IB 

Union Calendar No. 624 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6951 

[Report No. 118–739] 

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 

NOVEMBER 18, 2024 

Additional sponsors: Mrs. HOUCHIN, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. MORAN, Mr. JAMES, 

Mrs. CHAVEZ-DEREMER, Mr. BENTZ, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. WILSON of 

South Carolina, Mr. ESTES, Mr. MANN, Mr. RESCHENTHALER, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. BANKS, Mr. CARTER of Texas, Mr. BEAN of Florida, Mrs. 

MILLER of Illinois, Mr. COMER, Mr. KILEY, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. 

FINSTAD, Mr. AMODEI, Mr. ROGERS of Alabama, Mr. ROUZER, Mr. 

EDWARDS, Ms. TENNEY, Mr. WEBSTER of Florida, Mr. VAN ORDEN, Mr. 

BURGESS, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. CURTIS, Mr. YAKYM, Mr. LATURNER, Mr. 

SMITH of Nebraska, Mr. VAN DREW, Mr. PENCE, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. 

MOOLENAAR, Mr. FLEISCHMANN, Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. 

DUARTE, Mr. TIMMONS, Mr. LOUDERMILK, Mrs. HARSHBARGER, Mr. 

POSEY, Mr. HUDSON, Ms. MALLIOTAKIS, Mr. SCOTT FRANKLIN of Florida, Mr. MEUSER, Mrs. HINSON, Mr. LANGWORTHY, Mr. CLINE, Mr. 

LAMBORN, Mrs. MILLER of West Virginia, Mrs. LUNA, Mr. RUTHERFORD, Mr. FRY, Mr. FERGUSON, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. JOHNSON of South 

Dakota, Mr. MILLS, Mr. TONY GONZALES of Texas, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. 

SCALISE, Mr. MOONEY, Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky, Mr. ARRINGTON, Mr. 

HERN, Mr. DUNN of Florida, Mr. ALFORD, Mr. JACKSON of Texas, Mrs. 

BICE, Mr. TIFFANY, Mr. EMMER, Mr. CISCOMANI, Mr. SMITH of Missouri, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. MCHENRY, Mr. GUTHRIE, Mr. D’ESPOSITO, 

Ms. MALOY, Mrs. CAMMACK, Mr. PFLUGER, Ms. VAN DUYNE, Mr. 

ZINKE, Mr. KUSTOFF, Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania, Mr. FULCHER, Mr. 

LUETKEMEYER, Mr. ISSA, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. WALTZ, Mrs. RODGERS of 


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Washington, Mr. DESJARLAIS, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mr. ROSE, Mr. JORDAN, Mr. CLYDE, Mr. NORMAN, Mr. WESTERMAN, Ms. GRANGER, Mr. 

NEHLS, Mr. DONALDS, Mr. BRECHEEN, Mr. GREEN of Tennessee, Mr. 

GOOD of Virginia, Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina, Mr. HARRIS, Mr. 

ELLZEY, Mr. BERGMAN, Mr. GRAVES of Missouri, Mr. MCCORMICK, Mr. 

VALADAO, Mr. STAUBER, Mr. FALLON, Mr. FONG, Mr. WILLIAMS of 

Texas, Mr. LALOTA, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. MOORE of Alabama, 

Mr. GOODEN of Texas, Mrs. KIGGANS of Virginia, Ms. HAGEMAN, Mr. 

KELLY of Mississippi, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. SELF, Mr. HILL, Mr. STEUBE, 

Mr. BURCHETT, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, Mr. OBERNOLTE, Mrs. LESKO, Mr. 

BUCHANAN, Mr. FITZGERALD, Mr. BURLISON, Mr. CLOUD, Mr. OGLES, 

Mr. GAETZ, Mr. WENSTRUP, Mr. LOPEZ, Mr. MAST, Mr. GRIFFITH, Mr. 

HUNT, Mr. JOYCE of Ohio, Mr. RULLI, Mr. CRENSHAW, and Ms. 

BOEBERT

NOVEMBER 18, 2024 

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

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

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

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 11, 2024] 

A BILL 

To lower the cost of postsecondary education for students 

and families. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Col5 lege 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 

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. 


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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. 

1 SEC. 2. REFERENCES. 

2 (a) HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 1965.—Except as 

3 otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an 

4 amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amend5 ment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the ref6 erence shall be considered to be made to a section or other 

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

8 1001 et seq.). 

9 (b) FAFSA SIMPLIFICATION ACT.—Except as other10 wise expressly provided, whenever in this Act a reference 

11 to a section or other provision of the Higher Education Act 

12 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) refers to such section or 

13 other provision as amended or added by the FAFSA Sim14 plification Act, the reference shall be considered to be made 

15 to the section or other provision as amended or added by— 

16 (1) title VII of division FF of the Consolidated 

17 Appropriations Act, 2021 (title VII of division FF of 

18 Public Law 116–260), subject to the effective date of 


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1 section 701(b) of such Act, as amended by section 

2 102(a) of the FAFSA Simplification Act Technical 

3 Corrections Act (division R of Public Law 117–103) 

4 (including the authorization provided under section 

5 102(c)(1)(A) of such Act); and 

6 (2) the FAFSA Simplification Act Technical 

7 Corrections Act (division R of Public Law 117–103). 

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 adding 

13 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 


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1 study of the institution. Each degree or other cre2 dential awarded by an institution shall be cat3 egorized by the institution as either under4 graduate credential level or graduate credential 

5 level. 

6 ‘‘(B) UNDERGRADUATE CREDENTIAL.— 

7 When used with respect to a credential or creden8 tial level, the term ‘undergraduate credential’ in9 cludes credentials such as an undergraduate cer10 tificate, an associate degree, a bachelor’s degree, 

11 and a post-baccalaureate certificate. 

12 ‘‘(C) GRADUATE CREDENTIAL.—When used 

13 with respect to a credential or credential level, 

14 the term ‘graduate credential’ includes creden15 tials such as a master’s degree, a doctoral degree, 

16 a professional degree, and a postgraduate certifi17 cate. 

18 ‘‘(27) PROGRAM OF STUDY.—The term ‘program 

19 of study’ means an academic program of study offered 

20 to students by an institution of higher education 

21 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 weeks, 

11 months, or years that is specified in the catalog, mar12 keting materials, or other official publications of an 

13 institution of higher education for a full-time student 

14 to complete the requirements for a specific program of 

15 study and to obtain the degree or credential awarded 

16 by such program. 

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

18 credential’ means, with respect to a student, the ac19 tual amount of time in weeks, months, or years it 

20 takes the student to complete the requirements for a 

21 specific program of study and to obtain the degree or 

22 credential awarded by such program. 

23 ‘‘(30) VALUE-ADDED EARNINGS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) CALCULATION.—With respect to a stu25 dent who received Federal financial aid under 


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1 title IV and who completed a program of study 

2 offered by an institution of higher education, the 

3 term ‘value-added earnings’ means— 

4 ‘‘(i) the annual earnings of such stu5 dent measured during the applicable earn6 ings measurement period for such program 

7 (as determined under subparagraph (C)); 

8 minus 

9 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a student who com10 pleted a program of study that awards— 

11 ‘‘(I) an undergraduate credential 

12 (other than such a credential awarded 

13 by a qualifying undergraduate pro14 gram as defined in section 

15 455(a)(4)(B)(ii)), 150 percent of the 

16 poverty line applicable to a single in17 dividual as determined under section 

18 673(2) of the Community Services 

19 Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)) 

20 for such year; or 

21 ‘‘(II) a graduate credential or an 

22 undergraduate credential awarded by a 

23 qualifying undergraduate program as 

24 defined in section 455(a)(4)(B)(ii), 300 

25 percent of the poverty line applicable 


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1 to a single individual as determined 

2 under section 673(2) of the Community 

3 Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 

4 9902(2)) for such year. 

5 ‘‘(B) GEOGRAPHIC ADJUSTMENT.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

7 in clause (ii), the Secretary shall use the ge8 ographic location of the institution at which 

9 a student completed a program of study to 

10 adjust the value-added earnings of the stu11 dent calculated under subparagraph (A) by 

12 dividing— 

13 ‘‘(I) the difference between sub14 clauses (I) and (II) of such subpara15 graph; by 

16 ‘‘(II) the most recent regional 

17 price parity index of the Bureau of Ec18 onomics Analysis for the State or, as 

19 applicable, metropolitan area in which 

20 such institution is located. 

21 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—The value-added 

22 earnings of a student calculated under sub23 paragraph (A) shall not be adjusted based 

24 on geographic location in accordance with 


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1 clause (i) if such student attended prin2 cipally through distance education. 

3 ‘‘(C) EARNINGS MEASUREMENT PERIOD.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of 

5 calculating the value-added earnings of a 

6 student, except as provided in clause (ii), 

7 the annual earnings of a student shall be 

8 measured— 

9 ‘‘(I) in the case of a program of 

10 study that awards an undergraduate 

11 certificate, post baccalaureate certifi12 cate, or graduate certificate, one year 

13 after the student completes such pro14 gram; 

15 ‘‘(II) in the case of a program of 

16 study that awards an associate’s degree 

17 or master’s degree, 2 years after the 

18 student completes such program; and 

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

20 study that awards a bachelor’s degree, 

21 doctoral degree, or professional degree, 

22 4 years after the student completes 

23 such program. 

24 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary may, 

25 as the Secretary determines appropriate 


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1 based on the characteristics of a program of 

2 study, extend an earnings measurement pe3 riod described in clause (i) for a program 

4 of study that— 

5 ‘‘(I) requires completion of an ad6 ditional educational program after 

7 completion of the program of study in 

8 order to obtain a licensure associated 

9 with the credential awarded for such 

10 program of study; and 

11 ‘‘(II) when combined with the 

12 program length of such additional edu13 cational program for licensure, has a 

14 total program length that exceeds the 

15 relevant earnings measurement period 

16 prescribed for such program of study 

17 under clause (i), 

18 except that in no case shall the annual 

19 earnings of a student be measured more 

20 than 5 years after the student completes a 

21 program of study.’’. 


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1 PART B—COLLEGE COSTS AND FINANCIAL VALUE 

2 SEC. 111. FINANCIAL AID OFFERS. 

3 (a) INSTITUTION FINANCIAL AID OFFER.—Part B of 

4 title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1011 

5 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 124. INSTITUTION FINANCIAL AID OFFER FORM. 

7 ‘‘(a) STANDARD FORM AND TERMINOLOGY.—The Sec8 retary, in consultation with the heads of relevant Federal 

9 agencies, shall develop standard terminology and a stand10 ard form for financial aid offers based on recommendations 

11 from representatives of students, veterans, servicemembers, 

12 families of students, institutions of higher education (in13 cluding community colleges, for-profit institutions, four14 year public institutions, and four-year private nonprofit 

15 institutions), financial aid experts, secondary school and 

16 postsecondary counselors, college access professionals, non17 profit organizations, and consumer groups. 

