid over 

12 a fixed period of time, not to exceed 10 

13 years; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) a repayment assistance plan 

15 under section 455(e)(9). 

16 ‘‘(B) SELECTION BY SECRETARY.—If such 

17 borrower does not select a repayment plan de18 scribed in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall 

19 provide the borrower with the repayment plan 

20 described in subparagraph (A)(i). 

21 ‘‘(C) CHANGES IN SELECTION.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

23 (ii), a borrower may change the borrower’s 

24 selection of a repayment plan under sub25 paragraph (A), or the Secretary’s selection 


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1 of a plan for the borrower under subpara2 graph (B), as the case may be. Nothing in 

3 this subsection shall prohibit the Secretary 

4 from encouraging distressed borrowers 

5 from enrolling in the repayment assistance 

6 plan under section 455(e)(9). 

7 ‘‘(ii) SAME REPAYMENT PLAN RE8 QUIRED.—All loans made under this part 

9 on or after July 1, 2024, to a borrower 

10 shall be repaid under the same repayment 

11 plan under subparagraph (A), except that 

12 the borrower may repay an excepted PLUS 

13 loan or an excepted consolidation loan (as 

14 such terms are defined in section 

15 455(e)(9)) separately from other loans 

16 made under this part to the borrower. 

17 ‘‘(D) REPAYMENT AFTER DEFAULT.—The 

18 Secretary may require a borrower who has de19 faulted on a loan made under this part to— 

20 ‘‘(i) pay all reasonable collection costs 

21 associated with such loan; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) repay the loan pursuant to the 

23 repayment assistance plan under section 

24 455(e)(9). 


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1 ‘‘(E) PROHIBITIONS.—The Secretary may 

2 not— 

3 ‘‘(i) authorize a borrower of a loan 

4 made under this part on or after July 1, 

5 2024, to repay such loan pursuant to a re6 payment plan that is not described in 

7 clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A); or 

8 ‘‘(ii) carry out or modify a repayment 

9 plan for any loan made under this part on 

10 or after July 1, 2024, that is not described 

11 in such clause (i) or (ii).’’. 

12 (b) REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE PLAN.—Section 455(e) 

13 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

14 1087e(e)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(9) REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE PLAN.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

17 other provision of this Act, beginning on July 

18 1, 2024, the Secretary shall carry out a repay19 ment assistance program that shall have the 

20 terms and conditions of an income-contingent 

21 repayment plan described in paragraphs (1) 

22 through (8), except that— 

23 ‘‘(i) a borrower of any loan made 

24 under this part (other than an excepted 

25 PLUS loan or excepted consolidation loan), 


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1 may elect to have the borrower’s aggregate 

2 monthly payment for all such loans not ex3 ceed the applicable monthly payment for 

4 the borrower, except that a borrower may 

5 not be precluded from repaying an amount 

6 that exceeds such applicable monthly pay7 ment for any month; 

8 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary shall apply the bor9 rower’s monthly payment under this para10 graph first toward interest due on such a 

11 loan, next toward any fees due on the loan, 

12 and then toward the principal of the loan; 

13 ‘‘(iii) any principal due and not paid 

14 under clause (ii) shall be deferred; 

15 ‘‘(iv) the amount of time the borrower 

16 makes monthly payments under clause (i) 

17 may exceed 10 years; 

18 ‘‘(v) notwithstanding paragraph (7), 

19 the Secretary shall repay or cancel any 

20 outstanding balance of principal and inter21 est due on all loans made under this part 

22 (other than excepted PLUS loans or ex23 cepted consolidation loans) to a borrower— 


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1 ‘‘(I) who, at any time, elected to 

2 participate in a repayment assistance 

3 plan under clause (i); 

4 ‘‘(II) whose final monthly pay5 ment for such loans prior to the loan 

6 cancellation under this clause was 

7 made under such repayment assist8 ance plan; and 

9 ‘‘(III) who has repaid on such 

10 loans (pursuant to a repayment assist11 ance plan under clause (i), a standard 

12 repayment plan under subsection 

13 (d)(6)(A)(i), or a combination of any 

14 such plan or any of the repayment 

15 plans listed in clause (ii), (iii), (iv), or 

16 (v) of paragraph (7)(B), or, in the 

17 case of a consolidation loan, pursuant 

18 to a repayment schedule described 

19 item (aa)(BB) of this subclause) an 

20 amount that is equal to— 

21 ‘‘(aa)(AA) the total amount 

22 of principal and interest that the 

23 borrower would have repaid 

24 under a standard repayment plan 

25 under paragraph (1)(A) or 


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1 (6)(A)(i) of subsection (d), based 

2 on a 10-year repayment period, 

3 when the borrower entered repay4 ment on such loans; or 

5 ‘‘(BB) in the case of a Fed6 eral Direct Consolidation Loan, 

7 the total amount of principal and 

8 interest that the borrower would 

9 have repaid under the repayment 

10 schedule established for the loan 

11 under section 428C(c)(2) on the 

12 date on which such loan was 

13 made; plus 

14 ‘‘(bb) an amount equal to 

15 the amount of any unpaid inter16 est that has accrued, but was not 

17 included in the calculation of the 

18 total amount of principal and in19 terest that would have been re20 paid under the standard repay21 ment plan or schedule described 

22 in item (aa)— 

23 ‘‘(AA) during any 

24 deferment period described 


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1 in clause (i) or (ii) of sub2 section (f)(2)(A); or 

3 ‘‘(BB) during any for4 bearance period while serv5 ing in a medical or dental 

6 internship or residency pro7 gram as described in section 

8 428(c)(3)(A)(i)(I); and 

9 ‘‘(vi) a borrower who is repaying a 

10 loan pursuant to a repayment assistance 

11 plan under clause (i) may elect, at any 

12 time, to terminate repayment pursuant to 

13 such plan and repay such loan under the 

14 standard repayment plan under subsection 

15 (d)(6)(A)(i). 

16 ‘‘(B) REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE FOR DIS17 TRESSED BORROWERS.— 

18 ‘‘(i) INTEREST SUBSIDY.—For each 

19 month for which a borrower’s aggregate 

20 monthly payment under this paragraph is 

21 insufficient to pay the total amount of in22 terest that accrues on a loan for the 

23 month, the amount of interest accrued and 

24 not paid for the month shall be subtracted 


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1 from the total amount of interest due on 

2 such loan for the month. 

3 ‘‘(ii) PRINCIPAL SUBSIDY.—For each 

4 month for which a borrower’s aggregate 

5 monthly payment under this paragraph re6 pays an amount due on an individual loan 

7 that is less than twice the total amount of 

8 interest that accrues on such loan for the 

9 month, the amount of the total principal 

10 due on such loan shall be reduced by an 

11 amount equal to half of the monthly pay12 ment under this paragraph on such loan 

13 for the month. 

14 ‘‘(C) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(i) ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME.—The 

16 term ‘adjusted gross income’ has the 

17 meaning given the term in section 62 of 

18 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

19 ‘‘(ii) APPLICABLE MONTHLY PAY20 MENT.—The term ‘applicable monthly pay21 ment’ means, when used with respect to a 

22 borrower, the amount obtained by dividing 

23 by 12, 10 percent of the result obtained by 

24 calculating, on at least an annual basis, 

25 the amount by which— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the adjusted gross income of 

2 the borrower or, if the borrower is 

3 married and files a Federal income 

4 tax return jointly with or separately 

5 from the borrower’s spouse, the ad6 justed gross income of the borrower 

7 and the borrower’s spouse; exceeds 

8 ‘‘(II) 150 percent of the poverty 

9 line applicable to the borrower’s fam10 ily size as determined under section 

11 673(2) of the Community Services 

12 Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)). 

13 ‘‘(iii) EXCEPTED CONSOLIDATION

14 LOAN.—The term ‘excepted Consolidation 

15 Loan’ means a Federal Direct Consolida16 tion Loan, if the proceeds of such loan 

17 were used to the discharge the liability 

18 on— 

19 ‘‘(I) an excepted PLUS loan; or 

20 ‘‘(II) a Federal Direct Consolida21 tion loan, if the proceeds of such loan 

22 were used to discharge the liability on 

23 an excepted PLUS loan. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) EXCEPTED PLUS LOAN.—The 

2 term ‘excepted PLUS Loan’ has the mean3 ing given the term in section 493C.’’. 

4 SEC. 223. LOAN REHABILITATION. 

5 Section 428F(a)(5) of the Higher Education Act of 

6 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078–6(a)(5)) is amended by striking 

7 ‘‘one time’’ and inserting ‘‘two times’’. 

8 SEC. 224. INTEREST CAPITALIZATION. 

9 (a) FEDERAL PLUS LOANS.—Section 428B(d)(2) of 

10 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078– 

11 2(d)(2)) is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(2) NO CAPITALIZATION OF INTEREST.—Inter13 est on loans made under this section for which pay14 ments of principal are deferred pursuant to para15 graph (1) shall be paid monthly or quarterly, if 

16 agreed upon by the borrower and the lender.’’. 

17 (b) FEDERAL CONSOLIDATION LOANS DEFER18 RALS.—Section 428C(b)(4)(C)(ii)(III) of the Higher Edu19 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078–3(b)(4)(C)(III)) is 

20 amended by striking ‘‘or capitalized,’’. 

21 (c) LOAN LIMITS FOR UNSUBSIDIZED STAFFORD

22 LOANS.—Section 428H(d)(5) of the Higher Education 

23 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078–8(d)(5)) is amended by in24 serting ‘‘before the date of enactment of the College Cost 

25 Reduction Act’’ after ‘‘Interest capitalized’’. 


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1 (d) UNSUBSIDIZED STAFFORD LOANS FOR MIDDLE

2 INCOME BORROWERS.—Section 428H(e)(2) of the Higher 

3 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078–8(e)(2)) is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in subparagraph (A), in the matter before 

6 clause (i), by striking ‘‘, if agreed upon by the bor7 rower and the lender’’ and all that follows through 

8 clause (ii)(IV) and inserting ‘‘be paid monthly or 

9 quarterly, if agreed upon by the borrower and the 

10 lender.’’; 

11 (2) by striking subparagraph (B); and 

12 (3) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub13 paragraph (B). 

14 (e) INCOME CONTINGENT REPAYMENT.—Section 

15 455(e)(5) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

16 1087e(e)(5)) is amended by striking the last sentence and 

17 inserting ‘‘No interest may be capitalized on such loan on 

18 or after the date of the enactment of the College Cost Re19 duction Act, and the Secretary shall promulgate regula20 tions with respect to the treatment of accrued interest that 

21 is not capitalized’’. 

22 (f) EFFECT OF DEFERMENT ON PRINCIPAL AND IN23 TEREST.—Section 455(f)(1)(B) of the Higher Education 

24 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(f)(1)(B)) is amended by 

25 striking ‘‘capitalized or’’. 


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1 (g) INCOME-BASED REPAYMENT PROGRAM.—Section 

2 493C(b)(3)(B) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

3 U.S.C. 1098e(b)(3)(B)) is amended by inserting ‘‘shall ac4 crue but not’’ before ‘‘be capitalized’’. 

5 SEC. 225. ORIGINATION FEES. 

6 (a) REPEAL OF ORIGINATION FEES.—Subsection (c) 

7 of section 455 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

8 U.S.C. 1087e(c)) is repealed. 

9 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

10 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to loans made 

11 under part D of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 

12 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.) for which the first dis13 bursement of principal is made, or, in the case of a Fed14 eral Direct Consolidation Loan, the application is received, 

15 on or after July 1, 2024. 

16 TITLE III—ACCOUNTABILITY 

17 AND STUDENT SUCCESS 

18 PART A—ACCOUNTABILITY 

19 Subpart 1—Department of Education 

20 SEC. 301. AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS. 

21 Section 454 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

22 U.S.C. 1087d) is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (a)— 

24 (A) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

25 after the semicolon; 


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1 (B) by redesignating paragraph (6) as 

2 paragraph (7); and 

3 (C) by inserting after paragraph (5) the 

4 following new paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(6) remit annual risk-sharing payments to the 

6 Secretary in accordance with the requirements under 

7 subsection (d); and’’; and 

8 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub9 section: 

10 ‘‘(d) RISK-SHARING REQUIREMENTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) ANNUAL RISK-SHARING PAYMENTS RE12 QUIRED.—Beginning in award year 2024–2025, 

13 each institution of higher education participating in 

14 the direct student loan program under this part 

15 shall, for qualifying student loans, remit to the Sec16 retary, at such time as the Secretary may specify, an 

17 annual risk-sharing payment for each student cohort 

18 of the institution, based on the non-repayment bal19 ance of such cohort and calculated in accordance 

20 with paragraph (3). 

21 ‘‘(2) STUDENT COHORTS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) COHORTS ESTABLISHED.—For each 

23 institution of higher education, the Secretary 

24 shall establish student cohorts, beginning with 

25 award year 2023–2024, as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(i) COMPLETING STUDENT CO2 HORT.—For each program of study at 

3 such institution, a student cohort com4 prised of all students who received Federal 

5 financial assistance under this title and 

6 who completed such program during such 

7 award year. 

8 ‘‘(ii) UNDERGRADUATE NON-COM9 PLETING STUDENT COHORT.—For such in10 stitution, a student cohort comprised of all 

11 students who received Federal financial as12 sistance under this title, who were enrolled 

13 in the institution during the previous 

14 award year in a program of study leading 

15 to an undergraduate credential, and who at 

16 the time the cohort is established— 

17 ‘‘(I) have not completed such 

18 program of study; and 

19 ‘‘(II) are not enrolled at the in20 stitution in any program of study 

21 leading to an undergraduate creden22 tial. 

23 ‘‘(iii) GRADUATE NON-COMPLETING

24 STUDENT COHORT.—For each program of 

25 study leading to a graduate credential at 


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1 such institution, a student cohort com2 prised of all students who received Federal 

3 financial assistance under this title, who 

4 were enrolled in such program during the 

5 previous award year, and who at the time 

6 the cohort is established— 

7 ‘‘(I) have not completed such 

8 program of study; and 

9 ‘‘(II) are not enrolled in such 

10 program. 

11 ‘‘(B) QUALIFYING STUDENT LOAN.—For 

12 the purposes of this subsection, the term ‘quali13 fying student loan’ means a Federal Direct 

14 loan, including a Federal Direct Consolidation 

15 loan, made under this part that— 

16 ‘‘(i) was made to a student included 

17 in a student cohort of an institution; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) except in the case of a loan de19 scribed in clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph 

20 (C), is not included in any other student 

21 cohort of any institution of higher edu22 cation. 