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

19 The standard form developed pursuant to subsection (a) 

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

21 following items in a consumer-friendly manner that is sim22 ple and understandable, with costs listed first, followed by 

23 grants and scholarships, clearly separated from each other 

24 with separate headings: 

25 ‘‘(1) COST INFORMATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Information on the stu2 dent’s estimated cost of attendance, including the 

3 following: 

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

5 all items described in section 472 that are 

6 billed to the student by the institution or 

7 otherwise required by the institution for en8 rollment, including such total cost 

9 disaggregated by the cost of each such item, 

10 including, as determined under such sec11 tion— 

12 ‘‘(I) tuition and fees (and other 

13 required expenses); and 

14 ‘‘(II) housing and food for a stu15 dent electing institutionally owned or 

16 operated food services or institutionally 

17 owned or operated housing. 

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

19 (including such total cost disaggregated by 

20 the cost of each item) as determined under 

21 section 472, of— 

22 ‘‘(I) housing and food for a stu23 dent not electing institutionally owned 

24 or operated food services and not living 


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1 in institutionally owned or operated 

2 housing; 

3 ‘‘(II) books, school supplies, equip4 ment, course materials, and rental or 

5 purchase of a personal computer; 

6 ‘‘(III) transportation; and 

7 ‘‘(IV) any other item described in 

8 such section and not described in 

9 clause (i) determined to be necessary 

10 by the institution. 

11 ‘‘(B) The academic period covered by the fi12 nancial aid offer, and an explanation that the 

13 amount of financial aid offered may differ— 

14 ‘‘(i) for academic periods not covered 

15 by the aid offer, such as a summer term or 

16 future academic year; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) by program. 

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

19 estimates are based on full-time or part-time en20 rollment. 

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

22 whether any costs described in subparagraph 

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

24 ‘‘(i) estimated based on the previous 

25 year; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) set for the academic period indi2 cated in accordance with subparagraph (B). 

3 ‘‘(2) GRANTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS.—The aggre4 gate amount of grants and scholarships, differentiated 

5 by source, that the student does not have to repay, 

6 such as grant aid offered under title IV, grant aid of7 fered through other Federal programs, grant aid of8 fered by the institution, grant aid offered by the 

9 State, and, if known, grant aid or scholarship from 

10 an outside source to the student for such academic pe11 riod, including a disclosure that the grants and schol12 arships do not have to be repaid, except that institu13 tions shall be authorized to list individual grants and 

14 scholarships by name at the discretion of the institu15 tion. 

16 ‘‘(3) NET PRICE.— 

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

18 student, is estimated to have to pay for the stu19 dent to attend the institution for such academic 

20 period, including the following: 

21 ‘‘(i) MINIMUM AMOUNT COVERED BY

22 STUDENT FOR ENROLLMENT.—The net price 

23 of tuition and fees (and other required ex24 penses), which is equal to— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the sum of the costs described 

2 in paragraph (1)(A) that are required 

3 for students (as determined under 

4 paragraph (5)(B)) for the period indi5 cated in paragraph (1)(B); minus 

6 ‘‘(II) the total amount of grant 

7 and scholarship aid described in para8 graph (2) that is included in the fi9 nancial aid offer and available to the 

10 student for the costs described in sub11 clause (I). 

12 ‘‘(ii) ESTIMATED ANNUAL NET PRICE

13 OF ATTENDANCE.—The estimated net price 

14 of attendance, which is equal to— 

15 ‘‘(I) the cost of attendance for the 

16 student for the period indicated in 

17 paragraph (1)(B); minus 

18 ‘‘(II) the total amount of grant 

19 and scholarship aid described in para20 graph (2). 

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

22 estimated annual net price of attendance as cal23 culated under subparagraph (A)(ii) is based on 

24 an estimate of the total cost of attendance for the 

25 year and not necessarily equivalent to the 


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1 amount the student will owe directly to the insti2 tution. 

3 ‘‘(4) LOANS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) Information on any education loan of5 fered through any Federal or State program (in6 cluding any loan under part D or part E of title 

7 IV other than a Federal Direct PLUS Loan) 

8 that the institution offers for the student for the 

9 academic period covered by the offer, which shall 

10 be made— 

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

12 describe the recommended loan amounts; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(ii) with clear labeling of subsidized 

15 and unsubsidized loans. 

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

17 loans have to be repaid with interest. 

18 ‘‘(C) Information on any other loan that the 

19 student or parent has applied for and been ap20 proved for, regardless of the source. 

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

22 work-study employment opportunities (including 

23 work-study programs under part C of title IV, insti24 tutional work-study programs, or State work-study 

25 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 received 

4 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 offered; 

15 ‘‘(ii) adjusting the amount of aid of16 fered; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) declining the aid offered. 

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

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

20 including a clear indication of whether each such 

21 cost is required or optional for the student. 

22 ‘‘(C) A disclosure that verification of infor23 mation provided on the Free Application for 

24 Federal Student Aid may require the student to 

25 submit further documentation. 


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

2 the student’s family can seek additional informa3 tion regarding the financial aid offered, includ4 ing contact information for the institution’s fi5 nancial aid office and the Department of Edu6 cation’s website on financial aid. 

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

8 a student’s family can seek additional informa9 tion on college costs and student outcomes, in10 cluding a link to the Department of Education’s 

11 College Scorecard website (or successor website). 

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

13 universal net price calculator website described in sec14 tion 132(c)(4). 

15 ‘‘(8) QUICK REFERENCE BOX.—A standardized 

16 quick reference box to enable students to compare in17 formation on the costs and financial aid described in 

18 paragraphs (1) and (2). The quick reference box shall 

19 include the following two data elements: 

20 ‘‘(A) The minimum amount covered by the 

21 student for enrollment described in paragraph 

22 (3)(A)(i). 

23 ‘‘(B) The estimated annual net price of at24 tendance described in paragraph (3)(A)(ii). 


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1 ‘‘(9) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—Any other in2 formation the Secretary, in consultation with the 

3 heads of relevant Federal agencies, including the Sec4 retary of the Treasury and the Director of the Bureau 

5 of Consumer Financial Protection, determines nec6 essary, based on the results and input of the consumer 

7 testing under subsection (h)(2), and limited only to 

8 effectively communicating college costs and financial 

9 aid eligibility to students and parents. 

10 ‘‘(c) OTHER REQUIRED CONTENTS FOR AID OFFER.— 

11 The standard form developed under subsection (a) shall in12 clude, in addition to the information described in subsection 

13 (b), the following information in a concise format deter14 mined by the Secretary, in consultation with the heads of 

15 relevant Federal agencies and the individuals and entities 

16 described in subsection (a): 

17 ‘‘(1) Additional options and potential resources 

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

19 such as tuition payment plans. 

20 ‘‘(2) The following information relating to pri21 vate student loans and Federal Direct PLUS Loans: 

22 ‘‘(A) A disclosure that Federal Direct PLUS 

23 Loans, private education loans, or income share 

24 agreements may be available to cover remaining 

25 need, except that the institution may not include 


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1 Federal Direct PLUS Loans or private edu2 cation loans other than under the conditions de3 scribed in subsection (b)(4)(C) and must include 

4 a disclosure that such loans— 

5 ‘‘(i) are subject to an additional appli6 cation process; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) must be repaid by the borrower or 

8 their co-signer, and may not be eligible for 

9 the benefits available for Federal Direct 

10 Loans or Federal Direct Unsubsidized 

11 Loans. 

12 ‘‘(B) A statement that students considering 

13 borrowing to cover the cost of attendance should 

14 consider available Federal student loans prior to 

15 applying for private education loans, including 

16 an explanation that Federal student loans offer 

17 generally more favorable terms and beneficial re18 payment options than private loans. 

19 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS FOR

20 FINANCIAL AID OFFER.—The financial aid offer shall meet 

21 the following requirements: 

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

23 under paragraphs (2) and (4) of subsection (b), by in24 cluding a subtotal for the aid offered in each of such 


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1 paragraphs and by refraining from commingling the 

2 different types of aid described in such paragraphs. 

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

4 as described in subsection (f)(1), and use plain lan5 guage where possible. 

6 ‘‘(3) Use the standard aid offer described in sub7 section (f)(2). 

8 ‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ELECTRONIC

9 FINANCIAL AID OFFERS.—In the case of an electronic fi10 nancial aid offer that includes a requirement that a student 

11 confirm receipt of such offer, such confirmation may not 

12 be considered an acceptance or rejection of such offer. 

13 ‘‘(f) SUPPLEMENTAL CONTENT AND DISCLOSURES TO

14 BE PROVIDED.—In addition to the standard form described 

15 under subsection (a), institutions shall provide, in supple16 mental documents or through easily accessible weblinks to 

17 the institution’s portal or a website, the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) The renewability requirements and condi19 tions under which the student can expect to receive 

20 similar amounts of such financial aid for each aca21 demic period the student is enrolled at the institution. 

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

23 from outside sources is applied after the student re24 ceives the initial aid offer, and, if applicable, how 

25 that aid will change. 


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

2 or other education loans offered through Federal pro3 grams are included— 

4 ‘‘(A) a disclosure that the interest rates and 

5 fees on such loans are set annually and affect 

6 total cost over time, and a link to any website 

7 that includes current information on interest 

8 rates and fees; and 

9 ‘‘(B) if an institution’s recommended Fed10 eral student loan aid offered in subsection (b)(4) 

11 is less than the Federal maximum available to 

12 the student, the institution shall provide addi13 tional information on Federal student loans in14 cluding the types and amounts for which the stu15 dent is eligible and the process for requesting 

16 higher loan amounts if offered loan amounts 

17 were included. 

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

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

20 of the aid offer, a list of such other items and the al21 lowance amount for each such item. 

22 ‘‘(g) STANDARD INFORMATION ESTABLISHED BY SEC23 RETARY.— 

24 ‘‘(1) STANDARD TERMINOLOGY.—Not later than 

25 3 months after the date of enactment of the College 


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1 Cost Reduction Act, the Secretary, in consultation 

2 with the heads of relevant Federal agencies, and the 

3 individuals and entities described in subsection (a) 

4 shall establish standard terminology and definitions 

5 for the terms described in subsection (b). 

6 ‘‘(2) STANDARD FORM.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Edu8 cation shall develop multiple draft financial aid 

9 offers for consumer testing, carry out consumer 

10 testing for such forms, and establish a finalized 

11 standard financial aid offer in accordance 

12 with— 

13 ‘‘(i) the process established under sub14 section (h); and 

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

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

17 The Secretary shall develop separate financial 

18 aid offers for— 

19 ‘‘(i) undergraduate students; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) graduate students. 

21 ‘‘(h) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION; REMOVAL OF INFOR22 MATION.—Nothing in this section shall preclude an institu23 tion from— 

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

25 additional information, provided that such informaVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:11 Nov 18, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6951.RH H6951

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1 tion utilizes the same standard terminology identified 

2 in subsection (f)(1) and does not misrepresent costs, 

3 financial aid offered, or net price; or 

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

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

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

7 the aid program or type; 

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

9 program or type; or 

10 ‘‘(D) a cost of attendance item is not appli11 cable to the student. 

12 ‘‘(i) DEVELOPMENT OF FINANCIAL AID OFFER.— 

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

14 after the date of enactment of the College Cost Reduc15 tion Act, the Secretary of Education, in consultation 

16 with the heads of relevant Federal agencies and the 

17 individuals and entities described in subsection (a) 

18 shall design and produce multiple draft financial aid 

19 offers for consumer testing with postsecondary stu20 dents or prospective students. In developing that form, 

21 the Secretary shall ensure that— 

22 ‘‘(A) the headings described in paragraphs 

23 (1) through (4) of subsection (b) are in the same 

24 font, appears in the same order, and are dis25 played prominently on the financial aid offer, 


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1 such that none of that information is inappro2 priately omitted or deemphasized; 

3 ‘‘(B) the other information required under 

4 subsection (b) appears in a standard format and 

5 design on the financial aid offer; and 

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

7 brand alongside the title of the financial aid 

8 offer. 

9 ‘‘(2) CONSUMER TESTING.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 9 

11 months after the date of enactment of the College 

12 Cost Reduction Act, the Secretary, in consulta13 tion with the heads of relevant Federal agencies, 

14 shall establish a process to submit the financial 

15 aid offer drafts developed under paragraph (1) 

16 for consumer testing among representatives of 

17 students (including low-income students, first 

18 generation college students, adult students, vet19 erans, servicemembers, and prospective students), 

20 students’ families (including low-income fami21 lies, families with first generation college stu22 dents, and families with prospective students), 

23 institutions of higher education, secondary school 

24 and postsecondary counselors, and nonprofit con25 sumer groups. 


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1 ‘‘(B) LENGTH OF CONSUMER TESTING.—The 

2 Secretary shall ensure that the consumer testing 

3 under this paragraph lasts not longer than 8 

4 months after the process for consumer testing is 

5 developed under subparagraph (A). 

6 ‘‘(C) NONAPPLICATION OF PAPERWORK RE7 DUCTION ACT.—Subchapter I of chapter 35 of 

8 title 44, United States Code, shall not apply to 

9 the consumer testing process under this para10 graph. 

11 ‘‘(3) FINAL FORM.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The results of consumer 

13 testing under paragraph (2) shall be used in the 

14 development of the finalized standard financial 

15 aid offer required under subsection (f)(2). 

16 ‘‘(B) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Not later 

17 than 3 months after the date on which the con18 sumer testing under paragraph (2) concludes, the 

19 Secretary shall submit to Congress, and publish 

20 on its website— 

21 ‘‘(i) the final standard financial aid 

22 offer; and 

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

24 such testing, including whether the Sec25 retary added, modified, or moved any addiVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:11 Nov 18, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6951.RH H6951

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1 tional items to the standard financial aid 

2 offer pursuant to subsection (b)(6). 

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

4 may modify or remove the definitions, terms, for5 matting, and design of the financial aid offer based 

6 on the results of consumer testing required under this 

7 subsection and before finalizing the form, or in subse8 quent consumer testing. The Secretary may also rec9 ommend additional changes to Congress. 

10 ‘‘(j) COST OF ATTENDANCE DEFINED.—In this section, 

11 the term ‘cost of attendance’ has the meaning given such 

12 term in section 472. 

13 ‘‘(k) USE OF MANDATORY FINANCIAL AID OFFER AND

14 TERMS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

16 provision of law, each institution of higher education 

17 that receives Federal financial assistance under this 

18 Act shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) use the financial aid offer developed 

20 under this section in providing paper, mobile-op21 timized offers, or other electronic offers to all stu22 dents who apply for aid and are accepted at the 

23 institution; and 

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1 section (f)(1) for all communications from the 

2 institution related to financial aid offers. 

3 ‘‘(2) 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 Fed6 eral Student Aid for the applicable award year asso7 ciated with that application, if such date occurs not 

8 less than 1 year after the Secretary of Education fi9 nalizes the standard terminology and form developed 

10 in accordance with this section. 

11 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES.—Notwith12 standing any other provision of law, the Secretary 

13 shall not have the authority to prescribe regulations 

14 to carry out this section, including with respect to the 

15 definition of ‘income share agreement’ or ‘private 

16 education loan’ (as such term is defined in section 

17 140(a) of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 

18 1650(a))).’’. 

19 (b) RELATIONSHIP TO EXISTING LAW.—Section 484 of 

20 the Higher Education Opportunity Act (20 U.S.C. 1092 

21 note) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(c) SUNSET.—The authority of the Secretary to carry 

23 out this section shall terminate on the date on which the 

24 standard form for financial aid offers under section 124 


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1 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et 

2 seq.) is released.’’. 

3 SEC. 112. COLLEGE SCORECARD WEBSITE. 

4 (a) COLLEGE SCORECARD WEBSITE.— 

5 (1) DEFINITIONS; CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

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

7 U.S.C. 1015a(a)) is amended— 

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

9 follows: 

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

11 ‘‘(1) COLLEGE SCORECARD WEBSITE.—The term 

12 ‘College Scorecard website’ means the College Score13 card website required under subsection (c) and in14 cludes any successor website. 

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

16 attendance’ has the meaning given such term in sec17 tion 472. 

18 ‘‘(3) TOTAL NET PRICE REQUIRED FOR COMPLE19 TION.—The term ‘total net price required for comple20 tion’ means, with respect to the period of completion 

21 of a program of study— 

22 ‘‘(A) the sum of the required costs described 

23 in section 124(b)(3)(A)(i)(I) charged to a student 

24 for such period of completion; minus 


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1 ‘‘(B) the total amount of grant and scholar2 ship aid described in paragraph (2) of section 

3 124(b) that is available to the student for the 

4 costs described in subparagraph (A) for comple5 tion of a program of study.’’; 

6 (B) by striking subsections (b) through (g); 

7 and 

8 (C) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub9 section (b). 

10 (2) SCORECARD AUTHORIZED.—Section 132 of 

11 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1015a) 

12 is further amended— 

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

14 (B) by inserting after subsection (b) (as so 

15 redesignated) the following: 

16 ‘‘(c) CONSUMER INFORMATION.— 

17 ‘‘(1) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION FOR TITLE

18 IV INSTITUTIONS AND PROGRAMS.—Not later than 18 

19 months after the date of the enactment of the College 

20 Cost Reduction Act, the Secretary shall make publicly 

21 available on the College Scorecard website the fol22 lowing aggregated information with respect to each 

23 institution of higher education and each program of 

24 study at such institution, as applicable, that partici25 pates in a program under title IV: 


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

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

3 such institution. 

4 ‘‘(C) A link to the website of the institution 

5 containing campus safety data with respect to 

6 such institution. 

7 ‘‘(D) The geographic location of the institu8 tion. 

9 ‘‘(E) Information on the type of institution, 

10 including sector, size, predominant and highest 

11 credential awarded, research intensity, programs 

12 of study offered, and other characteristics of the 

13 institution. 

14 ‘‘(F) Information on student enrollment, in15 cluding the number and percentage of students 

16 enrolled full-time, less than full-time, and en17 rolled in distance education. 

18 ‘‘(G) Information on student progression 

19 and completion, including time to credential and 

20 rates of withdrawal, retention, transfer, or com21 pletion. 

22 ‘‘(H) Information on college costs and fi23 nancial aid, including average, median, min24 imum, and maximum values of— 


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

2 such cost disaggregated by the costs de3 scribed in paragraphs (1) through (14) of 

4 section 472(a); 

5 ‘‘(ii) the grants and scholarships re6 ceived by students at the institution and the 

7 number and percentage of such students re8 ceiving such grants and scholarships, 

9 disaggregated by source and whether such 

10 aid is need-based, merit-based, an athletic 

11 scholarship, or other type of grant or schol12 arship; and 

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

14 completion for students who received Fed15 eral financial assistance described in para16 graph (2)(I). 

17 ‘‘(I) Information on student debt and re18 payment, including— 

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

20 and maximum amounts borrowed by stu21 dents under title IV; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) information with respect to re23 payment of loans made under title IV, in24 cluding borrower-based repayment rates, 


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1 dollar-based repayment rates, and time 

2 spent in repayment. 

3 ‘‘(J) Information on the earnings of stu4 dents who received Federal financial assistance 

5 described in paragraph (2)(I), including the av6 erage, median, minimum, and maximum values 

7 of— 

8 ‘‘(i) with respect to students who com9 plete a program of study in an award 

10 year— 

11 ‘‘(I) the annual earnings of such 

12 students; and 

13 ‘‘(II) the value-added earnings of 

14 such students; and 

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

16 not complete a program of study in an 

17 award year, the annual earnings of such 

18 students. 

19 ‘‘(2) DISAGGREGATED INFORMATION.—The Sec20 retary shall ensure the information described in para21 graph (1) is disaggregated, as applicable, by the fol22 lowing student characteristics: 

23 ‘‘(A) Financial circumstances including— 

24 ‘‘(i) household income categories, as de25 termined by students’ adjusted gross income, 


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1 family size, and poverty line (as defined in 

2 section 401(a)); and 

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

4 determined by the Secretary. 

5 ‘‘(B) Sex. 

6 ‘‘(C) Race and ethnicity. 

7 ‘‘(E) Classification as a student with a dis8 ability. 

9 ‘‘(F) Enrollment status, including part-time 

10 or full-time enrollment, and status as a distance 

11 education student. 

12 ‘‘(G) Status as an in-district, in-State, or 

13 out-of-State student. 

14 ‘‘(H) Status as an international student. 

15 ‘‘(I) Status as a recipient of Federal finan16 cial assistance, including— 

17 ‘‘(i) a Pell Grant; 

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

19 ‘‘(iii) assistance described in section 

20 131(f)(4) administered, sponsored, or sup21 ported by the Department of Defense or the 

22 Department of Veterans Affairs. 

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

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1 force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

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

3 ‘‘(3) INSTITUTIONAL AND PROGRAM COMPARI4 SON.—The Secretary shall include on the College 

5 Scorecard website a method for users to easily com6 pare institutions and programs, including in a man7 ner that allows for such comparison based on— 

8 ‘‘(A) the institutional and program infor9 mation described in paragraph (1); and 

10 ‘‘(B) the student characteristics described in 

11 paragraph (2). 

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

13 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 18 

14 months after the date of the enactment of this 

15 paragraph, the Secretary shall establish, on a 

16 dedicated website of the Department, a Universal 

17 Net Price Calculator that provides to an indi18 vidual, with respect to each institution of higher 

19 education and program of study offered by such 

20 institution— 

21 ‘‘(i) the information described in sec22 tion 124, including the amounts described 

23 in clauses (i) and (ii) of subsection (b)(3) of 

24 such section; and 


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

2 completion as defined under section 132(a). 

3 ‘‘(B) UNIVERSAL NET PRICE CALCULATOR

4 INPUTS.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

6 in clause (ii), the information required 

7 under subparagraph (A) shall be generated 

8 based on a single set of questions developed 

9 by the Secretary for purposes of capturing 

10 the information specified in paragraph (2) 

11 and using the data elements described in 

12 section 132(f)(2)(C)(ii). 