23 ‘‘(C) SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES.— 

24 ‘‘(i) MULTIPLE CREDENTIALS.—In 

25 the case of a student who completes two or 


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1 more programs of study during the same 

2 award year, each qualifying student loan of 

3 the student shall be included in the student 

4 cohort for each of such program of study 

5 for such award year. 

6 ‘‘(ii) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN CON7 SOLIDATION LOANS.—A Federal Direct 

8 Consolidation loan made under this title 

9 shall not be considered a qualifying stu10 dent loan for a student cohort for an 

11 award year if all of the loans included in 

12 such consolidation loan are attributable to 

13 another student cohort. 

14 ‘‘(iii) CONSOLIDATION AFTER INCLU15 SION IN A STUDENT COHORT.—If a quali16 fying student loan is consolidated into a 

17 consolidation loan under this title after 

18 such qualifying student loan has been in19 cluded in a student cohort, the percentage 

20 of the consolidation loan that was attrib21 utable to such student cohort at the time 

22 of consolidation shall remain attributable 

23 to the student cohort for the life of the 

24 consolidation loan. 


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1 ‘‘(3) CALCULATION OF RISK-SHARING PAY2 MENTS.— 

3 ‘‘(A) RISK-SHARING PAYMENT FORMULA.— 

4 For each student cohort of an institution of 

5 higher education established under this sub6 section, the annual risk-sharing payment for 

7 such cohort shall be equal to— 

8 ‘‘(i) the risk-sharing percentage deter9 mined for the cohort in accordance with 

10 subparagraph (B); multiplied by 

11 ‘‘(ii) the non-repayment balance for 

12 the cohort for the award year, determined 

13 in accordance with subparagraph (C). 

14 ‘‘(B) RISK-SHARING PERCENTAGE.—The 

15 risk-sharing percentage of a student cohort of 

16 an institution shall be determined by the Sec17 retary when the cohort is established, shall re18 main constant for the life of the student cohort, 

19 and shall be determined as follows: 

20 ‘‘(i) COMPLETING STUDENT CO21 HORTS.—The risk-sharing percentage of a 

22 completing student cohort shall be equal to 

23 the percentage determined by— 

24 ‘‘(I) subtracting from one the 

25 quotient of— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) the median value2 added earnings (as defined in 

3 section 103) of students who 

4 completed such program of study 

5 in the most recent award year for 

6 which data is available, as re7 ported on the College Scorecard 

8 at the time the cohort was estab9 lished; divided by 

10 ‘‘(bb) the median total price 

11 charged to students included in 

12 such cohort; and 

13 ‘‘(II) multiplying the difference 

14 determined under subclause (I) by 

15 100. 

16 ‘‘(ii) SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES FOR

17 COMPLETING STUDENT COHORTS.— 

18 ‘‘(I) HIGH-RISK COHORTS.—Not19 withstanding clause (i), if the median 

20 value-added earnings of a completing 

21 student cohort under clause (i)(I)(aa) 

22 is negative, the risk-sharing percent23 age of the student cohort shall be 100 

24 percent. 


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1 ‘‘(II) LOW-RISK COHORTS.—Not2 withstanding clause (i), if the median 

3 value-added earnings of a completing 

4 student cohort under clause (i)(I)(aa) 

5 exceeds the median total price of such 

6 cohort under clause (i)(I)(bb), the 

7 risk-sharing percentage of the student 

8 cohort shall be 0 percent. 

9 ‘‘(iii) NON-COMPLETING STUDENT CO10 HORTS.—The risk-sharing percentage of a 

11 non-completing student cohort shall be de12 termined based on the most recent data 

13 available in the award year in which the 

14 cohort is established, and— 

15 ‘‘(I) for an undergraduate non16 completing student cohort, shall be 

17 equal to the percentage of under18 graduate students who received Fed19 eral financial assistance under this 

20 title at such institution who— 

21 ‘‘(aa) did not complete an 

22 undergraduate program of study 

23 at the institution within 150 per24 cent of the program length of 

25 such program; or 


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1 ‘‘(bb) only in the case of a 

2 two-year institution, did not, 

3 within 6 years after first enroll4 ing at the two-year institution, 

5 complete a program of study at a 

6 four-year institution for which a 

7 bachelor’s degree (or substan8 tially similar credential) is 

9 awarded; and 

10 ‘‘(II) for a graduate non-com11 pleting student cohort, shall be equal 

12 to the percentage of students who re13 ceived Federal financial assistance 

14 under this title at the institution for 

15 the applicable graduate program of 

16 study and who did not complete such 

17 program of study within 150 percent 

18 of the program length. 

19 ‘‘(C) NON-REPAYMENT LOAN BALANCE.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For each award 

21 year, the Secretary shall determine the 

22 non-repayment loan balance for such 

23 award year for each student cohort of an 

24 institution of higher education by calcu25 lating the sum of— 


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1 ‘‘(I) for loans in such cohort in 

2 repayment status that are being re3 paid under a standard 10-year repay4 ment plan under section 455(d)(1), 

5 the difference between the total 

6 amount of payments due from all bor7 rowers on such loans during such 

8 year, as required under section 

9 455(d)(1)(A), and the total amount of 

10 payments made by all such borrowers 

11 on such loans during such year; plus 

12 ‘‘(II) for loans in such cohort in 

13 repayment status that are being re14 paid under the repayment assistance 

15 plan under section 455(e)(9)— 

16 ‘‘(aa) the difference between 

17 the total amount of payments 

18 due from all borrowers on such 

19 loans during such year, as re20 quired under section 455(e)(9), 

21 and the total amount of pay22 ments made by all such bor23 rowers on such loans during such 

24 year; plus 


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1 ‘‘(bb) the total amount of 

2 repayment assistance for such 

3 loans under such section 

4 455(e)(9) during such year, in5 cluding the unpaid principal re6 duced, and interest subtracted, 

7 by the Secretary. 

8 ‘‘(ii) SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES.—For 

9 the purpose of calculating the non-repay10 ment loan balance of student cohorts under 

11 this paragraph, the Secretary shall— 

12 ‘‘(I) for each qualifying student 

13 loan in a student cohort that is in14 cluded in another student cohort be15 cause the student who borrowed such 

16 loan completed two or more programs 

17 of study during the same award year, 

18 the total amount of repayment assist19 ance and amounts due but not paid 

20 for such qualifying student loan shall 

21 be divided equally among each of the 

22 student cohorts in which such loan is 

23 included; and 

24 ‘‘(II) for each consolidation loan 

25 in a student cohort— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) determine the percent2 age of the outstanding principal 

3 balance of the consolidation loan 

4 attributable to such student co5 hort— 

6 ‘‘(AA) at the time of 

7 that loan was included in 

8 such cohort, in the case of a 

9 loan consolidated before in10 clusion in such cohort; or 

11 ‘‘(BB) at the time of 

12 consolidation, in the case of 

13 a loan consolidated after in14 clusion in such cohort; and 

15 ‘‘(bb) include in the calcula16 tions under clause (i) for such 

17 student cohort only the percent18 age of the total amount of repay19 ment assistance and amounts due 

20 but not paid for the consolidation 

21 loan for such year that is equal 

22 to the percentage of the consoli23 dation loan determined under 

24 item (aa). 


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1 ‘‘(D) TOTAL PRICE.—With respect to a 

2 student who received Federal financial assist3 ance under this title and who completes a pro4 gram of study, the term ‘total price’ means the 

5 total amount, before Federal financial assist6 ance under this title was applied, a student was 

7 required to pay to complete the program of 

8 study. A student’s total price shall be calculated 

9 by the Secretary as the difference between— 

10 ‘‘(i) the total amount of tuition and 

11 fees (including the required costs described 

12 in section 484(b)(3)(A)(i)(I)) that were 

13 charged to such student before the applica14 tion of any Federal financial assistance 

15 provided under this title; minus 

16 ‘‘(ii) the total amount of grants and 

17 scholarships described in section 

18 480(i)awarded to such student from non19 Federal sources for such program of study. 

20 ‘‘(4) NOTIFICATION AND REMITTANCE.—Begin21 ning with the first award year for which risk-sharing 

22 payments are required under this subsection, and for 

23 each succeeding award year, the Secretary shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) notify each institution of higher edu25 cation of the amounts and due dates of each 


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1 annual risk-sharing payment calculated under 

2 paragraph (3) for each student cohort of the in3 stitution within 30 days of calculating such 

4 amounts; and 

5 ‘‘(B) require the institution to remit such 

6 payments within 90 days of such notification. 

7 ‘‘(5) PENALTY FOR LATE PAYMENTS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) THREE-MONTH DELINQUENCY.—If 

9 an institution fails to remit to the Secretary a 

10 risk-sharing payment for a student cohort as 

11 required under this subsection within 90 days 

12 of receiving notification from the Secretary in 

13 accordance with paragraph (4), the institution 

14 shall pay to the Secretary, in addition to such 

15 risk-sharing payment, interest on such pay16 ment, at a rate that is the average rate applica17 ble to the loans in such student cohort. 

18 ‘‘(B) TWELVE-MONTH DELINQUENCY.—If 

19 an institution fails to remit to the Secretary a 

20 risk-sharing payment for a student cohort as 

21 required under this subsection, plus interest 

22 owed in under subparagraph (A), within 12 

23 months of receiving notification from the Sec24 retary in accordance with paragraph (4), the in25 stitution shall be ineligible to make direct loans 


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1 to any student enrolled in the program of study 

2 for which the institution has failed to make the 

3 risk-sharing payments until such payment is 

4 made. 

5 ‘‘(C) EIGHTEEN-MONTH DELINQUENCY.— 

6 If an institution fails to remit to the Secretary 

7 a risk-sharing payment for a student cohort as 

8 required under this subsection, plus interest 

9 owed under subparagraph (A), within 18 

10 months of receiving notification from the Sec11 retary in accordance with paragraph (4), the in12 stitution shall be ineligible to make direct loans 

13 or award Federal Pell grants under section 401 

14 to any student enrolled in the institution until 

15 such payment is made. 

16 ‘‘(D) TWO-YEAR DELINQUENCY.—If an in17 stitution fails to remit to the Secretary a risk18 sharing payment for a student cohort as re19 quired under this subsection, plus interest owed 

20 under subparagraph (A), within 2 years of re21 ceiving notification from the Secretary in ac22 cordance with paragraph (4), the institution 

23 shall be ineligible to participate in any program 

24 under this title for a period of not less than 10 

25 years. 


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1 ‘‘(6) RELIEF FOR VOLUNTARY CESSATION OF

2 FEDERAL DIRECT LOANS FOR A PROGRAM OF

3 STUDY.—The Secretary shall, upon the request of an 

4 institution that voluntarily ceases to make Federal 

5 direct loans to students enrolled in a specific pro6 gram of study, reduce the amount of the annual 

7 risk-sharing payment owed by the institution for 

8 each student cohort associated with such program by 

9 50 percent if the institution assures the Secretary 

10 that the institution will not make Federal direct 

11 loans to any student enrolled in such program of 

12 study (or any substantially similar program of 

13 study) for a period of not less than 10 award years, 

14 beginning with the first award year that begins after 

15 the date on which the Secretary reduces such risk16 sharing payment. 

17 ‘‘(7) RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR PROMISE

18 GRANTS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 

19 law, the Secretary shall reserve the funds remitted 

20 to the Secretary as risk-sharing payments in accord21 ance with this subsection, and such funds shall be 

22 made available to the Secretary only for the purpose 

23 of awarding PROMISE grants in accordance with 

24 subpart 4 of part A of this title.’’. 


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1 SEC. 302. REGULATORY RELIEF. 

2 (a) 90/10.— 

3 (1) REGULATION REPEALED.—Section 668.28 

4 of title 34, Code of Federal Regulations (relating to 

5 the 90/10 rule), as added or amended by the final 

6 regulations published by the Department of Edu7 cation in the Federal Register on October 28, 2022 

8 (87 Fed. Reg. 65426 et seq.), is repealed and will 

9 have no force or effect. 

10 (2) AMENDMENTS.—Section 487 of the Higher 

11 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094) is amend12 ed— 

13 (A) in subsection (a), by striking para14 graph (24); 

15 (B) by striking subsection (d); and 

16 (C) by redesignating subsections (e) 

17 through (j) as subsections (d) through (i), re18 spectively. 

19 (b) FINANCIAL VALUE TRANSPARENCY AND GAIN20 FUL EMPLOYMENT.— 

21 (1) REGULATION REPEALED.—Sections 600.10, 

22 600.21, 668.2, 668.13, 668.43, 668.91, 668.402 

23 through 668.409 (excluding section 668.408), and 

24 668.601 through 668.606 of title 34, Code of Fed25 eral Regulations (relating to financial value trans26 parency and gainful employment), as added or 


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1 amended by the final regulations published by the 

2 Department of Education in the Federal Register on 

3 October 10, 2023 (88 FR 70004 et seq.), are re4 pealed and will have no force or effect. 

5 (2) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary of Education 

6 shall not, on or after the date of enactment of this 

7 Act, promulgate or enforce any regulation or rule 

8 with respect to the definition or application of the 

9 term ‘‘gainful employment’’ for any purpose under 

10 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 

11 et seq.). 

12 (c) CHANGES IN OWNERSHIP.— 

13 (1) REGULATION REPEALED.—Sections 600.2, 

14 600.4, 600.20, 600.21, and 600.31 of title 34, Code 

15 of Federal Regulations (relating to changes in own16 ership), as added or amended by the final regula17 tions published by the Department of Education in 

18 the Federal Register on October 28, 2022 (87 Fed. 

19 Reg. 65426 et seq.), are repealed and will have no 

20 force or effect. 