13 ‘‘(ii) FAFSA-BASED ESTIMATE.—When 

14 an individual submits a Free Application 

15 for Federal Student Aid described in section 

16 483, the information required under sub17 paragraph (A) shall be automatically gen18 erated based solely on the contents of such 

19 application and the data elements described 

20 in section 132(f)(2)(C)(ii). 

21 ‘‘(C) INTEGRATION WITH OTHER FEDERAL

22 FINANCIAL AID RESOURCES.—The Secretary 

23 shall ensure that a website link or other means 

24 of accessing the Universal Net Price Calculator 

25 is included on— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the College Scorecard website; and 

2 ‘‘(ii) the FAFSA website. 

3 ‘‘(D) RELATIONSHIP TO EARLY ESTIMATOR

4 TOOL.—Beginning on the date on which the Uni5 versal Net Price Calculator becomes operational, 

6 the Secretary shall remove from the FAFSA 

7 website the electronic estimator maintained pur8 suant to section 485E(b)(4). 

9 ‘‘(5) UPDATES.— 

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

11 Universal Net Price Calculator Website and Col12 lege Scorecard website not less than annually. 

13 ‘‘(B) TECHNOLOGY AND FORMAT.—The Sec14 retary shall regularly assess the format and tech15 nology of the College Scorecard website and make 

16 any changes or updates that the Secretary con17 siders appropriate. 

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

19 maintaining the College Scorecard website, the Sec20 retary, in consultation with appropriate departments 

21 and agencies of the Federal Government— 

22 ‘‘(A) not later than 6 months after the date 

23 of the enactment of the College Cost Reduction 

24 Act, and not less than once every 3 years there25 after, shall conduct consumer testing with approVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:11 Nov 18, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6951.RH H6951

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1 priate persons, including current and prospective 

2 college students, family members of such stu3 dents, institutions of higher education, and ex4 perts, to ensure that the College Scorecard 

5 website is usable and easily understandable and 

6 provides useful and relevant information to stu7 dents and families; and 

8 ‘‘(B) prominently shall display on such 

9 website in simple, understandable, and unbiased 

10 terms for the most recent academic year for 

11 which satisfactory data is available, the informa12 tion described in paragraphs (1) and (2) that 

13 was determined to be useful and relevant to stu14 dents and families based on the consumer testing 

15 described in subparagraph (A) for each institu16 tion and program of study (as applicable). 

17 ‘‘(7) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—The Sec18 retary, in consultation with each appropriate head of 

19 a department or agency of the Federal Government, 

20 shall ensure, to the greatest extent practicable, that 

21 any information related to higher education that is 

22 published by such department or agency is consistent 

23 with the information published on the College Score24 card website. 


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1 ‘‘(8) DATA COLLECTION AND DUPLICATED RE2 PORTING.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 

3 this section, to the extent that another provision of 

4 this section requires the same reporting or collection 

5 of data that is required under this Act, an institution 

6 of higher education, or the Secretary or Commis7 sioner, shall use the reporting or data required under 

8 this subsection to satisfy both requirements. 

9 ‘‘(9) DATA PRIVACY.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall en11 sure any information made available under this 

12 section is made available in accordance with the 

13 privacy laws described in section 

14 132(f)(1)(C)(iv). 

15 ‘‘(B) SMALL INSTITUTIONS AND PROGRAM

16 OF STUDY.—For purposes of publishing the in17 formation described in paragraphs (1) and (2), 

18 for any year for which the number of students is 

19 determined by the Secretary to be of insufficient 

20 size to maintain the privacy of student data , the 

21 Secretary shall— 

22 ‘‘(i) aggregate up to 4 years of addi23 tional data for such program of study to ob24 tain data for a sufficient number of stu25 dents to maintain student privacy; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a program of study, 

2 if the method described in clause (i) is in3 sufficient to maintain student privacy, ag4 gregate data for students who completed or 

5 who were enrolled in, as applicable, similar 

6 program of study of the institution to ob7 tain data for a sufficient number of stu8 dents to maintain student privacy; and 

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

10 study, if the methods described in clauses (i) 

11 and (ii) are insufficient to maintain stu12 dent privacy, or additional data described 

13 in such clauses is not available or can not 

14 be aggregated, aggregate data with respect 

15 to all students who completed or were en16 rolled in, as applicable, any program of 

17 study of the institution of the same creden18 tial level, in lieu of data specific to students 

19 in such program of study.’’. 

20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Higher Edu21 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), as amended 

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

23 striking ‘‘College Navigator’’ each place it appears and in24 serting ‘‘College Scorecard’’. 


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

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

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

4 United States to the College Navigator website shall be con5 sidered to be a reference to the College Scorecard website. 

6 SEC. 113. POSTSECONDARY STUDENT DATA SYSTEM. 

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

8 U.S.C. 1015a) is further amended— 

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

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

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

12 (g); and 

13 (3) by inserting after subsection (e), as so redes14 ignated, the following: 

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

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

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

18 later than 3 years after the date of enactment of 

19 the College Cost Reduction Act, the Commis20 sioner of the National Center for Education Sta21 tistics (referred to in this subsection as the ‘Com22 missioner’) in consultation with the Director of 

23 the Institute of Education Sciences (referred to 

24 as ‘the Director’) shall develop and maintain a 


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1 secure and privacy-protected postsecondary stu2 dent-level data system in order to— 

3 ‘‘(i) accurately evaluate student enroll4 ment patterns, progression, completion, and 

5 postcollegiate outcomes, and higher edu6 cation costs and financial aid; 

7 ‘‘(ii) assist with transparency, institu8 tional improvement, and analysis of Fed9 eral aid programs; 

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

11 customizable information for students and 

12 families making decisions about postsec13 ondary education; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) to the extent practicable, reduce 

15 the reporting burden on institutions of high16 er education in accordance with section 111 

17 of the College Cost Reduction Act. 

18 ‘‘(B) AVOIDING DUPLICATE REPORTING.— 

19 Notwithstanding any other provision of this sec20 tion, to the extent that another provision of this 

21 section requires the same reporting or collection 

22 of data that is required under this subsection, an 

23 institution of higher education, or the Secretary 

24 or Commissioner, shall use the reporting or data 

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1 tem under this subsection to satisfy both require2 ments. 

3 ‘‘(C) DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.—In devel4 oping the postsecondary student data system de5 scribed in this subsection, the Commissioner, in 

6 consultation with the Director, shall— 

7 ‘‘(i) focus on the needs of— 

8 ‘‘(I) users of the data system; and 

9 ‘‘(II) entities, including institu10 tions of higher education, reporting to 

11 the data system; 

12 ‘‘(ii) take into consideration, to the ex13 tent practicable— 

14 ‘‘(I) the guidelines outlined in— 

15 ‘‘(aa) the ‘United States Web 

16 Design Standards’ maintained by 

17 the General Services Administra18 tion; and 

19 ‘‘(bb) the ‘Digital Services 

20 Playbook’ and ‘TechFAR Hand21 book for Procuring Digital Serv22 ices Using Agile Processes’ of the 

23 United States Digital Service; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(II) the relevant successor docu2 ments or recommendations of such 

3 guidelines; 

4 ‘‘(iii) use modern, relevant privacy5 and security-enhancing technology, and en6 hance and update the data system as nec7 essary to carry out the purpose of this sub8 section; 

9 ‘‘(iv) ensure data privacy and security 

10 is consistent with any relevant Federal law 

11 relating to privacy or data security, includ12 ing— 

13 ‘‘(I) the requirements of sub14 chapter II of chapter 35 of title 44, 

15 United States Code, specifying security 

16 categorization under the Federal Infor17 mation Processing Standards or any 

18 relevant successor of such standards; 

19 ‘‘(II) security requirements that 

20 are consistent with the Federal agency 

21 responsibilities in section 3554 of title 

22 44, United States Code, or any rel23 evant successor of such responsibilities; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(III) security requirements, 

2 guidelines, and controls consistent with 

3 cybersecurity standards and best prac4 tices developed by the National Insti5 tute of Standards and Technology, in6 cluding frameworks, consistent with 

7 section 2(c) of the National Institute of 

8 Standards and Technology Act (15 

9 U.S.C. 272(c)), or any relevant suc10 cessor of such frameworks; 

11 ‘‘(v) follow Federal data minimization 

12 practices to ensure only the minimum 

13 amount of data is collected to meet the sys14 tem’s goals, in accordance with Federal 

15 data minimization standards and guide16 lines developed by the National Institute of 

17 Standards and Technology; and 

18 ‘‘(vi) provide notice to students out19 lining the data included in the system and 

20 how the data are used. 

21 ‘‘(D) LIMITATION.—The data system devel22 oped under this subsection may only include 

23 data with respect to— 

24 ‘‘(i) students receiving— 


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1 ‘‘(I) Federal financial assistance 

2 under title IV of this Act; or 

3 ‘‘(II) assistance described in sec4 tion 131(f)(4) administered, sponsored, 

5 or supported by the Department of De6 fense or the Department of Veterans 

7 Affairs; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) participants in a program de9 scribed in section 116(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the 

10 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

11 (29 U.S.C. 3131(b)(3)(A)(ii)). 

12 ‘‘(2) DATA ELEMENTS.— 

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

14 after the date of enactment of the College Cost 

15 Reduction Act, the Commissioner, in consulta16 tion with the Postsecondary Student Data Sys17 tem Advisory Committee and the Director, estab18 lished under subparagraph (B), shall deter19 mine— 

20 ‘‘(i) the data elements to be included in 

21 the postsecondary student data system, in 

22 accordance with subparagraphs (C) and 

23 (D); and 

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

25 required under subparagraph (C), and any 


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1 additional data elements selected under sub2 paragraph (D), in the postsecondary stu3 dent data system. 

4 ‘‘(B) POSTSECONDARY STUDENT DATA SYS5 TEM ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

6 ‘‘(i) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 

7 1 year after the date of enactment of the 

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

10 shall establish a Postsecondary Student 

11 Data System Advisory Committee (referred 

12 to in this subsection as the ‘Advisory Com13 mittee’), whose members shall include— 

14 ‘‘(I) the Chief Privacy Officer of 

15 the Department or an official of the 

16 Department delegated the duties of 

17 overseeing data privacy at the Depart18 ment; 

19 ‘‘(II) the Chief Security Officer of 

20 the Department or an official of the 

21 Department delegated the duties of 

22 overseeing data security at the Depart23 ment; 

24 ‘‘(III) representatives of diverse 

25 institutions of higher education, which 


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1 shall include equal representation be2 tween 2-year and 4-year institutions of 

3 higher education, and from public, 

4 nonprofit, and proprietary institutions 

5 of higher education, including minor6 ity-serving institutions; 

7 ‘‘(IV) representatives from State 

8 higher education agencies, entities, 

9 bodies, or boards; 

10 ‘‘(V) representatives of postsec11 ondary students; 

12 ‘‘(VI) representatives from rel13 evant Federal agencies; 

14 ‘‘(VII) individuals with expertise 

15 in data privacy and security; 

16 ‘‘(VIII) the individual within a 

17 State responsible for administering the 

18 statewide, longitudinal data system de19 scribed in section 208 of the Education 

20 Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 

21 U.S.C. 9607(a)); and 

22 ‘‘(IX) other stakeholders (includ23 ing individuals with consumer protec24 tion and postsecondary education re25 search). 