21 (2) AMENDMENTS.—Section 498(i) of the 

22 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099c(i)) 

23 is amended— 


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1 (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

2 ‘‘AND PROPOSED CHANGES OF OWNERSHIP’’ 

3 after ‘‘OWNERSHIP’’; 

4 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

5 (i) by striking ‘‘(1) An eligible institu6 tion’’, and inserting the following: ‘‘(1)(A) 

7 An eligible institution’’; 

8 (ii) by striking ‘‘the requirements of 

9 section 102 (other than the requirements 

10 in subsections (b)(5) and (c)(3))’’ and in11 serting ‘‘the applicable requirements of 

12 section 102 or 103(13)’’; and 

13 (iii) by adding at the end the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(B)(i) Prior to a change in ownership re16 sulting in a change of control, an institution 

17 may seek a pretransaction determination about 

18 whether the institution will meet the applicable 

19 requirements of section 102 or 103(13) and 

20 this section after such proposed change in own21 ership by submitting to the Secretary a materi22 ally complete pretransaction review application. 

23 ‘‘(ii) In reviewing applications submitted 

24 under clause (i), the Secretary shall only pro25 vide a comprehensive review of each such appliVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 Jan 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00136 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6951.IH H6951

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1 cation, and may not provide an abbreviated or 

2 partial review. 

3 ‘‘(iii) If an institution submits a materially 

4 complete pretransaction review application at 

5 least 90 days prior to the transaction and the 

6 Secretary approves the application, the subse7 quent change in ownership application shall also 

8 be approved and the institution shall be cer9 tified as meeting the requirements for such 

10 transaction, provided that the institution— 

11 ‘‘(I) complies with the applicable 

12 terms of this section; and 

13 ‘‘(II) the transaction resulting in a 

14 change of control does not differ materially 

15 in its terms from the transaction proposed 

16 in the pretransaction review application.’’; 

17 (C) in paragraph (2)— 

18 (i) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

19 ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

20 (ii) in subparagraph (F), by striking 

21 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; 

22 and 

23 (iii) by adding the following at the 

24 end: 


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1 ‘‘(G) in the case of a proprietary institution of 

2 higher education, a conversion to a public or other 

3 nonprofit institution of higher education.’’; 

4 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(5)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), when any insti6 tution submits an application for a change in ownership 

7 resulting in a change in control under this section or sub8 mits a pretransaction review application under paragraph 

9 (1)(B) (other than in the case of a conversion trans10 action), the institution shall be required to pay to the Sec11 retary an administrative fee that shall— 

12 ‘‘(i) be in an amount equal to 0.15 percent of 

13 the total institutional revenue derived from this title 

14 by such institution for the most fiscal year for which 

15 data is available; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) be used exclusively for expenses related to 

17 the processing of such application, and be available 

18 to the Secretary without further appropriation, ex19 clusively for expenses related to the processing of 

20 such approval or application. 

21 ‘‘(B) In the case of a proprietary institution submit22 ting an application for conversion, or a pretransaction re23 view application for conversion, the institution shall be re24 quired to pay to the Secretary an administrative fee that 

25 shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) be in an amount equal to 0.30 percent of 

2 the total institutional revenue derived from this title 

3 by such institution for the most fiscal year for which 

4 data is available; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) be used exclusively for expenses related to 

6 the processing of such application, and of which— 

7 ‘‘(I) 50 percent shall be available to the 

8 Secretary without further appropriation, exclu9 sively for expenses related to the processing of 

10 such application; and 

11 ‘‘(II) 50 percent shall be remitted by the 

12 Secretary to the Commissioner of the Internal 

13 Revenue, and shall be available, without further 

14 appropriation, to the Commissioner of Internal 

15 Revenue exclusively for purposes of determining 

16 whether the institution seeking such conversion 

17 or pretransaction review is an institution ex18 empt from tax and is otherwise in compliance 

19 with applicable requirements of the Internal 

20 Revenue Code of 1986. 

21 ‘‘(C) An institution that pays a fee under subpara22 graph (A) or (B) for a pretransaction application with re23 spect to a proposed transaction shall not be required to 

24 pay another fee under such subparagraph for a change 

25 in ownership application with respect to such transaction. 


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1 ‘‘(D) In no case may any fee remitted under subpara2 graph (A) or (B) exceed $120,000 for any transaction (or 

3 pretransaction) application, nor may the Secretary require 

4 an institution that has paid a fee under subparagraph (B) 

5 to pay an additional fee under subparagraph (A). 

6 ‘‘(6)(A) The Secretary shall approve or deny a mate7 rially complete application (including pretransaction re8 views and conversion applications) submitted under this 

9 section as soon as practicable and not later than the 90- 

10 day period beginning on the date of receipt of such an 

11 application, except that in a case in which the Secretary 

12 determines, on a nondelegable basis, that good cause exists 

13 to not make the determination during such 90-day period, 

14 the Secretary shall notify the institution in writing detail15 ing the reasons for a good cause extension. 

16 ‘‘(B) If the Secretary fails to approve or deny a mate17 rially complete application during the period described in 

18 subparagraph (A) and does not find good cause for exten19 sion, the materially complete application shall be deemed 

20 approved. 

21 ‘‘(C) In no case may the Secretary grant a good cause 

22 extension under this section to an institution for more 

23 than one month at a time, or for a total of more than 

24 more than 12 months. 


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1 ‘‘(D) To ensure timely submission of all relevant doc2 umentation, the Secretary may deny an application if an 

3 institution does not make a good faith effort to submit 

4 to the Secretary, in a timely manner— 

5 ‘‘(i) all relevant documentation; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) a materially complete application. 

7 ‘‘(E)(i) Upon approving or denying an application 

8 under this paragraph, the Secretary shall publish in the 

9 Federal Register the reasoning for such approval or de10 nial, including— 

11 ‘‘(I) a copy of the approval or denial letter sent 

12 to the institution; and 

13 ‘‘(II) any analysis regarding how the Secretary 

14 determined under paragraph 7(A)(iii) that a director 

15 of the institution was an interested or disinterested 

16 party to the transaction. 

17 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary shall not publish under clause (i) 

18 any information that is otherwise exempt from disclosure 

19 under section 552 of title 5, United States Code (relating 

20 to the Freedom of Information Act), including trade se21 crets and commercial or financial information that is privi22 leged or confidential. 

23 ‘‘(7)(A) In the case of a proprietary institution that 

24 subsequent to the transaction would be owned and oper25 ated by an entity (in this paragraph referred to as the 


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1 ‘buyer’) seeking to be recognized as a public or other non2 profit institution, the buyer shall meet the definition of 

3 a nonprofit institution under section 103(13) if— 

4 ‘‘(i) the buyer pays no more than fair market 

5 value for any assets of the proprietary institution; 

6 ‘‘(ii) the buyer pays no more than fair market 

7 value for any service or lease contracts, including 

8 such service and lease contracts provided by the en9 tity selling the proprietary institution; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) to prevent self-dealing in the case where 

11 one or more individuals with a substantial ownership 

12 or controlling interests in the proprietary institution 

13 will also have substantial or controlling interests in 

14 the institution seeking to be recognized as a public 

15 or other nonprofit institution (meaning that one or 

16 more individuals are on both sides of the trans17 action), the change of control transaction, and any 

18 substantial asset acquisition, service, or lease agree19 ments with the proprietary institution shall be ap20 proved by a disinterested committee of directors of 

21 the entity that seeks to be recognized as a public or 

22 other nonprofit institution. 

23 ‘‘(B) For the purposes of this paragraph, parties to 

24 the transaction are entitled to a rebuttable presumption 

25 that the assets, lease contracts, and service contracts that 


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1 are part of the transaction are purchased at fair market 

2 value if— 

3 ‘‘(i) the acquiring entity pays no more than fair 

4 market value for such assets, lease contracts, or 

5 service contracts; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) the value of the assets, lease contracts, or 

7 service contracts are evaluated by at least one inde8 pendent third-party entity hired by parties on both 

9 sides of the transaction. 

10 ‘‘(8)(A) An institution that has been approved for 

11 conversion by the Secretary shall be subject to a moni12 toring period for a 5-year period beginning on the day 

13 after the date of such approval. In conducting the moni14 toring of the institution under this paragraph, the Sec15 retary— 

16 ‘‘(i) shall only conduct monitoring to ensure 

17 that the institution is in compliance with the re18 quirements of section 103(13) and paragraph (7) of 

19 this subsection; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) may require the institution to submit reg21 ular reports or conduct audits of such institution re22 lating to such compliance. 

23 ‘‘(B) Each institution that is subject to the moni24 toring period under this paragraph shall remit an annual 

25 fee to the Secretary— 


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1 ‘‘(i) in an amount equal to 0.15 percent of the 

2 total revenue derived from this title by such institu3 tion for the most recent fiscal year for which data 

4 is available; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) that shall be exclusively for expenses re6 lated to monitoring of the institution for the period 

7 described in subparagraph (A)— 

8 ‘‘(I) of which 50 percent shall be used by 

9 the Secretary, without further appropriation, 

10 exclusively for expenses related to monitoring of 

11 the institution during such period; and 

12 ‘‘(II) of which 50 percent shall be remitted 

13 by the Secretary to the Commissioner of Inter14 nal Revenue, to be available to such Commis15 sioner, without further appropriation, exclu16 sively for monitoring compliance with the Inter17 nal Revenue Code of such institution during 

18 such period. 

19 ‘‘(C) An institution may not be subject to an annual 

20 fee under subparagraph (B) for monitoring related to a 

21 conversion that exceeds $60,000. 

22 ‘‘(D) If the Secretary determines that an institution 

23 should be subject to the monitoring under this paragraph 

24 beyond the 5-year period described in subparagraph (A), 

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1 sion in writing to the institution (and in the Federal Reg2 ister) at least 30 days before the expiration of such period. 

3 ‘‘(E) Any institution that is subject to monitoring 

4 under this paragraph may seek a waiver to be exempt from 

5 such monitoring (including the annual fee under subpara6 graph (B)) on an annual basis for any year during the 

7 monitoring period and the Secretary shall grant such waiv8 er if there is no ongoing contractual or financial relation9 ship between the institution and the former entity or indi10 viduals that previously owned the institution. The Sec11 retary may grant a waiver for more than 1 year in the 

12 case where the entity that formerly owned the proprietary 

13 institution has closed or no longer exists and the Secretary 

14 determines the institution is not at risk of violating the 

15 requirements of section 103(13) or paragraph (7) of this 

16 subsection. 

17 ‘‘(9) Any institution that submits an application for 

18 conversion shall not promote or market itself, in any man19 ner, as a public or other nonprofit institution of higher 

20 education unless— 

21 ‘‘(A) the Secretary has provided final approval 

22 of the conversion of the institution to a public or 

23 other nonprofit institution of higher education under 

24 this section; 


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1 ‘‘(B) an accrediting agency or association recog2 nized by the Secretary pursuant to section 496 has 

3 approved such public or nonprofit status of the insti4 tution; 

5 ‘‘(C) the State has given final approval to the 

6 institution as a public or nonprofit institution of 

7 higher education, as applicable; and 

8 ‘‘(D) in the case of an institution seeking non9 profit status, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue 

10 has approved the institution as tax exempt pursuant 

11 to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

12 ‘‘(10) Not later than 270 days after the date of enact13 ment of the College Cost Reduction Act, and periodically 

14 thereafter, the Secretary shall publish (and update as nec15 essary) in the Federal Register— 

16 ‘‘(A) descriptions of the documents and mate17 rials the Secretary expects or requires institutions of 

18 higher education to submit (including any standard19 ized forms) as part of any pretransaction application 

20 or change in ownership application under this sec21 tion, including a description of what the Secretary 

22 considers to be a materially complete application; 

23 and 

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1 ceived with respect to such descriptions or updates 

2 to such descriptions. 

3 ‘‘(11) In a case in which the Secretary requests a doc4 ument under this section as part of a pretransaction or 

5 change in ownership application that is not described in 

6 the Federal Register under paragraph (10), the Secretary 

7 shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) substantiate, in writing to the institution, 

9 the reasons why the Secretary is requesting such 

10 documents; and 

11 ‘‘(B) publish such reasons in the Federal Reg12 ister, including whether the Secretary may request 

13 other institutions that submit applications under this 

14 section to produce similar documentation. 

15 ‘‘(12)(A) Not later than 18 months after the date of 

16 enactment of the College Cost Reduction Act, and annu17 ally thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a report to au18 thorizing committees, and post such report on a publicly 

19 available website regarding implementation of the amend20 ments made to this section by such Act, including the fol21 lowing information: 

22 ‘‘(i) The mean and median length of time taken 

23 by the Secretary to review applications under this 

24 section during the preceding 12-month period. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) The number of applications approved or 

2 denied during the preceding 12-month period. 

3 ‘‘(iii) For any application not processed during 

4 the 90-day period beginning on the date of receipt 

5 of the application for which the Secretary found 

6 good cause under paragraph (6)(A) to extend the 

7 deadline in which the application shall be processed, 

8 a copy of the letter sent to the institution explaining 

9 why the Secretary believed good cause existed for 

10 such extension. 

11 ‘‘(iv) For any application not processed during 

12 such 90-day period, which was deemed to be auto13 matically approved by the requirements of this sec14 tion under paragraph (6)(B), the name of each insti15 tution involved and an explanation for why the appli16 cation was not processed in a timely manner. 

17 ‘‘(v) Any legislative suggestions the Secretary 

18 may have to improve the application or monitoring 

19 process under this section. 

20 ‘‘(B) If the Secretary fails to submit a report under 

21 this paragraph by not later than 90 days after the dead22 line for such submission under subparagraph (A), the Sec23 retary may not, for the 12-month period following such 

24 failure, spend the fees remitted by institutions under this 


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1 section or remit such fees to the Commissioner unless 

2 Congress provides for such use by further appropriation. 

3 ‘‘(13) For the purposes of this subsection, the term 

4 ‘conversion’ means any transaction under which— 

5 ‘‘(A) a proprietary institution is reorganized 

6 and seeks recognition as a public or other nonprofit 

7 institution; or 

8 ‘‘(B) the control of a proprietary institution is 

9 transferred as a result of a sale, donation, or other 

10 method to an entity that seeks certification under 

11 this section as a public or other nonprofit institu12 tion.’’. 

13 (3) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by 

14 this section shall be apply with respect to applica15 tions submitted for change of control or conversion 

16 submitted on or after January 1, 2023. 

17 (4) REPORT.— Not later than 5 years after the 

18 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller Gen19 eral shall submit to the Committee on Education 

20 and the Workforce of the House of Representatives 

21 and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 

22 and Pensions of the Senate, a report on the imple23 mentation of the amendments made by this sub24 section, including recommendations to improve— 


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1 (A) the application process under section 

2 498(i) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

3 U.S.C. 1099c(i)), as amended by paragraph (2), 

4 for institutions of higher education seeking a 

5 change in ownership resulting in a change in 

6 control; or 

7 (B) the monitoring process under such sec8 tion for institutions of higher education that 

9 have recently converted from being recognized 

10 as a proprietary institution to a public or other 

11 nonprofit institution. 