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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 nec10 essary to execute its advisory duties; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(III) is provided with appro13 priate staffing and resources to execute 

14 its advisory duties. 

15 ‘‘(C) REQUIRED DATA ELEMENTS.—The 

16 data elements in the postsecondary student data 

17 system shall include the following: 

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

20 the surveys designated by the Commissioner 

21 as ‘student-related surveys’ in the Inte22 grated Postsecondary Education Data Sys23 tem (IPEDS), as such surveys are in effect 

24 on the day before the date of enactment of 

25 the College Cost Reduction Act, except that 


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1 in the case that collection of such elements 

2 would conflict with the prohibition under 

3 subparagraph (F), such elements in conflict 

4 with such prohibition shall be included in 

5 the aggregate instead of at the student level. 

6 ‘‘(ii) Student-level data elements re7 ported by institutions in accordance with 

8 section 668.408 of title 34, Code of Federal 

9 Regulations, as in effect on July 1, 2024. 

10 ‘‘(iii) Student-level data elements nec11 essary to allow for reporting student enroll12 ment, persistence, progression (including 

13 credit accumulation) retention, transfer, 

14 completion, and time and credits to creden15 tial measures for all credential levels sepa16 rately (including certificate, associate, bac17 calaureate, and advanced degree levels), 

18 within and across institutions of higher 

19 education (including across all categories of 

20 institution level, control, and predominant 

21 degree awarded). The data elements shall 

22 allow for reporting about all such data 

23 disaggregated by the following categories: 


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1 ‘‘(I) Enrollment status as a first2 time student, recent transfer student, 

3 or other nonfirst-time student. 

4 ‘‘(II) Attendance intensity, wheth5 er full-time or part-time. 

6 ‘‘(III) Credential-seeking status, 

7 by credential level (including non8 credit-seeking and noncredit creden9 tials). 

10 ‘‘(IV) Race or ethnicity, in a 

11 manner that captures all the racial 

12 groups specified in the most recent 

13 American Community Survey of the 

14 Bureau of the Census. 

15 ‘‘(V) Age intervals. 

16 ‘‘(VI) Sex. 

17 ‘‘(VII) Status as a first genera18 tion college student (as defined in sec19 tion 402A(h)). 

20 ‘‘(VIII) Economic status. 

21 ‘‘(IX) Measures related to college 

22 readiness, including participation in 

23 postsecondary remedial coursework or 

24 gateway course completion. 

25 ‘‘(X) Program of study. 


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1 ‘‘(XI) Status as an online edu2 cation student, whether exclusively or 

3 partially enrolled in online education. 

4 ‘‘(XII) Military or veteran benefit 

5 status (as determined based on receipt 

6 of veteran’s education benefits, as de7 fined in section 480(c)). 

8 ‘‘(XIII) Federal Pell Grant recipi9 ent status under section 401 and Fed10 eral loan recipient status under title 

11 IV. 

12 ‘‘(XIV) Status as a participant in 

13 a program described in section 

14 116(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Workforce Inno15 vation and Opportunity Act (29 

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

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

18 every 3 years after the implementation of the 

19 postsecondary student data system described in 

20 this subsection, the Commissioner, in consulta21 tion with the Advisory Committee described in 

22 subparagraph (B) and working with the Direc23 tor, shall report to Congress the data elements 

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1 tem and recommend any additional data ele2 ments to be included in such system. 

3 ‘‘(E) PROHIBITIONS.—The postsecondary 

4 student data system shall not include individual 

5 health data (including data relating to physical 

6 health or mental health), student discipline 

7 records or data, elementary and secondary edu8 cation data, an exact address, course grades, 

9 postsecondary entrance examination results, po10 litical affiliation, religion, or any other data in 

11 the postsecondary student data system not de12 scribed in this subsection. 

13 ‘‘(3) PERIODIC MATCHING WITH OTHER FEDERAL

14 DATA SYSTEMS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) DATA SHARING AGREEMENTS.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner, 

17 in consultation with the Director, shall en18 sure secure and privacy-protected periodic 

19 data matches by entering into data sharing 

20 agreements with each of the following Fed21 eral agencies and offices: 

22 ‘‘(I) The Secretary of the Treas23 ury and the Commissioner of the Inter24 nal Revenue Service, in order to cal25 culate aggregate program- and instituVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:11 Nov 18, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6951.RH H6951

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1 tion-level earnings of postsecondary 

2 students described in subparagraph 

3 (B)(ii). 

4 ‘‘(II) The Secretary of Defense, in 

5 order to assess the use of postsecondary 

6 educational benefits and the outcomes 

7 of servicemembers who are receiving 

8 veteran’s education benefits (as defined 

9 in section 480(c)). 

10 ‘‘(III) The Secretary of Veterans 

11 Affairs, in order to assess the use of 

12 postsecondary educational benefits and 

13 outcomes of veterans who are receiving 

14 veteran’s education benefits (as defined 

15 in section 480(c)). 

16 ‘‘(IV) The Director of the Bureau 

17 of the Census, in order to assess the 

18 employment outcomes of former post19 secondary education students described 

20 in paragraph (1)(D). 

21 ‘‘(V) The Chief Operating Officer 

22 of the Office of Federal Student Aid, in 

23 order to analyze the use of postsec24 ondary educational benefits provided 

25 under this Act. 


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1 ‘‘(VI) The Commissioner of the 

2 Social Security Administration, in 

3 order to evaluate labor market out4 comes of former postsecondary edu5 cation students described in paragraph 

6 (1)(D). 

7 ‘‘(VII) The Secretary of Health 

8 and Human Services, in order to 

9 evaluate the wages of former postsec10 ondary education students described in 

11 paragraph (1)(D). 

12 ‘‘(ii) DATA SHARING AGREEMENTS.— 

13 The heads of Federal agencies and offices 

14 described under clause (i) shall enter into 

15 data sharing agreements with the Commis16 sioner to ensure secure and privacy-pro17 tected periodic data matches as described in 

18 this paragraph. 

19 ‘‘(B) CATEGORIES OF DATA.—The Commis20 sioner, in consultation with the Director, shall, 

21 at a minimum, seek to ensure that the secure 

22 and privacy-protected periodic data matches de23 scribed in subparagraph (A) permit consistent 

24 reporting of the following categories of data for 

25 students described in paragraph (1)(D) who 


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1 completed a program of study and who did not 

2 complete a program of study: 

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

4 and completion outcomes. 

5 ‘‘(ii) Financial indicators for postsec6 ondary students receiving Federal grants 

7 and loans, including grant and loan aid by 

8 source, cumulative student debt, loan repay9 ment status, and repayment plan. 

10 ‘‘(iii) Post-completion outcomes, in11 cluding earnings and employment (includ12 ing industry, occupation, and location of 

13 employment, and further education, by pro14 gram of study and credential level) and as 

15 measured at time intervals appropriate to 

16 the credential sought and earned. 

17 ‘‘(C) PERIODIC DATA MATCH STREAMLINING

18 AND CONFIDENTIALITY.— 

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

20 the secure and privacy-protected periodic 

21 data matches under this paragraph, the 

22 Commissioner shall— 

23 ‘‘(I) ensure that such matches are 

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1 termined by the Commissioner to meet 

2 the goals of subparagraph (A); and 

3 ‘‘(II) seek to— 

4 ‘‘(aa) streamline the data 

5 collection and reporting require6 ments for institutions of higher 

7 education; 

8 ‘‘(bb) minimize duplicative 

9 reporting across or within Federal 

10 agencies or departments, includ11 ing reporting requirements appli12 cable to institutions of higher edu13 cation under the Workforce Inno14 vation and Opportunity Act (29 

15 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) and the Carl 

16 D. Perkins Career and Technical 

17 Education Act of 2006; 

18 ‘‘(cc) protect student privacy; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(dd) streamline the applica21 tion process for student loan ben22 efit programs available to bor23 rowers based on data available 

24 from different Federal data sys25 tems. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) REVIEW.—Not less often than 

2 once every 3 years after the establishment of 

3 the postsecondary student data system 

4 under this subsection, the Commissioner, in 

5 consultation with the Advisory Committee 

6 and the Director, shall review methods for 

7 streamlining data collection from institu8 tions of higher education and minimizing 

9 duplicative reporting within the Depart10 ment and across Federal agencies that pro11 vide data for the postsecondary student data 

12 system. 

13 ‘‘(iii) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The Com14 missioner shall ensure that any periodic 

15 matching or sharing of data through peri16 odic data system matches established in ac17 cordance with this paragraph— 

18 ‘‘(I) complies with the security 

19 and privacy protections described in 

20 paragraph (1)(C)(iv) and other Fed21 eral data protection protocols; 

22 ‘‘(II) follows industry best prac23 tices commensurate with the sensitivity 

24 of specific data elements or metrics; 


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1 ‘‘(III) does not result in the cre2 ation of a single standing, linked Fed3 eral database at the Department that 

4 maintains the information reported 

5 across other Federal agencies; and 

6 ‘‘(IV) discloses to postsecondary 

7 students what data are included in the 

8 data system and periodically matched 

9 and how the data are used. 

10 ‘‘(iv) CORRECTION.—The Commis11 sioner, in consultation with the Advisory 

12 Committee and Director, shall establish a 

13 process for students to request access to only 

14 their personal information for inspection 

15 and request corrections to inaccuracies in a 

16 manner that protects the student’s person17 ally identifiable information. The Commis18 sioner shall respond in writing to every re19 quest for a correction from a student. 

20 ‘‘(4) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner shall 

22 make the summary aggregate information de23 scribed in subparagraph (C), at a minimum, 

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1 sumer information website and analytic tool for 

2 institutional and research use that— 

3 ‘‘(i) provides appropriate mechanisms 

4 for users to customize and filter information 

5 by institutional and student characteristics; 

6 ‘‘(ii) allows users to build summary 

7 aggregate reports of information, including 

8 reports that allow comparisons across mul9 tiple institutions and programs, subject to 

10 subparagraph (B); 

11 ‘‘(iii) uses appropriate statistical dis12 closure limitation techniques necessary to 

13 ensure that the data released to the public 

14 cannot be used to identify specific individ15 uals; and 

16 ‘‘(iv) provides users with appropriate 

17 contextual factors to make comparisons, 

18 which may include national median figures 

19 of the summary aggregate information de20 scribed in subparagraph (C). 

21 ‘‘(B) NO PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFOR22 MATION AVAILABLE.—The summary aggregate 

23 information described in this paragraph shall 

24 not include personally identifiable information. 


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1 ‘‘(C) SUMMARY AGGREGATE INFORMATION

2 AVAILABLE.—The summary aggregate informa3 tion described in this paragraph shall, at a min4 imum, include each of the following for each in5 stitution of higher education: 

6 ‘‘(i) Measures of student access, includ7 ing— 

8 ‘‘(I) admissions selectivity and 

9 yield; and 

10 ‘‘(II) enrollment, disaggregated by 

11 each category described in paragraph 

12 (2)(C)(iii). 

13 ‘‘(ii) Measures of student progression, 

14 including retention rates and persistence 

15 rates, disaggregated by each category de16 scribed in paragraph (2)(C)(iii). 

17 ‘‘(iii) Measures of student completion, 

18 including— 

19 ‘‘(I) transfer rates and outcomes, 

20 completion rates, and time and credits 

21 to credential, disaggregated by each 

22 category described in paragraph 

23 (2)(C)(iii); and 


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1 ‘‘(II) number of completions, 

2 disaggregated by each category de3 scribed in paragraph (2)(C)(iii). 

4 ‘‘(iv) Measures of student costs, includ5 ing— 

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

7 attendance, grants and scholarships, 

8 net price, and unmet need 

9 disaggregated by in-State tuition or 

10 in-district tuition status (if applica11 ble), direct and indirect costs, program 

12 of study (if applicable), and credential 

13 level; and 

14 ‘‘(II) typical grant amounts and 

15 loan amounts received by students re16 ported separately from Federal, State, 

17 local, institutional, employers, and 

18 other sources, and cumulative debt, 

19 disaggregated by— 

20 ‘‘(aa) each category described 

21 in paragraph (2)(C)(iii); and 

22 ‘‘(bb) completion status. 

23 ‘‘(v) Measures of postcollegiate student 

24 outcomes, including return on investment, 

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1 ment and default rates, and further edu2 cation rates. These measures shall— 

3 ‘‘(I) be disaggregated by— 

4 ‘‘(aa) each category described 

5 in paragraph (2)(C)(iii); and 

6 ‘‘(bb) completion status; and 

7 ‘‘(II) be measured immediately 

8 after leaving postsecondary education 

9 and at time intervals appropriate to 

10 the credential sought or earned. 

11 ‘‘(D) DEVELOPMENT CRITERIA.—In devel12 oping the method and format of making the in13 formation described in this paragraph publicly 

14 available, the Commissioner shall— 

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

16 the information, which will include stu17 dents, families of students, potential stu18 dents, researchers, and other consumers of 

19 education data; 

20 ‘‘(ii) take into consideration, to the ex21 tent practicable, the guidelines described in 

22 paragraph (1)(C)(ii)(I), and relevant suc23 cessor documents or recommendations of 

24 such guidelines; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) use modern, relevant technology 

2 and enhance and update the postsecondary 

3 student data system with information, as 

4 necessary to carry out the purpose of this 

5 paragraph; 

6 ‘‘(iv) ensure data privacy and security 

7 in accordance with standards and guide8 lines developed by the National Institute of 

9 Standards and Technology, and in accord10 ance with any other Federal law relating to 

11 privacy or security, including complying 

12 with the requirements of subchapter II of 

13 chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, 

14 specifying security categorization under the 

15 Federal Information Processing Standards, 

16 and security requirements, and setting of 

17 National Institute of Standards and Tech18 nology security baseline controls at the ap19 propriate level; and 

20 ‘‘(v) conduct consumer testing to deter21 mine how to make the information as 

22 meaningful to users as possible. 

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

24 ‘‘(A) DATA REPORTS AND QUERIES.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 

2 years after the date of enactment of the Col3 lege Cost Reduction Act, the Commissioner 

4 in consultation with the Director, shall de5 velop and implement a secure and privacy6 protected process for making student-level, 

7 nonpersonally identifiable information, 

8 with direct identifiers removed, from the 

9 postsecondary student data system available 

10 for vetted research and evaluation purposes 

11 approved by the Commissioner in a manner 

12 compatible with practices for disclosing Na13 tional Center for Education Statistics re14 stricted-use survey data as in effect on the 

15 day before the date of enactment of the Col16 lege Cost Reduction Act, or by applying 

17 other research and disclosure restrictions to 

18 ensure data privacy and security. Such 

19 process shall be approved by the National 

20 Center for Education Statistics’ Disclosure 

21 Review Board (or successor body). 

22 ‘‘(ii) PROVIDING DATA REPORTS AND

23 QUERIES TO INSTITUTIONS AND STATES.— 

24 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Commis25 sioner shall provide feedback reports, at 


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1 least annually, to each institution of 

2 higher education, each postsecondary 

3 education system that fully partici4 pates in the postsecondary student 

5 data system, and each State higher 

6 education body as designated by the 

7 governor. 

8 ‘‘(II) FEEDBACK REPORTS.—The 

9 feedback reports provided under this 

10 clause shall include program-level and 

11 institution-level information from the 

12 postsecondary student data system re13 garding students who are associated 

14 with the institution or, for State rep15 resentatives, the institutions within 

16 that State, on or before the date of the 

17 report, on measures including student 

18 mobility (including transfer and com19 pletion rates) and workforce outcomes, 

20 provided that the feedback aggregate 

21 summary reports protect the privacy of 

22 individuals. 

23 ‘‘(III) DETERMINATION OF CON24 TENT.—The content of the feedback re25 ports shall be determined by the ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:11 Nov 18, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00067 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6951.RH H6951

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1 missioner in consultation with the Ad2 visory Committee and the Director. 

3 ‘‘(iii) PERMITTING STATE DATA QUE4 RIES.—The Commissioner shall, in con5 sultation with the Advisory Committee and 

6 as soon as practicable, create a process 

7 through which States may submit lists of 

8 secondary school graduates within the State 

9 to receive summary aggregate outcomes for 

10 those students who enrolled at an institu11 tion of higher education, including postsec12 ondary enrollment, retention and transfer, 

13 and college completion, provided that those 

14 data protect the privacy of individuals and 

15 that the State data submitted to the Com16 missioner are not stored in the postsec17 ondary education system. 

18 ‘‘(iv) REGULATIONS.—The Commis19 sioner shall promulgate regulations to en20 sure fair, secure and privacy-protected, and 

21 equitable access to data reports and queries 

22 under this paragraph. 

23 ‘‘(B) DISCLOSURE LIMITATIONS.—In car24 rying out the public reporting and disclosure re25 quirements of this subsection, the Commissioner 


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1 shall use appropriate statistical disclosure limi2 tation techniques necessary to ensure that the 

3 data released to the public cannot include per4 sonally identifiable information or be used to 

5 identify specific individuals. 

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

7 collected under this subsection, including the 

8 public-use data set and data comprising the 

9 summary aggregate information available under 

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

11 party by the Commissioner, including any insti12 tution of higher education or any other entity. 

13 ‘‘(D) LIMITATION ON USE BY OTHER FED14 ERAL AGENCIES.— 

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

16 shall not allow any other Federal agency to 

17 use data collected under this subsection for 

18 any purpose except— 

19 ‘‘(I) for vetted research and eval20 uation conducted by the other Federal 

21 agency, as described in subparagraph 

22 (A)(i); or 

23 ‘‘(II) for a purpose explicitly au24 thorized by an Act of Congress. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) PROHIBITION ON LIMITATION OF

2 SERVICES.—The Secretary, or the head of 

3 any other Federal agency, shall not use data 

4 collected under this subsection to limit serv5 ices to students. 

6 ‘‘(E) LAW ENFORCEMENT.—Personally 

7 identifiable information collected under this sub8 section shall not be used for any Federal, State, 

9 or local law enforcement activity or any other 

10 activity that would result in adverse action 

11 against any student or a student’s family. 

12 ‘‘(F) LIMITATION OF USE FOR FEDERAL

13 RANKINGS OR SUMMATIVE RATING SYSTEM.—The 

14 comprehensive data collection and analysis nec15 essary for the postsecondary student data system 

16 under this subsection shall not be used by the 

17 Secretary or any Federal entity to establish any 

18 Federal ranking system of institutions of higher 

19 education or a system that results in a 

20 summative Federal rating of institutions of high21 er education. 

22 ‘‘(G) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

23 this paragraph shall be construed to prevent the 

24 use of individual categories of aggregate infor25 mation to be used for accountability purposes. 


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1 ‘‘(H) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING

2 COMMERCIAL USE OF DATA.—Nothing in this 

3 paragraph shall be construed to prohibit third4 party entities from using publicly available in5 formation in this data system for commercial 

6 use. 

7 ‘‘(6) SUBMISSION OF DATA.— 

8 ‘‘(A) REQUIRED SUBMISSION.—Each insti9 tution of higher education participating in a 

10 program under title IV, or the assigned agent of 

11 such institution, shall, for each instructional 

12 program, and in accordance with section 

13 487(a)(17), collect, and submit to the Commis14 sioner, the data requested by the Commissioner 

15 to carry out this subsection. 

16 ‘‘(B) VOLUNTARY SUBMISSION.—Any insti17 tution of higher education not participating in 

18 a program under title IV may voluntarily par19 ticipate in the postsecondary student data system 

20 under this subsection by collecting and submit21 ting data to the Commissioner, as the Commis22 sioner may request to carry out this subsection. 

23 ‘‘(C) PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMA24 TION.—In accordance with paragraph (2)(C)(i), 

25 if the submission of an element of student-level 


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1 data is prohibited under paragraph (2)(F) (or 

2 otherwise prohibited by law), the institution of 

3 higher education shall submit that data to the 

4 Commissioner in the aggregate. 

5 ‘‘(7) UNLAWFUL WILLFUL DISCLOSURE.— 

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

7 any person who obtains or has access to person8 ally identifiable information in connection with 

9 the postsecondary student data system described 

10 in this subsection to willfully disclose to any per11 son (except as authorized in this Act or by any 

12 Federal law) such personally identifiable infor13 mation. 

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

15 subparagraph (A) shall be subject to a penalty 

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

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

18 Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 

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

20 ‘‘(C) EMPLOYEE OF OFFICER OF THE

21 UNITED STATES.—If a violation of subparagraph 

22 (A) is committed by any officer or employee of 

23 the United States, the officer or employee shall be 

24 dismissed from office or discharged from employ25 ment upon conviction for the violation. 


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

2 produce and update as needed guidance and regula3 tions relating to privacy, security, and access which 

4 shall govern the use and disclosure of data collected 

5 in connection with the activities authorized in this 

6 subsection. The guidance and regulations developed 

7 and reviewed shall protect data from unauthorized ac8 cess, use, and disclosure, and shall include— 

9 ‘‘(A) an audit capability, including manda10 tory and regularly conducted audits; 

11 ‘‘(B) access controls; 

12 ‘‘(C) requirements to ensure sufficient data 

13 security, quality, validity, and reliability; 

14 ‘‘(D) confidentiality protection in accord15 ance with the applicable provisions of subchapter 

16 III of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code; 

17 ‘‘(E) appropriate and applicable privacy 

18 and security protection, including data retention 

19 and destruction protocols and data minimiza20 tion, in accordance with the most recent Federal 

21 standards developed by the National Institute of 

22 Standards and Technology; and 

23 ‘‘(F) protocols for managing a breach, in24 cluding breach notifications, in accordance with 


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1 the standards of National Center for Education 

2 Statistics. 

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

4 shall ensure that data collection, maintenance, and 

5 use under this subsection complies with section 552a 

6 of title 5, United States Code. 