12 (d) FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.— 

13 (1) REGULATION REPEALED.—Sections 668.15, 

14 668.23, 668.171, and 668.174 through 668.177 of 

15 title 34, Code of Federal Regulations (relating to fi16 nancial responsibility), as added or amended by the 

17 final regulations published by the Department of 

18 Education in the Federal Register on October 31, 

19 2023 (87 Fed. Reg. 74568 et seq.), are repealed and 

20 will have no force or effect. 

21 (2) AMENDMENTS.—Section 498(c) of the 

22 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 6 U.S.C. 

23 1099c(c)) is amended— 


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1 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), 

2 (5), and (6) as paragraphs (4), (5), (6), and 

3 (7), respectively; 

4 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

5 (i) by striking ‘‘paragraph (1), if’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘paragraph (1), the Secretary 

7 shall prescribe criteria regarding ratios 

8 that aid in the determination financial re9 sponsibility. Such ratios shall be first 

10 issued in draft form to the institution to 

11 allow for adequate review, consisting of an 

12 appeals process, by such institutions of 

13 higher education. If’’; and 

14 (ii) by striking ‘‘prescribed by the 

15 Secretary regarding ratios’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘prescribed by the Secretary regarding the 

17 final ratios’’; 

18 (C) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), the Secretary 

21 shall take into account an institution’s current total finan22 cial circumstances, including any subsequent change in the 

23 institution’s overall fiscal health based on the standards 

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1 sequent action is taken under paragraph (4). If an institu2 tion meets the standards in paragraph (2), the institution 

3 shall be seen as financially responsible.’’; 

4 (D) in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (4), 

5 as so redesignated, by striking ‘‘establishes to 

6 the satisfaction of the Secretary, with’’ and in7 serting ‘‘establishes, with’’; 

8 (E) in paragraph (5), as so redesignated— 

9 (i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

10 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the end; 

11 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

12 ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a period; and 

13 (iii) by striking subparagraph (C); 

14 (F) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated, 

15 by striking ‘‘(3)(C)’’ and inserting ‘‘(4)(C)’’; 

16 and 

17 (G) by adding at the end the following new 

18 paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(8) Not later than 18 months after the date of en20 actment of the College Cost Reduction Act, the Secretary 

21 shall pursue a process to update the ratios regarding fi22 nancial responsibility as identified in paragraph (2). The 

23 Secretary shall report the revised ratios to— 

24 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Education and the 

25 Workforce of the House of Representatives; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Health, Education, 

2 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate.’’. 

3 (e) INCENTIVE COMPENSATION; THIRD PARTY

4 SERVICER.— 

5 (1) AMENDMENTS.—Section 487(a)(20) (20 

6 U.S.C. 1094(a)(20)) is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(20) The institution will not provide any com8 mission, bonus, or other incentive payment based di9 rectly or indirectly on success in securing enroll10 ments or financial aid to any persons or entities en11 gaged in any student recruiting or admission activi12 ties, or in making decisions regarding the award of 

13 student financial assistance, except that this para14 graph shall not apply— 

15 ‘‘(A) to the recruitment of foreign students 

16 residing in foreign countries who are not eligi17 ble to receive Federal student assistance; or 

18 ‘‘(B) to a third party where— 

19 ‘‘(i) the third party is providing the 

20 institution recruiting or admissions activi21 ties as part of a larger bundle of services 

22 not covered by this paragraph and which 

23 may include marketing or advertising ac24 tivities that broadly disseminate or dis25 tribute widely available information; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the third party does not provide 

2 any commission, bonus, or other incentive3 based payments to its employees or sub4 contractors who are providing services to 

5 the institution covered in this paragraph; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(iii) the third party is not awarding 

8 or disbursing Federal financial aid 

9 awards.’’. 

10 (2) DEFINITION.—Section 481(c) (20 U.S.C. 

11 1088(c)) is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(c) THIRD PARTY SERVICER.— 

13 ‘‘(1) For purposes of this title, the term ‘third 

14 party servicer’— 

15 ‘‘(A) means any individual, any State, or 

16 any private, for-profit or nonprofit organization, 

17 which enters into a contract with— 

18 ‘‘(i) any eligible institution of higher 

19 education to administer, through either 

20 manual or automated processing, any as21 pect of such institution’s student assist22 ance programs under this title; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) any guaranty agency, or any eli24 gible lender, to administer, through either 

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1 pect of such guaranty agency’s or lender’s 

2 student loan programs under part B of 

3 this title, including originating, guaran4 teeing, monitoring, processing, servicing, or 

5 collecting loans; and 

6 ‘‘(B) does not include any individual, any 

7 State, or any private, for-profit or nonprofit or8 ganization, which conducts activities or inter9 acts with prospective or enrolled students for 

10 the purposes of— 

11 ‘‘(i) marketing or recruiting, such as 

12 soliciting potential enrollments through the 

13 dissemination of information and adver14 tising; 

15 ‘‘(ii) assisting with the completion of 

16 applications for enrollment, such as screen17 ing pre-enrollment information and offer18 ing admission counseling; 

19 ‘‘(iii) administering ability-to-benefit 

20 tests or establishing any aspect of an eligi21 ble career pathway program; 

22 ‘‘(iv) conducting activities for the re23 tention of students, such as monitoring 

24 academic engagement and conducting out25 reach to student regarding attendance; and 


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1 ‘‘(v) providing instructional content, 

2 such as evaluating course completion, de3 livering mandatory tutoring, assessing stu4 dent learning, including through electronic 

5 means, or developing curricula or course 

6 materials. 

7 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall not regulate on the 

8 definition of a ‘third party servicer’.’’. 

9 (f) OTHER REPEALS.—The following regulations (in10 cluding any supplement or revision to such regulations) 

11 are repealed and shall have no legal effect: 

12 (1) CLOSED SCHOOL DISCHARGES.—Sections 

13 674.33(g), 682.402(d), and 685.214 of title 34, 

14 Code of Federal Regulations (relating to closed 

15 school discharges), as added or amended by the final 

16 regulations published by the Department of Edu17 cation in the Federal Register on November 1, 2022 

18 (87 Fed. Reg. 65904 et seq.). 

19 (2) BORROWER DEFENSE TO REPAYMENT.— 

20 Section 685.401 of title 34, Code of Federal Regula21 tions (relating to borrower defense to repayment), as 

22 added or amended by the final regulations published 

23 by the Department of Education in the Federal Reg24 ister on November 1, 2022 (87 Fed. Reg. 65904 et 

25 seq.). 


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1 (3) PRE-DISPUTE ARBITRATION.—Sections 

2 668.41, 685.300, and 685.304 of title 34, Code of 

3 Federal Regulations (relating to pre-dispute arbitra4 tion), as added or amended by the final regulations 

5 published by the Department of Education in the 

6 Federal Register on November 1, 2022 (87 Fed. 

7 Reg. 65904 et seq.). 

8 (4) FALSE CERTIFICATION.—Sections 

9 682.402(e), 685.215(c), and 685.215(d) of title 34, 

10 Code of Federal Regulations (relating to false cer11 tification), as added or amended by the final regula12 tions published by the Department of Education in 

13 the Federal Register on November 1, 2022 (87 Fed. 

14 Reg. 65904 et seq.). 

15 (5) ADMINISTRATIVE CAPABILITY.—Sections 

16 668.16 of title 34, Code of Federal Regulations (re17 lating to administrative capability), as added or 

18 amended by the final regulations published by the 

19 Department of Education in the Federal Register on 

20 October 31, 2023 (87 Fed. Reg. 74568 et seq.). 

21 (6) CERTIFICATION PROCEDURES.—Sections 

22 668.13, 668.14, and 668.43 of title 34, Code of Fed23 eral Regulations (relating to certification proce24 dures) as added or amended by the final regulations 

25 published by the Department of Education in the 


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1 Federal Register on October 31, 2023 (87 Fed. Reg. 

2 74568 et seq.). 

3 (7) ABILITY TO BENEFIT.—Sections 668.2, 

4 668.32, 668.156, and 668.157 of title 34, Code of 

5 Federal Regulations (relating to ability to benefit) as 

6 added or amended by the final regulations published 

7 by the Department of Education in the Federal Reg8 ister on October 31, 2023 (87 Fed. Reg. 74568 et 

9 seq.). 

10 (8) PERSONAL LIABILITY.—The electronic an11 nouncement titled ‘‘Establishing Personal Liability 

12 Requirements for Financial Losses Related to the 

13 Title IV Programs’’ (GENERAL–23–11, published 

14 on March 1, 2023). 

15 (g) EFFECT OF REPEAL.—Any regulations repealed 

16 by subsections (c) through (e) that were in effect on June 

17 30, 2023, are restored and revived as if the repeal of such 

18 regulations under such subsections had not taken effect. 

19 (h) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary of Education may 

20 not implement any rule, regulation, policy, or executive ac21 tion specified in this section (or a substantially similar 

22 rule, regulation, policy, or executive action) unless author23 ity for such implementation is explicitly provided in an Act 

24 of Congress. 


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1 (i) PROGRAM REVIEW AND DATA.—Section 498A (20 

2 U.S.C. 1099c–1) is amended by adding at the end the fol3 lowing: 

4 ‘‘(f) TIME LIMIT ON PROGRAM REVIEW ACTIVI5 TIES.—In conducting, responding to, and concluding pro6 gram review activities, the Secretary shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) provide to the institution the initial report 

8 finding not later than 90 days after concluding an 

9 initial site visit; 

10 ‘‘(2) upon each receipt of an institution’s re11 sponse during a program review inquiry, respond in 

12 a substantive manner within 90 days; 

13 ‘‘(3) upon each receipt of an institution’s writ14 ten response to a draft final program review report, 

15 provide the final program review report and accom16 panying enforcement actions, if any, within 90 days; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(4) conclude the entire program review process 

19 not later than 2 years after the initiation of a pro20 gram review, unless the Secretary determines that 

21 such a review is sufficiently complex and cannot rea22 sonably be concluded before the expiration of such 2- 

23 year period, in which case the Secretary shall 

24 promptly notify the institution of the reasons for 


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1 such delay and provide an anticipated date for con2 clusion of the review.’’. 

3 SEC. 303. LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY TO 

4 PROPOSE OR ISSUE REGULATIONS AND EX5 ECUTIVE ACTIONS. 

6 Part G of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 

7 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1088 et seq.) is amended by inserting 

8 after section 492 the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 492A. LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY OF THE SEC10 RETARY TO PROPOSE OR ISSUE REGULA11 TIONS AND EXECUTIVE ACTIONS. 

12 ‘‘(a) DRAFT REGULATIONS.—Beginning after the 

13 date of enactment of this section, a draft regulation imple14 menting this title (as described in section 492(b)(1)) that 

15 is determined by the Secretary to be economically signifi16 cant shall be subject to the following requirements (re17 gardless of whether negotiated rulemaking occurs): 

18 ‘‘(1) The Secretary shall determine whether the 

19 draft regulation, if implemented, would result in an 

20 increase in a subsidy cost. 

21 ‘‘(2) If the Secretary determines under para22 graph (1) that the draft regulation would result in 

23 an increase in a subsidy cost, then the Secretary 

24 may take no further action with respect to such reg25 ulation. 


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1 ‘‘(b) PROPOSED OR FINAL REGULATIONS AND EXEC2 UTIVE ACTIONS.—Beginning after the date of enactment 

3 of this section, the Secretary may not issue a proposed 

4 rule, final regulation, or executive action implementing 

5 this title if the Secretary determines that the rule, regula6 tion, or executive action— 

7 ‘‘(1) is economically significant; and 

8 ‘‘(2) would result in an increase in a subsidy 

9 cost. 

10 ‘‘(c) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER REQUIREMENTS.— 

11 The analyses required under subsections (a) and (b) shall 

12 be in addition to any other cost analysis required under 

13 law for a regulation implementing this title, including any 

14 cost analysis that may be required pursuant to Executive 

15 Order 12866 (58 Fed. Reg. 51735; relating to regulatory 

16 planning and review), Executive Order 13563 (76 Fed. 

17 Reg. 3821; relating to improving regulation and regu18 latory review), or any related or successor orders. 

19 ‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘eco20 nomically significant’, when used with respect to a draft, 

21 proposed, or final regulation or executive action, means 

22 that the regulation or executive action is likely, as deter23 mined by the Secretary— 

24 ‘‘(1) to have an annual effect on the economy 

25 of $100,000,000 or more; or 


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1 ‘‘(2) adversely to affect in a material way the 

2 economy, a sector of the economy, productivity, com3 petition, jobs, the environment, public health or safe4 ty, or State, local, or tribal governments or commu5 nities.’’. 

6 SEC. 304. OFFICE OF FEDERAL STUDENT AID. 

7 (a) FEDERAL PREEMPTION.—Section 456 (20 U.S.C. 

8 1087f) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(c) FEDERAL PREEMPTION.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Covered activities shall not 

11 be subject to any law or other requirement of any 

12 State or political subdivision of a State with respect 

13 to— 

14 ‘‘(A) disclosure requirements; 

15 ‘‘(B) requirements or restrictions on the 

16 content, time, quantity, or frequency of commu17 nications with borrowers, endorsers, or ref18 erences with respect to such loans; or 

19 ‘‘(C) any other requirement relating to the 

20 servicing or collection of a loan made under this 

21 title. 

22 ‘‘(2) COVERED ACTIVITIES DEFINED.—In this 

23 subsection, the term ‘covered activities’ means any 

24 of the following activities, as carried out by a quali25 fied entity: 


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1 ‘‘(A) Origination of a loan made under this 

2 title. 

3 ‘‘(B) Servicing of a loan made under this 

4 title. 

5 ‘‘(C) Collection of a loan made under this 

6 title. 

7 ‘‘(D) Any other activity related to the ac8 tivities described in subparagraphs (A) through 

9 (C).’’. 