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

8 ‘‘(A) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU9 CATION.—The term ‘institution of higher edu10 cation’ has the meaning given the term in sec11 tion 102. 

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

13 The term ‘minority-serving institution’ means 

14 an institution of higher education listed in sec15 tion 371(a). 

16 ‘‘(C) PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMA17 TION.—The term ‘personally identifiable infor18 mation’ means personally identifiable informa19 tion within the meaning of section 444 of the 

20 General Education Provisions Act.’’. 

21 SEC. 114. DATABASE OF STUDENT INFORMATION PROHIB22 ITED. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 134(b) of the Higher Edu24 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1015c(b)) is amended to read 

25 as follows: 


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

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

3 ‘‘(1) that— 

4 ‘‘(A) is necessary for the operation of pro5 grams authorized by title II, IV, or VII; and 

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

7 or through a contractor, as of the day before the 

8 date of enactment of the College Cost Reduction 

9 Act; or 

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

11 (b) PROGRAM PARTICIPATION AGREEMENTS.— 

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

13 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

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

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

16 institution will collect and submit to the Commis17 sioner for Education Statistics data in accordance 

18 with section 132(f), the non-student related surveys 

19 within the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data 

20 System (IPEDS), or any other Federal institution of 

21 higher education data collection effort (as designated 

22 by the Secretary), in a timely manner and to the sat23 isfaction of the Secretary.’’. 


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1 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

2 paragraph (1) shall take effect no later than 3 years 

3 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

4 (c) REPORTING BURDEN.—The Secretary of Education 

5 and the Commissioner for Education Statistics shall take 

6 such steps as are necessary to ensure that the development 

7 and maintenance of the postsecondary student data system 

8 required under section 132(f) of the Higher Education Act 

9 of 1965, as added by section 113 of this Act, occurs in a 

10 manner that, to the extent practicable, reduces the reporting 

11 burden for entities that reported into the Integrated Postsec12 ondary Education Data System (IPEDS). 

13 TITLE II—ACCESS AND 

14 AFFORDABILITY 

15 PART A—FINANCIAL NEED 

16 SEC. 201. AMOUNT OF NEED; COST OF ATTENDANCE; ME17 DIAN COST OF COLLEGE. 

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

19 1087kk), as amended by the FAFSA Simplification Act, is 

20 further amended by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol21 lows: 

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

23 attendance of such student; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) for award year 2025–2026 and each subse2 quent award year, the median cost of college of the 

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

4 (b) COST OF ATTENDANCE.—Section 472(c) (20 U.S.C. 

5 1087ll(c)), as amended by the FAFSA Simplification Act, 

6 is further amended by striking ‘‘of the institution’’ and in7 serting ‘‘of each program of study at the institution’’. 

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

9 (20 U.S.C. 1087kk), as amended by the FAFSA Simplifica10 tion Act, is further amended by inserting after section 472, 

11 as amended by subsection (b), the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 472A. DETERMINATION OF MEDIAN COST OF COL13 LEGE. 

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

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

16 offered by one or more institutions of higher education for 

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

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

19 all institutions of higher education offering such a program 

20 for the preceding award year.’’. 

21 (d) EXEMPTION OF CERTAIN ASSETS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 480(f)(2) of the High23 er Education Act of 1965, as amended by the FAFSA 

24 Simplification Act, is further amended— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘net value of the’’ and in2 serting the following: ‘‘the net value of— 

3 ‘‘(A) the’’; 

4 (B) by striking the period at the end and 

5 inserting a semicolon; and 

6 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(B) a family farm on which the family re8 sides; or 

9 ‘‘(C) a small business with not more than 

10 100 full-time or full-time equivalent employees 

11 (or any part of such a small business) that is 

12 owned and controlled by the family.’’. 

13 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

14 by paragraph (1) shall take effect for award year 

15 2025–2026 and each subsequent award year. 

16 PART B—FINANCIAL AID 

17 Subpart 1—Grants 

18 SEC. 211. FEDERAL PELL GRANT PROGRAM. 

19 Section 401(b)(3) (20 U.S.C. 1070a(b)(3)), as amended 

20 by the FAFSA Simplification Act, is further amended to 

21 read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(3) AWARD MAY NOT EXCEED MEDIAN COST OF

23 COLLEGE.—With respect to award year 2025–2026 

24 and each succeeding award year, no Federal Pell 

25 Grant under this subpart shall exceed the median cost 


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1 of college (as defined in section 472A) for the program 

2 at which that student is in attendance. If, with re3 spect to any student, it is determined that the amount 

4 of a Federal Pell Grant for that student exceeds the 

5 median cost of college for such program for that year, 

6 the amount of the Federal Pell Grant shall be reduced 

7 until the Federal Pell Grant does not exceed the me8 dian cost of college for such program for that year.’’. 

9 SEC. 212. CAMPUS-BASED AID PROGRAMS. 

10 (a) TERMINATION OF CERTAIN PROGRAMS.—Notwith11 standing subparts 3 and 4 of part A, or part C, of title 

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

13 et seq.), or any other provision of law, except as expressly 

14 authorized by an Act of Congress enacted after the date of 

15 enactment of this Act, beginning on October 1, 2026, no 

16 funds are authorized to be appropriated, or may be ex17 pended, under this Act or any other Act to make payments 

18 to States for the Leveraging Educational Assistance Part19 nership Program under subpart 4 of part A of title IV (20 

20 U.S.C. 1070c et seq.), and the authority of the Secretary 

21 to carry out such program shall be terminated. 

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

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

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


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1 ‘‘Subpart 4—Promoting Real Opportunities to 

2 Maximize Investments and Savings in Education 

3 ‘‘SEC. 415A. PURPOSE. 

4 ‘‘It is the purpose of this subpart to provide perform5 ance-based grants to— 

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

7 students and families about postsecondary afford8 ability; 

9 ‘‘(2) increase postsecondary access and economic 

10 mobility; and 

11 ‘‘(3) ensure that students, institutions, and tax12 payers receive a financial return for investments in 

13 postsecondary education. 

14 ‘‘SEC. 415B. PROMISE GRANTS. 

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

16 award year, from reserved funds remitted to the Secretary 

17 in accordance with section 454(d) and additional funds au18 thorized under section 415E, as necessary, the Secretary 

19 shall award PROMISE grants to eligible institutions to 

20 carry out the purpose of this subpart. PROMISE grants 

21 awarded under this subpart shall be performance-based and 

22 shall be awarded to each eligible institution for a 6-year 

23 period in an amount that is determined in accordance with 

24 section 415D. 


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

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

3 PROMISE grant under this subpart, an institution shall— 

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

5 section 102, except that an institution described in 

6 section 102(a)(1)(C) shall not be an eligible institu7 tion under this subpart; and 

8 ‘‘(2) meet the maximum total price guarantee re9 quirements under subsection (c). 

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

11 PROMISE grant under this subpart (including a renewal 

12 of such a grant) shall submit to the Secretary an applica13 tion, at such time as the Secretary may require, that con14 tains the information required in this subsection. Such ap15 plication shall— 

16 ‘‘(1) demonstrate that the institution— 

17 ‘‘(A) meets the maximum total price guar18 antee requirements under subsection (c); and 

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

20 total price guarantee requirements for each 

21 award year during the grant period with respect 

22 to students first enrolling at the institution for 

23 each such award year; 

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

25 this subpart will be used by the institution to carry 


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1 out the purposes of this Act, including activities re2 lated to— 

3 ‘‘(A) postsecondary affordability, includ4 ing— 

5 ‘‘(i) the expansion and continuation of 

6 the maximum total price guarantee require7 ments under subsection (c); and 

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

9 out by the institution to increase postsec10 ondary affordability and minimize the total 

11 net price required for completion (as de12 fined in section 132(a)) paid by students re13 ceiving need-based student aid; 

14 ‘‘(B) postsecondary access, which may in15 clude— 

16 ‘‘(i) the activities described in section 

17 485E of this Act; and 

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

19 out by the institution to increase postsec20 ondary access and expand opportunities for 

21 low- and middle-income students; and 

22 ‘‘(C) postsecondary student success, which 

23 may include— 

24 ‘‘(i) activities to improve completion 

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1 ing the activities described in section 741 of 

2 this Act, as amended by the College Cost Re3 duction Act; 

4 ‘‘(ii) activities to align programs of 

5 study with the needs of employers, including 

6 with respect to in-demand industry sectors 

7 or occupations (as defined in section 3 of 

8 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 

9 Act (29 U.S.C. 3102)); and 

10 ‘‘(iii) any other activities to be carried 

11 out by the institution to increase value12 added earnings and postsecondary student 

13 success; 

14 ‘‘(3) describe— 

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

16 effectiveness of the institution’s use of grant 

17 funds awarded under this subpart; and 

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

19 disseminate information on promising practices 

20 developed with the use of such grant funds; and 

21 ‘‘(4) in the case of an institution that has pre22 viously received a grant under this subpart, contain 

23 the evaluation required under paragraph (3) for each 

24 previous grant. 


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1 ‘‘(c) MAXIMUM TOTAL PRICE GUARANTEE REQUIRE2 MENTS.—As a condition of eligibility for a PROMISE 

3 grant under this subpart, an institution shall— 

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

5 date of enactment of the College Cost Reduction Act, 

6 not later than one year before the start of each such 

7 award year (except that, for the first award year be8 ginning after such date of enactment, the institution 

9 shall meet these requirements as soon as practicable 

10 such date of enactment)— 

11 ‘‘(A) determine the maximum total price for 

12 completion, in accordance with subsection (e), for 

13 each program of study at the institution— 

14 ‘‘(i) applicable to students in each in15 come category described in section 

16 132(c)(2)(A)(i); and 

17 ‘‘(ii) applicable to students in each stu18 dent aid index category determined by the 

19 Secretary in accordance with section 

20 132(c)(2)(A)(ii); and 

21 ‘‘(B) publish such information on the insti22 tution’s website and in the institution’s catalog, 

23 marketing materials, or other official publica24 tions; 


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1 ‘‘(2) for the award year for which the institution 

2 is applying for a PROMISE grant, and at least one 

3 award year preceding such award year, provide to 

4 each student who first enrolls, or plans to enroll, in 

5 the institution during the award year and who re6 ceives Federal financial aid under this title a max7 imum total price guarantee, in accordance with this 

8 section, for the minimum guarantee period applicable 

9 to the student; and 

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

11 the institution will continue to meet each of the max12 imum total price guarantee requirements under this 

13 subsection for students who first enroll, or plan to en14 roll, in the institution during each award year in15 cluded in the grant period. 