10 (b) PROCUREMENT FLEXIBILITY.—Section 142 (20 

11 U.S.C. 1018a) is amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating subsection (l) as subsection 

13 (m); and 

14 (2) by inserting after subsection (k) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(l) GUIDANCE TO STUDENT LOAN SERVICERS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In notifying a student loan 

18 servicer of a final contract modification (as such 

19 term is defined in section 2.101 of title 48, Code of 

20 Federal Regulations) that instructs such loan 

21 servicer to perform a function that is new or dif22 ferent from a function such servicer performs pursu23 ant to an existing contract, the PBO shall, not later 

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1 fect, provide such servicers with written guidance in 

2 the form of— 

3 ‘‘(A) a change order (as such term is de4 fined in section 2.101 of title 48, Code of Fed5 eral Regulations); 

6 ‘‘(B) a dear colleague letter; or 

7 ‘‘(C) an electronic announcement. 

8 ‘‘(2) NON-BINDING DIRECTIVES.—A student 

9 loan servicer that is notified of a final contract 

10 modification described in paragraph (1) and receives 

11 guidance in a form other than a form described in 

12 paragraph (1) (including through emails or phone 

13 calls) shall not be subject to such contract modifica14 tion.’’. 

15 Subpart 2—Accreditors 

16 SEC. 311. ACCREDITING AGENCY RECOGNITION. 

17 (a) CRITERIA REQUIRED.—Section 496(a) of the 

18 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b(a)) is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), in 

21 the first sentence, by striking ‘‘or training’’ and in22 serting ‘‘skills development’’; 

23 (2) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol24 lows: 


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1 ‘‘(1) the accrediting agency or association 

2 (other than an accrediting agency or association de3 scribed in paragraph (2)(D)) shall be a State or na4 tional agency or association and shall demonstrate 

5 the ability to operate as an institutional or pro6 grammatic accrediting agency or association within 

7 the State or nationally, as appropriate;’’; 

8 (3) in paragraph (2)— 

9 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

10 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘prin11 cipal’’; and 

12 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘its prin13 cipal’’ and inserting ‘‘a’’; and 

14 (B) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ‘‘or’’ 

15 at the end; and 

16 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(D) is an entity (such as an industry-spe18 cific quality assurance entity) that has been— 

19 ‘‘(i) determined by a State to be a re20 liable authority as to the quality of edu21 cation or skills development offered in such 

22 State for the purposes of this Act; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) designated (in accordance with 

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1 crediting agency or association with re2 spect to such State for such purposes;’’; 

3 (4) in paragraph (3)— 

4 (A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read 

5 as follows: 

6 ‘‘(A) subparagraph (A), (C), or (D) of 

7 paragraph (2), then such agency or association 

8 is— 

9 ‘‘(i) distinctly incorporated or orga10 nized; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) both administratively and finan12 cially separate from, and independent of, 

13 any related, associated, or affiliated trade 

14 association or membership organization, by 

15 ensuring that— 

16 ‘‘(I) the members of the board or 

17 governing body of the accrediting 

18 agency or association are not elected 

19 or selected by the board or chief exec20 utive officer (or the representative of 

21 such board or officer) of any related, 

22 associated, or affiliated trade associa23 tion or membership organization; 


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1 ‘‘(II) among the membership of 

2 the board or governing body of the ac3 crediting agency or association— 

4 ‘‘(aa) if such board or body 

5 is comprised of 5 or fewer mem6 bers, there is a minimum of one 

7 public member who represents 

8 business and who is not a mem9 ber of any related, associated, or 

10 affiliated trade association or 

11 membership organization; and 

12 ‘‘(bb) if such board or body 

13 is comprised of 6 or more mem14 bers, there is a minimum of 1 

15 such public member for every 6 

16 members; 

17 ‘‘(III) guidelines are established 

18 for such members to avoid conflicts of 

19 interest, including specific guidelines 

20 to ensure that no such member is an 

21 employee of any institution accredited 

22 by the agency or association or has a 

23 financial interest in any such institu24 tion; 


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1 ‘‘(IV) dues to the accrediting 

2 agency or association are paid sepa3 rately from any dues paid to any re4 lated, associated, or affiliated trade 

5 association or membership organiza6 tion; and 

7 ‘‘(V) the budget of the accred8 iting agency or association is devel9 oped, decided, and maintained by the 

10 accrediting agency or association with11 out any review by, consultation with, 

12 or approval by any related, associated, 

13 or affiliated trade association or mem14 bership organization;’’; 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subpara16 graph (B); and 

17 (C) by striking subparagraph (C); 

18 (5) in paragraph (4)— 

19 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

20 (i) by inserting ‘‘(in the manner de21 scribed in subparagraph (B))’’ after ‘‘reli22 gious missions’’; and 

23 (ii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

24 (B) by striking subparagraph (B) and in25 serting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(B) such accrediting agency or associa2 tion consistently applies and enforces standards 

3 that respect the stated religious mission of an 

4 institution of higher education by— 

5 ‘‘(i) basing decisions regarding accred6 itation and preaccreditation on the stand7 ards of accreditation of such agency or as8 sociation; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) not using as a negative factor 

10 the institution’s religious mission based 

11 policies, decisions, and practices in the 

12 areas covered by subparagraphs (B), (C), 

13 (D), (E), and (F) of paragraph (5), except 

14 that the agency or association may require 

15 that the institution’s or a program of 

16 study’s curricula include all core compo17 nents required by the agency or association 

18 that are not inconsistent with the institu19 tion’s religious mission; and 

20 ‘‘(C) such agency or association dem21 onstrates the ability to review, evaluate, and as22 sess the quality of any instruction delivery 

23 model or method such agency or association has 

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1 tially treating a particular instruction delivery 

2 model or method offered by an institution of 

3 higher education or program, except that— 

4 ‘‘(i) in a case in which the instruction 

5 delivery model allows for the separation of 

6 the student from the instructor, the agency 

7 or association shall not be required to have 

8 separate standards, procedures, or policies 

9 for the evaluation of the quality of any in10 struction delivery model or method in order 

11 to meet the requirements of this subpara12 graph; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) in the case in which the instruc14 tion delivery model allows for the separa15 tion of the student from the instructor— 

16 ‘‘(I) the agency or association re17 quires the institution to have proc18 esses through which the institution es19 tablishes that the student who reg20 isters in a course or program is the 

21 same student who participates in the 

22 program (including, to the extent 

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1 gram), completes the program, and 

2 receives the academic credit; and 

3 ‘‘(II) the agency or association 

4 requires that any process used by an 

5 institution to comply with the require6 ment under clause (I) does not in7 fringe upon student privacy and is im8 plemented in a manner that is mini9 mally burdensome to the student;’’; 

10 and 

11 (6) in paragraph (5)— 

12 (A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read 

13 as follows: 

14 ‘‘(A) success with respect to student 

15 achievement outcomes in relation to the institu16 tion’s mission and to the programs the institu17 tion offers, or the mission of a specific degree, 

18 certificate, or credential program, which may 

19 include different standards for different institu20 tions or programs, and which shall include— 

21 ‘‘(i) standards for consideration of the 

22 median total price charged to students for 

23 a program of study in relation to the me24 dian value-added earnings of students who 

25 completed such program; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) standards for consideration of 

2 learning outcomes measures (such as com3 petency attainment and licensing examina4 tion passage rates); 

5 ‘‘(iii) standards for consideration of 

6 labor market outcomes measures (such as 

7 employer satisfaction surveys, employ8 ability measures, earnings gains, employ9 ment rates, or other similar approaches); 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(iv) standards for consideration of 

12 student success outcomes measures (such 

13 as completion rates, retention rates, and 

14 loan repayment rates);’’; 

15 (B) by amending subparagraph (I) to read 

16 as follows: 

17 ‘‘(I) record of student complaints received 

18 by, or available to, the agency or association, 

19 and a process for resolving complaints received 

20 by the institution; and’’; and 

21 (C) in subparagraph (J), by inserting ‘‘and 

22 the median total price charged to students for 

23 a program of study in relation to the median 

24 value-added earnings of students who completed 

25 such program provided by the Secretary’’ after 


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1 ‘‘student loan default rate data provided by the 

2 Secretary’’. 

3 (b) SECRETARIAL REQUIREMENTS AND AUTHOR4 ITY.—Subsection (b) of section 496 of the Higher Edu5 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b) is amended to read 

6 as follows: 

7 ‘‘(b) SECRETARIAL REQUIREMENTS AND AUTHOR8 ITY.— 

9 ‘‘(1) STATE DESIGNATED ACCREDITING AGEN10 CY.— 

11 ‘‘(A) APPROVAL OF STATE PLANS.—The 

12 Secretary shall— 

13 ‘‘(i) approve a State’s designation of 

14 an entity as an accrediting agency or asso15 ciation for the purposes described in sub16 section (a)(2)(D) for a 5-year period, be17 ginning not later than 30 days after re18 ceipt of the plan from such State with re19 spect to such designation, if such plan in20 cludes each of the elements listed in sub21 paragraph (B); 

22 ‘‘(ii) submit to the State and the au23 thorizing committees, and make publicly 

24 available the Secretary’s response to the 

25 State with respect to such plan, including 


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1 whether the plan includes each of the ele2 ments listed in subparagraph (B); and 

3 ‘‘(iii) if a State’s designation of an en4 tity as an accrediting agency or association 

5 is approved pursuant to this subparagraph, 

6 publish in the Federal Register with a 30- 

7 day public comment period— 

8 ‘‘(I) the plan submitted by such 

9 State with respect to such designa10 tion; and 

11 ‘‘(II) the Secretary’s response to 

12 such plan. 

13 ‘‘(B) REQUIRED PLAN ELEMENTS.—The 

14 required elements of a State plan submitted 

15 under subparagraph (A) with respect to the 

16 designation of an entity as an accrediting agen17 cy or association are as follows: 

18 ‘‘(i) A description of the process the 

19 State used to select the entity for such des20 ignation. 

21 ‘‘(ii) A justification of the State’s de22 cision to select the entity for such designa23 tion. 

24 ‘‘(iii) A description of any require25 ments (in addition to the requirements of 


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1 this section), that the State required the 

2 entity to comply with as a condition of re3 ceiving and maintaining such designation. 

4 ‘‘(iv) A copy of the standards, policies, 

5 and procedures of the entity that the State 

6 considered in selecting the entity for such 

7 designation. 

8 ‘‘(v) The State’s assessment of how 

9 the standards for accreditation of the enti10 ty will be effective in meeting the require11 ments of subsection (a)(5). 

12 ‘‘(vi) Evidence that at least one other 

13 State has determined that such entity is a 

14 reliable authority as to the quality of edu15 cation offered for the purposes of this Act. 

16 ‘‘(vii) An assurance that the State will 

17 comply with the monitoring requirements 

18 described in subparagraph (C). 

19 ‘‘(C) STATE MONITORING.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A State that has 

21 designated an entity as an accrediting 

22 agency or association for the purposes de23 scribed in subsection (a)(2)(D) shall sub24 mit to the Secretary, and to the State au25 thorizing entity, as appropriate, a report at 


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1 the end of the 5-year period for which the 

2 entity has received such designation, which 

3 shall include, with respect to each postsec4 ondary education program or institution 

5 that has been accredited by such entity 

6 during such period, and disaggregated by 

7 type of credential, certification, or de8 gree— 

9 ‘‘(I) the number and percentage 

10 of students who have successfully ob11 tained a postsecondary education cre12 dential, certification, or degree offered 

13 by such program or institution; and 

14 ‘‘(II) the number and percentage 

15 of students who were enrolled and did 

16 not successfully obtain such a creden17 tial, certification, or degree within 150 

18 percent of the program length. 

19 ‘‘(ii) COUNTING TRANSFER STU20 DENTS.—For purposes of clause (i)(I), a 

21 student shall be counted as obtaining a 

22 credential, certification, or degree offered 

23 by a program or institution that was ac24 credited by the entity during the period for 

25 which the report under this subparagraph 


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1 is being submitted, if the student obtains 

2 such credential, certification, or degree 

3 after transferring to another institution 

4 during such period. 

5 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE AN ACCELER6 ATED PATH TO RECOGNITION.—With respect to a 

7 prospective accrediting agency or association that 

8 submits to the Secretary an application for initial 

9 recognition under this Act, the Secretary may pro10 vide such recognition to such agency or association 

11 within 2 years after receipt of such application, if 

12 such application— 

13 ‘‘(A) demonstrates that the agency or asso14 ciation— 

15 ‘‘(i) has at least one year of experi16 ence in making accreditation or 

17 preaccreditation decisions; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) has policies in place that meet all 

19 the criteria under subsection (a) for rec20 ognition covering the range of the specific 

21 degrees, certificates, institutions, or pro22 gram of study for which the agency or as23 sociation seeks such recognition; and 

24 ‘‘(B) provides an assurance that if the 

25 agency or association receives such recognition, 


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1 the agency or association will submit to the 

2 Secretary monitoring reports regarding accredi3 tation or preaccreditation decisions, as appro4 priate. 

5 ‘‘(3) DEVELOPMENT OF COMMON TERMI6 NOLOGY.—Not later than 18 months after the date 

7 of enactment of the College Cost Reduction Act, the 

8 Secretary shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) convene a panel of experts to develop 

10 common terminology for accrediting agencies or 

11 associations to use in making accrediting deci12 sions with respect to program of study or insti13 tutions, such as a common understanding of 

14 monitoring, warning, show cause, and other rel15 evant statuses, as appropriate; and 

16 ‘‘(B) publish the recommendations for such 

17 common terminology in the Federal Register 

18 with a 60-day public comment period.’’. 

19 (c) OPERATING PROCEDURES REQUIRED.— 

20 (1) ON-SITE INSPECTIONS AND REVIEWS.— 

21 Paragraph (1) of section 496(c) (20 U.S.C. 

22 1099b(c)) is amended— 

23 (A) by inserting ‘‘(which may vary based 

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1 mine such risk and interval frequency as au2 thorized under subsection (p))’’ after ‘‘inter3 vals’’; and 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘, including those regard5 ing distance education’’. 

6 (2) MECHANISM TO IDENTIFY INSTITUTIONS

7 AND PROGRAMS EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTIES.— 

8 Section 496(c) (20 U.S.C. 1099b(c)) is further 

9 amended— 

10 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

11 through (9) as paragraphs (3) through (10), re12 spectively; and 

13 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(2) develops a policy process to identify any 

16 institution or program of study accredited by the 

17 agency or association that is not meeting the stand18 ards for accreditation of the agency or association, 

19 with a focus on the standards assessing an institu20 tion’s or program of study’s student achievement 

21 outcomes described in subsection (a)(5)(A), and 

22 other indicators, which shall include— 

23 ‘‘(A) not less than annually, evaluating the 

24 extent to which such an identified institution or 


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1 program of study continues to be in compliance 

2 with such standards or other indicators; and 

3 ‘‘(B) as appropriate, requiring the institu4 tion or program of study to submit a plan, on 

5 an annual basis, to the accrediting agency or 

6 association to— 

7 ‘‘(i) address and remedy performance 

8 issues with respect to such compliance; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) ensure that such plan is success10 fully implemented.’’. 

11 (3) PROCEDURES WITH RESPECT TO SUB12 STANTIVE CHANGES.—Paragraph (5) of section 

13 496(c) (20 U.S.C. 1099b(c)) (as redesignated by 

14 paragraph (2)(A)) is amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(5) establishes and applies or maintains poli16 cies, which ensure that any substantive change to 

17 the educational mission, program of study, or pro18 gram of study of an institution after the agency or 

19 association has granted the institution accreditation 

20 or preaccreditation status does not adversely affect 

21 the capacity of the institution to continue to meet 

22 the agency’s or association’s standards for such ac23 creditation or preaccreditation status, which shall in24 clude policies that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) require the institution to obtain the 

2 agency’s or association’s approval of the sub3 stantive change before the agency or association 

4 includes the change in the scope of the institu5 tion’s accreditation or preaccreditation status; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(B) define substantive change to include, 

8 at a minimum— 

9 ‘‘(i) any change in the established 

10 mission or objectives of the institution; 

11 ‘‘(ii) any change in the legal status, 

12 form of control, or ownership of the insti13 tution, including the acquisition or addition 

14 of any other institution or new location 

15 where more than 50 percent of a program 

16 is offered; 

17 ‘‘(iii) the addition of program of study 

18 at a higher credential level from the cre19 dential level previously accredited by the 

20 agency or association; or 

21 ‘‘(iv) the entering into a contract 

22 under which an institution or organization 

23 not certified to participate in programs 

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1 struction of an educational program of the 

2 institution with such accreditation or 

3 preaccreditation status;’’. 

4 (4) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Section 496(c) (20 

5 U.S.C. 1099b(c)) is further amended— 

6 (A) in paragraph (8) (as redesignated by 

7 paragraph (2)(A))— 

8 (i) in the matter preceding subpara9 graph (A), by inserting ‘‘, on the agency’s 

10 or association’s website,’’ after ‘‘public’’; 

11 and 

12 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by inserting 

13 before the semicolon at the end the fol14 lowing: ‘‘, and a summary of why such ac15 tion was taken or such placement was 

16 made’’; 

17 (B) in paragraph (9) (as so redesignated), 

18 by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

19 (C) in paragraph (10)(B) (as so redesig20 nated), by inserting before the period at the end 

21 the following: ‘‘, including an assurance that 

22 the institution does not deny a transfer of cred23 it based solely on the accreditation of the insti24 tution at which the credit was earned’’; and 

25 (D) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(11) such agency or association shall make 

2 publicly available, on the agency or association’s 

3 website, a list of the institutions of higher education 

4 or program of study accredited by such agency or 

5 association, which includes, with respect to each 

6 such institution or program of study— 

7 ‘‘(A) the year accreditation was granted; 

8 ‘‘(B) the most recent date of an award of 

9 accreditation or reaccreditation; and 

10 ‘‘(C) the anticipated date of the institu11 tion’s next evaluation for reaccreditation.’’. 

12 (5) PROHIBITION ON LITMUS TESTS.—Section 

13 496(c) (20 U.S.C. 1099b(c)) is further amended by 

14 adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(12) confirms that the standards for accredita16 tion of the agency or association do not— 

17 ‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraph 

18 (B)— 

19 ‘‘(i) require, encourage, or coerce any 

20 institution to— 

21 ‘‘(I) support, oppose, or commit 

22 to supporting or opposing— 

23 ‘‘(aa) a specific partisan, po24 litical, or ideological viewpoint or 


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1 belief or set of such viewpoints or 

2 beliefs; or 

3 ‘‘(bb) a specific viewpoint or 

4 belief or set of viewpoints or be5 liefs on social, cultural, or polit6 ical issues; or 

7 ‘‘(II) support or commit to sup8 porting the disparate treatment of any 

9 individual or group of individuals on 

10 the basis of any protected class under 

11 Federal civil rights law, except as re12 quired by Federal law or a court 

13 order; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) assess an institution’s or pro15 gram of study’s commitment to any ide16 ology, belief, or viewpoint; 

17 ‘‘(B) prohibit an institution— 

18 ‘‘(i) from having a religious mission or 

19 from requiring an applicant, student, em20 ployee, or independent contractor (such as 

21 an adjunct professor) of such an institu22 tion to— 

23 ‘‘(I) provide or adhere to a state24 ment of faith; or 


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1 ‘‘(II) adhere to a code of conduct 

2 consistent with the stated religious 

3 mission of such institution or the reli4 gious tenets of such organization; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) from requiring an applicant, stu6 dent, employee, or contractor to take an 

7 oath to uphold the Constitution of the 

8 United States; or 

9 ‘‘(C) require, encourage, or coerce an insti10 tution of higher education to violate any right 

11 protected by the Constitution;’’. 

12 (6) PROHIBITION ON ASSESSMENT OF ELECTED

13 OR APPOINTED OFFICIALS.—Section 496(c) (20 

14 U.S.C. 1099b(c)) is further amended by adding at 

15 the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(13) confirms that the standards for accredita17 tion of the agency or association do not assess the 

18 roles (including actions or statements) of elected and 

19 appointed State and Federal officials and legislative 

20 bodies;’’. 

21 (7) PROHIBITION OF PRACTICES THAT DRIVE

22 CREDENTIAL INFLATION.—Section 496(c) (20 

23 U.S.C. 1099b(c)) is further amended by adding at 

24 the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(14) confirms that the standards for accredita2 tion of the agency or association do not require an 

3 institution to develop a program of study leading to 

4 a degree, certificate, or recognized postsecondary 

5 credential that is not in response to the needs of an 

6 industry or occupation.’’. 

7 (d) LENGTH OF RECOGNITION.—Subsection (d) of 

8 section 496 (20 U.S.C. 1099b) is amended— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘No accrediting’’ and inserting 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro12 vided in paragraph (2), no accrediting’’; and 

13 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

14 paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(2) LONGER RECOGNITION AUTHORIZED FOR

16 CERTAIN AGENCIES AND ASSOCIATIONS.—Notwith17 standing paragraph (1), an accrediting agency or as18 sociation that has been recognized by the Secretary 

19 for the purpose of this Act for a period of 5 years, 

20 may be recognized for an additional period of up to 

21 3 years, if the Secretary determines, based on the 

22 performance of the accrediting agency or association 

23 during its recognition period under this Act, that the 

24 accrediting agency or association— 


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1 ‘‘(A) has the capability to evaluate the 

2 quality of institutions or program of study; and 

3 ‘‘(B) has maintained compliance with the 

4 criteria for accrediting agencies or associations 

5 required by this section.’’. 

6 (e) LIMITATION ON SCOPE OF CRITERIA.—Section 

7 496 (20 U.S.C. 1099b) is further amended by amending 

8 subsection (g) to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(g) LIMITATION ON SCOPE OF CRITERIA.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall not es11 tablish criteria for accrediting agencies or associa12 tions that are not required by this section. 

13 ‘‘(2) INSTITUTIONAL ELIGIBILITY.—An institu14 tion of higher education shall be eligible for partici15 pation in programs under this title if the institution 

16 is in compliance with the standards of its accrediting 

17 agency or association that assess the institution in 

18 accordance with subsection (a)(5), regardless of any 

19 additional standards adopted by the agency or asso20 ciation for purposes unrelated to participation in 

21 programs under this title.’’. 

22 (f) CHANGE OF ACCREDITING AGENCY.—Section 496 

23 (20 U.S.C. 1099b) is further amended by amending sub24 section (h) to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(h) CHANGE OF ACCREDITING AGENCY OR ASSOCIA2 TION.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall recog4 nize the accreditation of any otherwise eligible insti5 tution or program of study if the institution (or pro6 gram) is in the process of changing its accrediting 

7 agency or association, unless the institution (or pro8 gram) is subject to one or more covered actions. 

9 ‘‘(2) COVERED ACTION DEFINED.—For pur10 poses of this subsection, the term ‘covered action’ 

11 means one or more of the following, when used with 

12 respect to an institution or program of study: 

13 ‘‘(A) A pending or final action brought by 

14 a State agency to suspend, revoke, withdraw, or 

15 terminate the institution’s legal authority to 

16 provide postsecondary education in the State. 

17 ‘‘(B) A decision by a recognized accred18 iting agency or association to deny accreditation 

19 or preaccreditation to the institution or pro20 gram of study. 

21 ‘‘(C) A pending or final action brought by 

22 a recognized accrediting agency or association 

23 to suspend, revoke, withdraw, or terminate the 

24 institution’s or program of study’s accreditation 

25 or preaccreditation. 


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1 ‘‘(D) Probation or an equivalent status im2 posed on the institution or program of study by 

3 a recognized accrediting agency or association. 

4 ‘‘(3) INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION

5 NOT SUBJECT TO COVERED ACTIONS.—An institu6 tion (or program of study) that is not subject to a 

7 covered action described in paragraph (1) and that 

8 desires to change its accrediting agency or associa9 tion for a reason not related to any such covered ac10 tion (such as compliance with State law) may make 

11 such a change without the approval of the Secretary, 

12 as long as the institution (or program) and the new 

13 accrediting agency or association of the institution 

14 (or program), not later than 30 days after the ac15 creditation decision by such agency or association, 

16 notify the Secretary, in writing, of the effective date 

17 of the institution’s (or program’s) accreditation by 

18 such agency or association.’’. 

19 (g) DUAL ACCREDITATION RULE.—Section 496 (20 

20 U.S.C. 1099b) is further amended by amending subsection 

21 (i) to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(i) DUAL ACCREDITATION RULE.— 

23 ‘‘(1) RECOGNITION BY SECRETARY.—The Sec24 retary shall recognize the accreditation of any other25 wise eligible institution of higher education if the inVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 Jan 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00189 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6951.IH H6951

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1 stitution of higher education is accredited, as an in2 stitution, by more than one accrediting agency or as3 sociation. 

4 ‘‘(2) DESIGNATION BY INSTITUTION.—If the in5 stitution is accredited, as an institution, by more 

6 than one accrediting agency or association, the insti7 tution— 

8 ‘‘(A) shall designate which agency’s or as9 sociation’s accreditation shall be utilized in de10 termining the institution’s eligibility for partici11 pation in programs under this Act; and 

12 ‘‘(B) may change this designation at the 

13 end of the institution’s period of recognition.’’. 

14 (h) RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS RULE.—Section 496 

15 (20 U.S.C. 1099b) is further amended by amending sub16 section (k) to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(k) RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION RULE.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding subsection 

19 (j), the Secretary shall allow an institution that has 

20 had its accreditation withdrawn, revoked, or other21 wise terminated, or has voluntarily withdrawn from 

22 an accreditation agency, to remain certified as an in23 stitution of higher education under section 102 and 

24 subpart 3 of this part for a period sufficient to allow 

25 such institution to obtain alternative accreditation, if 


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1 the Secretary determines that the withdrawal, rev2 ocation, or termination— 

3 ‘‘(A) is related to the religious mission or 

4 affiliation of the institution; and 

5 ‘‘(B) is not related to the accreditation cri6 teria provided for in this section. 

7 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT FOR FAIL8 URE TO RESPECT RELIGIOUS MISSION.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 

10 ‘‘(i) INSTITUTION.—If an institution 

11 of higher education believes that an ad12 verse action of an accrediting agency or as13 sociation fails to respect the institution’s 

14 religious mission in violation of subsection 

15 (a)(4)(B), the institution— 

16 ‘‘(I) may file a complaint with 

17 the Secretary to review the adverse 

18 action of the agency or association; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(II) prior to filing such com21 plaint, shall notify the Secretary and 

22 the agency or association of an intent 

23 to file such complaint not later than 

24 30 days after— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) receiving the adverse 

2 action from the agency or asso3 ciation; or 

4 ‘‘(bb) determining that dis5 cussions with or the processes of 

6 the agency or association to rem7 edy the failure to respect the reli8 gious mission of the institution 

9 will fail to result in the with10 drawal of the adverse action by 

11 the agency or association. 

12 ‘‘(ii) ACCREDITING AGENCY OR ASSO13 CIATION.—Upon notification of an intent 

14 to file a complaint and through the dura15 tion of the complaint process under this 

16 paragraph, the Secretary and the accred17 iting agency or association shall treat the 

18 accreditation status of the institution of 

19 higher education as if the adverse action 

20 for which the institution is filing the com21 plaint had not been taken. 

22 ‘‘(B) COMPLAINT.—Not later than 45 days 

23 after providing notice of the intent to file a 

24 complaint, the institution shall file the com25 plaint with the Secretary (and provide a copy to 


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1 the accrediting agency or association), which 

2 shall include— 

3 ‘‘(i) a description of the adverse ac4 tion; 

5 ‘‘(ii) how the adverse action fails to 

6 respect the institution’s religious mission 

7 in violation of subsection (a)(4)(B); and 

8 ‘‘(iii) any other information the insti9 tution determines relevant to the com10 plaint. 

11 ‘‘(C) RESPONSE.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The accrediting 

13 agency or association shall have 30 days 

14 from the date the complaint is filed with 

15 the Secretary to file with the Secretary 

16 (and provide a copy to the institution) a 

17 response to the complaint, which response 

18 shall include— 

19 ‘‘(I) how the adverse action is 

20 based on a violation of the agency or 

21 association’s standards for accredita22 tion; and 

23 ‘‘(II) how the adverse action does 

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1 sion of the institution and is in com2 pliance with subsection (a)(4)(B). 

3 ‘‘(ii) BURDEN OF PROOF.— 

4 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The accred5 iting agency or association shall bear 

6 the burden of proving that the agency 

7 or association has not taken the ad8 verse action as a result of the institu9 tion’s religious mission, and that the 

10 action does not fail to respect the in11 stitution’s religious mission in viola12 tion of subsection (a)(4)(B), by show13 ing that the adverse action does not 

14 impact the aspect of the religious mis15 sion claimed to be affected in the 

16 complaint. 

17 ‘‘(II) INSUFFICIENT PROOF.— 

18 Any evidence that the adverse action 

19 results from the application of a neu20 tral and generally applicable rule shall 

21 be insufficient to prove that the action 

22 does not fail to respect an institu23 tion’s religious mission. 

24 ‘‘(D) ADDITIONAL INSTITUTION RE25 SPONSE.—The institution shall have 30 days 


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1 from the date on which the agency or associa2 tion’s response is filed with the Secretary to— 

3 ‘‘(i) file with the Secretary (and pro4 vide a copy to the agency or association) a 

5 response to any issues raised in the re6 sponse of the agency or association; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) inform the Secretary and the 

8 agency or association that the institution 

9 elects to waive the right to respond to the 

10 response of the agency or association. 

11 ‘‘(E) SECRETARIAL ACTION.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 

13 days of receipt of the institution’s response 

14 under subparagraph (D) or notification 

15 that the institution elects not to file a re16 sponse under such subparagraph— 

17 ‘‘(I) the Secretary shall review 

18 the materials to determine if the ac19 crediting agency or association has 

20 met its burden of proof under sub21 paragraph (C)(ii)(I); or 

22 ‘‘(II) in a case in which the Sec23 retary fails to conduct such review— 

24 ‘‘(aa) the Secretary shall be 

25 deemed as determining that the 


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1 adverse action fails to respect the 

2 religious mission of the institu3 tion; and 

4 ‘‘(bb) the accrediting agency 

5 or association shall be required to 

6 reverse the action immediately 

7 and take no further action with 

8 respect to such adverse action. 

9 ‘‘(ii) REVIEW OF COMPLAINT.—In re10 viewing the complaint under clause (i)(I)— 

11 ‘‘(I) the Secretary shall consider 

12 the institution to be correct in the as13 sertion that the adverse action fails to 

14 respect the institution’s religious mis15 sion and shall apply the burden of 

16 proof described in subparagraph 

17 (C)(ii)(I) with respect to the accred18 iting agency or association; and 

19 ‘‘(II) if the Secretary determines 

20 that the accrediting agency or associa21 tion fails to meet such burden of 

22 proof— 

23 ‘‘(aa) the Secretary shall no24 tify the institution and the agen25 cy or association that the agency 


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1 or association is not in compli2 ance with subsection (a)(4)(B), 

3 and that such agency or associa4 tion shall carry out the require5 ments of item (bb) to be in com6 pliance with subsection (a)(4)(B); 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(bb) the agency or associa9 tion shall reverse the adverse ac10 tion immediately and take no fur11 ther action with respect to such 

12 adverse action. 

13 ‘‘(iii) FINAL DEPARTMENTAL AC14 TION.—The Secretary’s determination 

15 under this subparagraph shall be the final 

16 action of the Department on the complaint. 

17 ‘‘(F) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 

18 in this paragraph shall prohibit— 

19 ‘‘(i) an accrediting agency or associa20 tion from taking an adverse action against 

21 an institution of higher education for a 

22 failure to comply with the agency or asso23 ciation’s standards of accreditation as long 

24 as such standards are in compliance with 


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1 subsection (a)(4)(B) and any other appli2 cable requirements of this section; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) an institution of higher education 

4 from exercising any other rights to address 

5 concerns with respect to an accrediting 

6 agency or association or the accreditation 

7 process of an accrediting agency or asso8 ciation. 

9 ‘‘(G) GUIDANCE.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

11 may only issue guidance under this para12 graph that explains or clarifies the process 

13 for providing notice of an intent to file a 

14 complaint or for filing a complaint under 

15 this paragraph. 

16 ‘‘(ii) CLARIFICATION.—The Secretary 

17 may not issue guidance, or otherwise deter18 mine or suggest, when discussions to rem19 edy the failure by an accrediting agency or 

20 association to respect the religious mission 

21 of an institution of higher education re22 ferred to in subparagraph (A)(i)(II)(bb) 

23 have failed or will fail. 

24 ‘‘(3) RELIGIOUS MISSION DEFINED.—In this 

25 Act, the term ‘religious mission’— 


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1 ‘‘(A) means a published institutional mis2 sion that is approved by the governing body of 

3 an institution of higher education and that in4 cludes, refers to, or is predicated upon religious 

5 tenets, beliefs, or teachings; and 

6 ‘‘(B) may be reflected in any of the institu7 tion’s policies, decisions, or practices related to 

8 such tenets, beliefs, or teachings (including any 

9 policies or decisions concerning housing, em10 ployment, curriculum, self-governance, or stu11 dent admission, continuing enrollment, or grad12 uation).’’. 

13 (i) INDEPENDENT EVALUATION.—Section 496(n)(3) 

14 (20 U.S.C. 1099b(n)(3)) is amended by striking the last 

15 sentence. 

16 (j) REGULATIONS.—Section 496(o) (20 U.S.C. 

17 1099b(o)) is amended by inserting before the period at 

18 the end the following: ‘‘, or with respect to the policies 

19 and procedures of an accreditation agency or association 

20 described in paragraph (2) or (5) of subsection (c) or how 

21 the agency or association carries out such policies and pro22 cedures’’. 

23 (k) RISK-BASED REVIEW PROCESSES OR PROCE24 DURES; WAIVER.—Section 496 (20 U.S.C. 1099b) is fur25 ther amended— 


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1 (1) by striking subsections (p) and (q); and 

2 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(p) RISK-BASED OR DIFFERENTIATED REVIEW

4 PROCESSES OR PROCEDURES.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

6 provision of law (including subsection (a)(4)(A)), an 

7 accrediting agency or association shall establish risk8 based processes or procedures for assessing compli9 ance with the accrediting agency or association’s 

10 standards (including policies related to substantive 

11 change and award of accreditation statuses) under 

12 which the agency or association— 

13 ‘‘(A) creates a system for designating each 

14 institution of higher education and program of 

15 study that the agency or association evaluates, 

16 such as through using peer benchmarking to 

17 understand an institution’s or program of 

18 study’s performance in comparison with its 

19 peers (which may include past performance 

20 with respect to meeting the accrediting agency 

21 or association’s standards, including the stand22 ards relating to the student achievement out23 comes described in subclauses (I) through (IV) 

24 of subsection (a)(5)(A)); 


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1 ‘‘(B) requires for each institution and pro2 gram of study designated as high-risk, in ac3 cordance with the accrediting agency or associa4 tion’s system in subparagraph (A), to submit 

5 the annual plans described in subsection 

6 (c)(2)(B) to the agency or association that ad7 dress the performance issues of such institution 

8 or program of study that resulted in such des9 ignation; 

10 ‘‘(C) with respect to institutions or pro11 gram of study meeting or exceeding perform12 ance as described in subparagraph (A), reduces 

13 any compliance requirements with the stand14 ards of accreditation of the agency that are not 

15 assessing an institution or program of study 

16 under subsection (a)(5), such as on-site inspec17 tions; and 

18 ‘‘(D) may require an institution or pro19 gram of study that has declining performance 

20 (such as an institution or program of study 

21 with a high-risk designation under subpara22 graph (B)), which has not improved as required 

23 by the annual plan submitted under subsection 

24 (c)(2)(B), to take actions to avoid or minimize 

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1 tation (such as limiting certain program of 

2 study enrollment or recommending to the Sec3 retary to limit funds under this title for such an 

4 institution or program). 

5 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION.—Any risk-based review 

6 process or procedure established pursuant to this 

7 subsection shall not discriminate against, or other8 wise preclude, institutions of higher education based 

9 on institutional sector or category, including an in10 stitution of higher education’s tax status.’’. 

11 (l) TOTAL PRICE DEFINED.—Section 496 (20 U.S.C. 

12 1099b) is further amended by adding at the end the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(q) TOTAL PRICE DEFINED.—For purposes of this 

15 section, the term ‘total price’ has the meaning given such 

16 term in section 454(d)(3).’’. 

17 SEC. 312. NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON INSTITU18 TIONAL QUALITY AND INTEGRITY (NACIQI). 

19 Section 114 (20 U.S.C. 1011c) is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (b)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (2), by redesignating 

22 subparagraphs (A) through (C) as clauses (i) 

23 through (iii), respectively, and adjusting the 

24 margins accordingly; 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘Individuals’’ and inserting 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Individuals’’; 

4 (C) in clause (ii), as so redesignated, by 

5 striking ‘‘and training’’ and inserting ‘‘skills de6 velopment’’; 

7 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(B) DISQUALIFICATION.—No individual 

9 may be appointed as a member of the Com10 mittee if such individual has a significant con11 flict of interest, such as being a current regu12 lator (such as a State authorizer) that would 

13 require the individual to frequently be recused 

14 from serving as a member of the Committee.’’; 

15 and 

16 (E) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘Except 

17 as provided in paragraph (5), the term’’ and in18 serting ‘‘The term’’; 

19 (2) in subsection (c)— 

20 (A) in paragraph (4), by adding ‘‘and’’ at 

21 the end; 

22 (B) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

23 at the end and inserting a period; and 

24 (C) by striking paragraph (6); 


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1 (3) in subsection (d)(2), by inserting at the end 

2 the following: ‘‘The name of any member of the 

3 Committee who has been recused with respect to an 

4 agenda item of the meeting shall be included in such 

5 agenda.’’; 

6 (4) in subsection (e)(2)(D), by striking ‘‘, in7 cluding any additional functions established by the 

8 Secretary through regulation’’; and 

9 (5) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘September 

10 30, 2021’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2028’’. 

11 SEC. 313. ALTERNATIVE QUALITY ASSURANCE EXPERI12 MENTAL SITE INITIATIVE. 

13 Section 487A of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

14 (20 U.S.C. 1094a) is amended— 

15 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub16 section (d); and 

17 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the end the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(c) ALTERNATIVE QUALITY ASSURANCE EXPERI20 MENTAL SITE INITIATIVE.— 

21 ‘‘(1) EXPERIMENTAL SITE AUTHORIZED.—The 

22 Secretary shall select, in accordance with paragraph 

23 (4), eligible entities that voluntarily seek to partici24 pate in an Alternative Quality Assurance experi25 mental site initiative for a duration of 5 years and 


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1 receive the waivers or other flexibility described in 

2 paragraph (5) to evaluate whether the eligible enti3 ties, during such 5-year period, can maintain high 

4 student achievement outcomes while participating in 

5 programs under this title without being accredited 

6 by an accrediting agency or association recognized 

7 under section 496. 

8 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED.—For pur9 poses of this subsection, an eligibility entity means— 

10 ‘‘(A) an institution of higher education (as 

11 defined in section 102); or 

12 ‘‘(B) an educational provider that— 

13 ‘‘(i) is not an institution of higher 

14 education; 

15 ‘‘(ii) does not receive funding under 

16 this Act; 

17 ‘‘(iii) is not accredited by an accred18 iting agency or association for the pur19 poses of this title; and 

20 ‘‘(iv) is authorized to operate in the 

21 State in which the provider is located. 

22 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity 

24 desiring to participate in the experimental site 

25 initiative under this subsection shall submit an 


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1 application to the Secretary, at such time and 

2 in such manner as the Secretary may require, 

3 which shall contain the information described in 

4 subparagraph (B). The Secretary may not re5 quire any information in such an application 

6 that is not described in subparagraph (B). 

7 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—Each application under 

8 paragraph (1) shall include— 

9 ‘‘(i) a description of which program of 

10 study offered at the eligible entity will be 

11 included in the experimental site initiative, 

12 including— 

13 ‘‘(I) in the case of an eligible en14 tity that is an institution of higher 

15 education, an attestation that such 

16 program meets the standards of ac17 creditation of the institution’s accred18 iting agency or association described 

19 in clauses (i) through (iv) of section 

20 496(a)(5)(A) (including the standard 

21 requiring that the median value-added 

22 earnings of students who complete the 

23 program are greater than the median 

24 total price charged to students for the 

25 program); and 


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1 ‘‘(II) in the case of an eligible en2 tity defined in paragraph (2)(B), doc3 umentation and verified administra4 tive data that the program meets 

5 standards similar to the standards of 

6 accreditation referenced in subclause 

7 (I); 

8 ‘‘(ii) a justification of the reason why 

9 the eligible entity seeks to receive the waiv10 er described in paragraph (5)(A), including 

11 estimates or documentation of the poten12 tial savings to the entity of receiving such 

13 waiver; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) a description of how the eligible 

15 entity plans to share the financial risk with 

16 the Secretary of receiving the waivers de17 scribed in paragraph (5), such as by— 

18 ‘‘(I) providing matching non-Fed19 eral funds to the Secretary to cover 

20 the cost of at least half of the ex21 pected disbursements under this title 

22 to the students that enroll in such 

23 program for the first year of the ex24 periment; 


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1 ‘‘(II) providing a letter of credit 

2 to the Secretary to cover the cost de3 scribed in subclause (I); or 

4 ‘‘(III) requesting to be placed on 

5 a reimbursement system of payment. 

6 ‘‘(4) SELECTION.—No later than 6 months 

7 after the experimental site initiative is announced, 

8 the Secretary shall select eligible entities to partici9 pate in the initiative based on the applications sub10 mitted under paragraph (3). In making such selec11 tions, the Secretary— 

12 ‘‘(A) shall consider— 

13 ‘‘(i) the number and quality of appli14 cations; 

15 ‘‘(ii) each applicant’s ability to effec16 tively share the financial risk as required 

17 under paragraph (3)(B)(iii); and 

18 ‘‘(iii) in the case of an applicant that 

19 is an institution of higher education, the 

20 applicant’s history of compliance with the 

21 requirements of this Act; 

22 ‘‘(B) shall ensure that the selected eligible 

23 entities represent a variety of eligible entities 

24 with respect to size, mission, and geographic 

25 distribution; 


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1 ‘‘(C) shall ensure that the number of eligi2 ble entities selected that are institutions of 

3 higher education described in paragraph (2)(B) 

4 is equal to the number of eligible entities se5 lected that are educational providers described 

6 in paragraph (2)(B); and 

7 ‘‘(D) may not select any eligible entity 

8 whose approval to operate in a State is at risk. 

9 ‘‘(5) WAIVERS.—The Secretary is authorized to 

10 waive, for any eligible entity participating in the ex11 perimental site initiative under this subsection— 

12 ‘‘(A) any requirements conditioning an eli13 gible entity’s eligibility to participate in pro14 grams under this title to being accredited by an 

15 accrediting agency or association recognized 

16 under section 496; and 

17 ‘‘(B) any other requirements of this title 

18 determined necessary by the Secretary to carry 

19 out such initiative (including requirements re20 lated to the award process and disbursement of 

21 student financial aid, or other management pro22 cedures or processes), except that the Secretary 

23 shall not waive any provisions with respect to 

24 award rules (other than an award rule related 

25 to an experiment in modular or compressed 


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1 schedules), grant and loan maximum award 

2 amounts, and need analysis requirements, un3 less the waiver of such provisions is authorized 

4 by another provision under this title. 

5 ‘‘(6) REVIEW AND EVALUATION.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

7 review and evaluate the experimental site initia8 tive conducted under this subsection, including 

9 by evaluating, with respect to each participating 

10 program of each participating eligible entity, 

11 whether— 

12 ‘‘(i) the median value-added earnings 

13 of students who complete the program of 

14 study are greater than the median total 

15 price charged to students for such pro16 gram; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) the program of study is meeting 

18 other student achievement outcomes (such 

19 as outcomes based on standards of accredi20 tation described in section 496(a)(5)(A)), 

21 as appropriate for the program. 

22 ‘‘(B) RECOMMENDATIONS.—If, based on 

23 such evaluation, the Secretary determines that 

24 participating eligible entities were able to meet 

25 the requirement of subparagraph (A)(i) and the 


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1 other student achievement outcomes evaluated 

2 by the Secretary under subparagraph (A)(ii), 

3 the Secretary shall submit to the authorizing 

4 committees recommendations regarding amend5 ments to this Act that will streamline and en6 hance the quality assurance process of institu7 tions of higher education, and educational pro8 viders described in paragraph (2)(B).’’. 

9 PART B—STUDENT SUCCESS 

10 SEC. 321. POSTSECONDARY STUDENT SUCCESS GRANTS. 

11 Part B of title VII of the Higher Education Act of 

12 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1138 et seq.) is amended— 

13 (1) in section 741— 

14 (A) by striking subsections (b), (c), (e), 

15 and (f); 

16 (B) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub17 section (c); and 

18 (C) by inserting after subsection (a) the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

22 ‘‘(A) COMPLETION RATE.—The term ‘com23 pletion rate’ means— 

24 ‘‘(i) the percentage of students from 

25 an initial cohort enrolled at an institution 


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1 of higher education that is a 2-year institu2 tion who have graduated from the institu3 tion or transferred to a 4-year institution 

4 of higher education; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) the percentage of students from 

6 an initial cohort enrolled at an institution 

7 of higher education in the State that is a 

8 4-year institution who have graduated 

9 from the institution. 

10 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligi11 ble entity’ means— 

12 ‘‘(i) an institution of higher education; 

13 ‘‘(ii) a partnership between a non14 profit educational organization and an in15 stitution of higher education; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) a consortium of institutions of 

17 higher education. 

18 ‘‘(C) ELIGIBLE INDIAN ENTITY.—The 

19 term ‘eligible Indian entity’ means the entity re20 sponsible for the governance, operation, or con21 trol of a Tribal College or University. 

22 ‘‘(D) EVIDENCE-BASED.—The term ‘evi23 dence-based’ has the meaning given the term in 

24 section 8101(21)(A) of the Elementary and 

25 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 


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1 7801(21)(A)), except that such term shall also 

2 apply to institutions of higher education. 

3 ‘‘(E) EVIDENCE TIERS.— 

4 ‘‘(i) EVIDENCE TIER 1 REFORM OR

5 PRACTICE.—The term ‘evidence tier 1 re6 form or practice’ means a reform or prac7 tice that prior research suggests has prom8 ise for the purpose of successfully improv9 ing student achievement or attainment for 

10 high-need students. 

11 ‘‘(ii) EVIDENCE TIER 2 REFORM OR

12 PRACTICE.—The term ‘evidence tier 2 re13 form or practice’ means a reform or prac14 tice described in clause (i), or other prac15 tice meeting similar criteria, that measures 

16 impact and cost effectiveness of student 

17 success activities, and, through rigorous 

18 evaluation (including through the use of 

19 existing administrative data, as applicable), 

20 has been found to be successfully imple21 mented. 

22 ‘‘(iii) EVIDENCE TIER 3 REFORM OR

23 PRACTICE.—The term ‘evidence tier 3 re24 form or practice’ means a reform or prac25 tice described in clause (ii), or other pracVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 Jan 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00213 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6951.IH H6951

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1 tice meeting similar criteria, that has been 

2 found to produce sizable, important im3 pacts on student success and— 

4 ‘‘(I) determines whether such im5 pacts can be successfully reproduced 

6 and sustained over time; and 

7 ‘‘(II) identifies the conditions in 

8 which such reform or practice is most 

9 effective. 

10 ‘‘(F) FIRST GENERATION COLLEGE STU11 DENT.—The term ‘first generation college stu12 dent’ has the meaning given the term in section 

13 402A(h) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

14 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–11(h)). 

15 ‘‘(G) HIGH-NEED STUDENT.—The term 

16 ‘high-need student’ means— 

17 ‘‘(i) a student from low-income back18 ground; 

19 ‘‘(ii) first generation college students; 

20 ‘‘(iii) caregiver students; 

21 ‘‘(iv) students with disabilities; 

22 ‘‘(v) students who stopped out before 

23 completing; 

24 ‘‘(vi) reentering justice-impacted stu25 dents; and 


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1 ‘‘(vii) military-connected students. 

2 ‘‘(H) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

3 means the Secretary of Education. 

4 ‘‘(I) TRIBAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY.— 

5 The term ‘Tribal College or University’ has the 

6 meaning given the term in section 316(b) of the 

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

8 1059c(b)). 

9 ‘‘(2) RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR ELIGIBLE

10 INDIAN ENTITIES.—From the total amount appro11 priated to carry out this subsection for a fiscal year, 

12 the Secretary shall reserve 2 percent for grants to 

13 eligible Indian entities to increase participation and 

14 completion rates of high-need students. 

15 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION OF POSTSECONDARY STU16 DENT SUCCESS COMPETITIVE GRANTS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) GRANT AUTHORIZATION.—For each 

18 of fiscal years 2025 through 2030, the Sec19 retary shall award, on a competitive basis, 

20 grants to eligible entities to provide student 

21 services to increase participation, retention, and 

22 completion rates of high-need students. 

23 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity de24 siring a grant under this section shall submit 

25 an application to the Secretary at such time, in 


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1 such manner, and containing the information 

2 required under subparagraph (C). 

3 ‘‘(C) CONTENTS.—An application sub4 mitted under this paragraph shall include the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(i) A plan to increase, with respect 

7 to all students enrolled at the institution of 

8 higher education, attainment and comple9 tion rates or graduation rates, including— 

10 ‘‘(I) a description of which evi11 dence tiers would be met by the evi12 dence-based reforms or practices; and 

13 ‘‘(II) a particular focus on serv14 ing high-need students through stu15 dent services and collaboration among 

16 2-year programs, 4-year programs, 

17 and workforce systems. 

18 ‘‘(ii) Annual benchmarks for student 

19 outcomes with respect to evidence-based 

20 reforms or practices. 

21 ‘‘(iii) A plan to evaluate the evidence22 based reforms or practices carried out pur23 suant to a grant received under this sub24 section. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) Rates of enrolled students who 

2 received a Federal Pell Grant under sec3 tion 401. 

4 ‘‘(v) Demographics of enrolled stu5 dents, including high-need students. 

6 ‘‘(vi) A description of how the eligible 

7 entity will, directly or in collaboration with 

8 institutions of higher education or non9 profit organizations, use the grant funds to 

10 implement 1 or more of the following evi11 dence-based reforms or practices: 

12 ‘‘(I) Providing comprehensive 

13 academic, career, and student serv14 ices, which may include mentoring, 

15 advising, or case management serv16 ices. 

17 ‘‘(II) Providing accelerated learn18 ing opportunities, which may include 

19 dual or concurrent enrollment pro20 grams and early college high school 

21 programs. 

22 ‘‘(III) Reforming course sched23 uling or credit-awarding policies. 

24 ‘‘(IV) Improving transfer path25 ways between the institution of higher 


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1 education, or eligible Indian entity, 

2 and other institutions of higher edu3 cation. 

4 ‘‘(vii) A description of how the evi5 dence-based reforms or practices carried 

6 out pursuant to a grant under this sub7 section will be sustained once the grant ex8 pires. 

9 ‘‘(D) EVIDENCE-BASED STUDENT SUCCESS

10 PROGRAMS.—From the total amount appro11 priated to carry out this subsection for a fiscal 

12 year and not reserved under paragraph (4), the 

13 Secretary shall reserve not less than 20 percent 

14 to award grants to eligible entities with applica15 tions that propose to include reforms or prac16 tices— 

17 ‘‘(i) at least 1 of which is a tier 3 re18 form or practice; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) the rest of which are tier 1 or 

20 tier 2 reforms or practices. 

21 ‘‘(E) REQUIRED USE OF FUNDS.—An eligi22 ble entity that receives a grant under this sec23 tion shall use the grant funds to carry out the 

24 plans submitted pursuant to subparagraph (C) 

25 and for evidence-based reforms or practices for 


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1 improving retention and completion rates of 

2 students that may include the following: 

3 ‘‘(i) Student services to support reten4 tion, completion, and success, which may 

5 include— 

6 ‘‘(I) faculty and peer counseling; 

7 ‘‘(II) use of real-time data on 

8 student progress; 

9 ‘‘(III) improving transfer student 

10 success; and 

11 ‘‘(IV) incentives for students to 

12 re-enroll or stay on track. 

13 ‘‘(ii) Direct student support services, 

14 including a combination of— 

15 ‘‘(I) tutoring, academic supports, 

16 and enrichment services; and 

17 ‘‘(II) emergency financial assist18 ance. 

19 ‘‘(iii) Efforts to prepare students for a 

20 career, which may include— 

21 ‘‘(I) career coaching, career coun22 seling and planning services, and ef23 forts to lower student to advisor ra24 tios; 


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1 ‘‘(II) networking and work-based 

2 learning opportunities to support the 

3 development of skills and professional 

4 relationships; 

5 ‘‘(III) utilizing career pathways; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(IV) boosting experiences nec8 essary to obtain and succeed in high9 wage, high-skilled, (as described in 

10 section 122 of the Carl D. Perkins 

11 Career and Technical Education Act 

12 of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2342)) or in-de13 mand sectors or occupations (as de14 fined in section 3(23) of the Work15 force Innovation and Opportunity Act 

16 (29 U.S.C. 3102(23)). 

17 ‘‘(iv) Efforts to recruit and retain fac18 ulty and other instructional staff. 

19 ‘‘(F) PERMISSIVE USE OF FUNDS.—From 

20 the total amount appropriated to carry out this 

21 subsection for a fiscal year, and not reserved 

22 under paragraph (4) or subparagraph (D), the 

23 Secretary may set aside— 


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1 ‘‘(i) not more than 5 percent for ad2 ministration, capacity building, research, 

3 evaluation, and reporting; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) not more than 2 percent for 

5 technical assistance to eligible entities. 

6 ‘‘(G) EVALUATIONS.— 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose 

8 of improving the effectiveness of the evi9 dence-based reforms or practices carried 

10 out by eligible entities pursuant to a grant 

11 under this subsection, the Secretary shall 

12 make grants to or enter into contracts with 

13 one or more organizations to— 

14 ‘‘(I) evaluate the effectiveness of 

15 such reforms or practices; and 

16 ‘‘(II) disseminate information on 

17 the impact of such reforms or prac18 tices in increasing completion and re19 tention activities of students, as well 

20 as other appropriate measures. 

21 ‘‘(ii) ISSUES TO BE EVALUATED.— 

22 The evaluations required under clause (i) 

23 shall measure the effectiveness of the evi24 dence-based reforms or practices carried 


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1 out by eligible entities pursuant to a grant 

2 under this subsection in— 

3 ‘‘(I) whether such eligible entity 

4 implemented the plans, and carried 

5 out the activities, described in sub6 paragraph (C); and 

7 ‘‘(II) comparing the completion 

8 and retention rates of students who 

9 participated in such reforms or prac10 tices with the rates of students of 

11 similar backgrounds who did not par12 ticipate in such reforms or practices. 

13 ‘‘(iii) RESULTS.—Not later than 18 

14 months after the date of the enactment of 

15 this subsection, the Secretary shall submit 

16 to the authorizing committees a final re17 port. 

18 ‘‘(H) GRANT LIMIT.—An institution with 

19 branch campuses that is an eligible entity may 

20 only receive a grant under this subsection for 1 

21 campus of such institution at a time. 

22 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

23 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

24 this subsection, $45,000,000, for each of fiscal years 

25 2026 through 2031.’’; and 


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1 (2) by striking sections 742 through 745. 

2 SEC. 322. REVERSE TRANSFER EFFICIENCY ACT. 

3 Section 444(b)(1) of the General Education Provi4 sions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g(b)(1)) is amended— 

5 (1) in subparagraph (K)(ii), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

6 and inserting a semicolon; 

7 (2) in subparagraph (L), by striking the period 

8 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

9 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (L) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(M) an institution of postsecondary edu12 cation in which a student was previously en13 rolled, to which records of postsecondary 

14 coursework and credits are sent for the purpose 

15 of applying such coursework and credits toward 

16 completion of a recognized postsecondary cre17 dential (as that term is defined in section 3 of 

18 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

19 (29 U.S.C. 3102)), upon condition that the stu20 dent provides written consent prior to receiving 

21 such credential.’’. 

22 SEC. 323. TRANSPARENT AND FAIR TRANSFER OF CREDIT 

23 POLICIES. 

24 Section 485(h) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

25 (20 U.S.C. 1092(h)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ‘‘, includ2 ing with respect to the acceptance or denial of such 

3 credit’’ after ‘‘higher education’’; 

4 (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para5 graph (3); and 

6 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(2) DENIAL OF CREDIT TRANSFER.—An insti9 tution may not establish a transfer of credit policy 

10 which denies credit earned at another institution 

11 based solely on the source of accreditation of such 

12 other institution, provided that such other institu13 tion is accredited by an agency or association that 

14 is recognized by the Secretary pursuant to section 

15 496.’’. 

Æ 


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