16 ‘‘(d) DURATION OF MINIMUM GUARANTEE PERIOD.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The minimum period during 

18 which a student shall be provided a guarantee under 

19 subsection (c) with respect to the maximum total 

20 price for completion of a program of study at an in21 stitution shall be the median time to credential of stu22 dents who completed any undergraduate program of 

23 study at the institution during the most recent award 

24 year for which data are available, except that such 

25 minimum guarantee period shall not be less than the 


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1 program length of the program of study in which the 

2 student is enrolled. 

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

4 required to provide a maximum total price guarantee 

5 under subsection (c) to a student after the conclusion 

6 of the 6-year period beginning on the first day on 

7 which the student enrolled at such institution. 

8 ‘‘(e) DETERMINATION OF MAXIMUM TOTAL PRICE FOR

9 COMPLETION.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of sub11 section (c), an institution shall determine, prior to 

12 the first award year in which a student enrolls at the 

13 institution, the maximum total price that may be 

14 charged to the student for completion of a program of 

15 study at the institution for the minimum guarantee 

16 period applicable to a student, before application of 

17 any Federal Pell Grants or other Federal financial 

18 aid under this title. Such a maximum total price for 

19 completion shall be determined for students in each 

20 income category and student aid index category (as 

21 determined in accordance with section 132(c)(2)(A)). 

22 In determining the maximum total price for comple23 tion to be charged to each such category of students, 

24 the institution may consider the ability of a category 

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1 quired costs described in section 124(b)(3)(A)(i)(I)), 

2 but may not include in such consideration any Fed3 eral Pell Grants or other Federal financial aid 

4 awards that may be available to such category of stu5 dents under this title. 

6 ‘‘(2) MULTIPLE MAXIMUM TOTAL PRICE GUARAN7 TEES.—In the event that a student receives more than 

8 one maximum total price guarantee because the stu9 dent is included in more than one category of stu10 dents for which the institution determines a max11 imum total price guarantee amount for the purposes 

12 of subsection (c), the maximum total price guarantee 

13 applicable to such student for the purposes of this sec14 tion shall be equal to the lowest such guarantee 

15 amount. 

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

17 ‘‘(a) GRANT AMOUNT FORMULA.— 

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

19 amount of a PROMISE grant for an eligible institu20 tion for each year of the grant period shall be deter21 mined by the Secretary annually and shall be equal 

22 to— 

23 ‘‘(A) the amount determined by multi24 plying— 

25 ‘‘(i) the lesser of— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the difference determined by 

2 subtracting one from the quotient of— 

3 ‘‘(aa) the average, for the 3 

4 most recent award years for which 

5 data are available, of the median 

6 value-added earnings (as defined 

7 in section 103) for each such 

8 award year of students who com9 pleted any program of study of 

10 the institution; divided by 

11 ‘‘(bb) the average for the 3 

12 most recent award years, of the 

13 maximum total price applicable 

14 for each such award year to stu15 dents enrolled in the institution 

16 in any program of study who re17 ceived financial aid under this 

18 title; or 

19 ‘‘(II) the number two; 

20 ‘‘(ii) the average, for the 3 most recent 

21 award years, of the total dollar amount of 

22 Federal Pell Grants awarded to students en23 rolled in the institution in each such award 

24 year; and 


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

2 award years, of the percentage of low-in3 come students who received Federal finan4 cial assistance under this title who were en5 rolled in the institution in each such award 

6 year who— 

7 ‘‘(I) completed a program of study 

8 at the institution within 100 percent of 

9 the program length of such program; or 

10 ‘‘(II) only in the case of a two11 year institution or a less than two12 year institution— 

13 ‘‘(aa) transfer to a four-year 

14 institution; and 

15 ‘‘(bb) within 4 years after 

16 first enrolling at the two-year or 

17 less than two-year institution, 

18 complete a program of study at 

19 the four-year institution for which 

20 a bachelor’s degree (or substan21 tially similar credential) is 

22 awarded; minus 

23 ‘‘(B) the sum of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the amount allocated to the insti2 tution under part C of title IV for the most 

3 recent fiscal year; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) the amount allocated to the insti5 tution under subpart 3 of part A of title IV 

6 for the most recent fiscal year. 

7 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION OF LOW-INCOME.—In this sec8 tion, the term ‘low-income’, when used with respect to 

9 a student, means that the student’s family income 

10 does not exceed the maximum income in the lowest in11 come category described in section 132(c)(2)(A)(i). 

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

13 subsection (a), the maximum amount an eligible institution 

14 may receive annually for a grant under this subpart shall 

15 be the amount equal to— 

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

17 years, of the number of students enrolled in the insti18 tution in an award year who receive Federal finan19 cial aid under this title; multiplied by 

20 ‘‘(2) $5,000. 

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

22 awarded under this subpart shall be used by an eligible in23 stitution to carry out the purposes of this subpart, includ24 ing— 


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1 ‘‘(1) carrying out activities included in the insti2 tution’s application for such grant related to postsec3 ondary affordability, access, and student success; and 

4 ‘‘(2) evaluating the effectiveness of the activities 

5 carried out with such grant in accordance with sec6 tion 415C(b)(3)(A); and 

7 ‘‘(3) collecting and disseminating promising 

8 practices related to the activities carried out with 

9 such grant, in accordance with section 415C(b)(3)(B). 

10 ‘‘(d) TRANSFER AUTHORITY.—In order to offer an ar11 rangement of types of aid which best fit the needs of each 

12 individual student, an institution may transfer up to 100 

13 percent of the institution’s allotment under subpart 3 of this 

14 part or part C of this title (or both) to the institution’s 

15 allotment under this section. Funds transferred to an insti16 tution’s allotment under this section may be used as a part 

17 of and for the same purposes as funds allotted under this 

18 subpart. The Secretary shall have no control over such 

19 transfer, except as specifically authorized, except for the col20 lection and dissemination of information. 

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

22 ‘‘(a) USED OF RESERVED FUNDS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) PRIMARY FUNDS.—To carry out this sub24 part, there shall be available to the Secretary any 

25 funds remitted to the Secretary as reimbursements in 


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1 accordance with section 454(d) for any award year; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(2) SECONDARY FUNDS.—Beginning award 

4 year 2026–2027, if the amounts made available to the 

5 Secretary under paragraph (1) to carry out this sub6 part in any award year are insufficient to fully fund 

7 the PROMISE grants awarded under this subpart in 

8 such award year, there shall be available to the Sec9 retary, in addition to such amounts, any funds re10 turned to the Secretary under section 484B in the 

11 previous award year. 

12 ‘‘(b) INSUFFICIENT FUNDS.—If the amounts made 

13 available to the Secretary under subsection (a) to carry out 

14 this subpart for are not sufficient to provide grants to all 

15 eligible institutions in the amount determined under this 

16 subpart for an award year, the Secretary shall first provide 

17 grants to the eligible institutions that have the highest per18 centage of students who are low-income students (as defined 

19 in section 415D).’’. 

20 (c) INSTITUTIONAL REFUNDS.—Section 484B of the 

21 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091b) is amend22 ed by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(f) RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR PROMISE 

24 GRANTS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 

25 Secretary shall reserve the funds returned to the Secretary 


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1 under this section for 1 year after the return of such funds 

2 for the purpose of awarding PROMISE grants in accord3 ance with subpart 4 of part A of this title.’’. 

4 Subpart 2—Loans 

5 SEC. 221. LOAN LIMITS. 

6 (a) STAFFORD LOANS.— 

7 (1) AGGREGATE AND ANNUAL LIMITS FOR GRAD8 UATE AND PROFESSIONAL STUDENTS.—Section 455(a) 

9 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(a)) is amended— 

10 (A) in paragraph (3)— 

11 (i) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by insert12 ing before the period at the end the fol13 lowing: ‘‘, except that for any period of in14 struction beginning on or after July 1, 

15 2025, such maximum annual amount shall 

16 be determined in accordance with subpara17 graph (C)’’; 

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

19 before the period at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘for any period of instruction through June 

21 30, 2025’’; and 

22 (iii) by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(C) ANNUAL LIMITS.—Notwithstanding 

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1 riod of instruction beginning on or after July 1, 

2 2025, the maximum annual amount of Federal 

3 Direct Unsubsidized Stafford loans that a grad4 uate or professional student may borrow in any 

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

6 or its equivalent shall be median cost of college 

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

8 study in which the student is enrolled, except 

9 that the sum of such annual loan amount and 

10 other financial assistance (as defined in section 

11 480(i)) that the student receives for such aca12 demic year may not exceed the cost of attendance 

13 of such student. 

14 ‘‘(D) AGGREGATE LIMITS.—Notwith15 standing any provision of this part or part B, 

16 for any period of instruction beginning on or 

17 after July 1, 2025, the maximum aggregate 

18 amount of Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford 

19 loans that— 

20 ‘‘(i) a graduate student may borrow 

21 shall be $100,000; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) a professional student may bor23 row shall be $150,000. 

24 ‘‘(E) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN STU25 DENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The provisions list2 ed in clause (ii) shall not apply with re3 spect to any individual who, as of June 30, 

4 2025, is enrolled in a program of study at 

5 an institution of higher education, and has 

6 received a loan (or on whose behalf a loan 

7 was made) under this part for such pro8 gram, during the individual’s expected time 

9 to completion of such program, as deter10 mined by calculating by the difference be11 tween— 

12 ‘‘(I) the program length for the 

13 program of study in which such indi14 vidual is enrolled; and 

15 ‘‘(II) the period of such program 

16 that such individual has completed, 

17 except that such expected time to completion 

18 may not exceed 3 years. 

19 ‘‘(ii) PROVISIONS.—An individual de20 scribed in clause (i) shall not be subject to 

21 subparagraphs (C) and (D) of this para22 graph, or paragraph (4) or (6).’’. 

23 (2) ANNUAL LIMITS FOR UNDERGRADUATE BOR24 ROWERS.—Section 455(a) (20 U.S.C. 1087e(a)) is 

25 further amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(4) ANNUAL AND AGGREGATE LOAN LIMITS FOR

2 UNDERGRADUATE AND ALL BORROWERS.— 

3 ‘‘(A) UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS.— 

4 ‘‘(i) ANNUAL LOAN LIMITS.— 

5 ‘‘(I) SUBSIDIZED LOANS.—Not6 withstanding 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 Stafford loans that an 

11 undergraduate student may borrow in 

12 any academic year (as defined in sec13 tion 481(a)(2)) or its equivalent shall 

14 be the difference between— 

15 ‘‘(aa) the median cost of col16 lege (as defined in section 472A) 

17 of the program of study in which 

18 the student is enrolled; and 

19 ‘‘(bb) the Federal Pell Grant 

20 under section 401 awarded to the 

21 student for such academic year, 

22 except that (1) the amount of such Fed23 eral Direct Stafford loans awarded to 

24 the student for such academic year 

25 may not exceed the maximum annual 


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

2 that is applicable to such student; and 

3 (2) the sum of such Federal Direct 

4 Stafford Loans and the amount of such 

5 Federal Pell Grant and other financial 

6 assistance (as defined in section 

7 480(i)) that the student receives for 

8 such academic year may not exceed the 

9 cost of attendance of such student. 

10 ‘‘(II) UNSUBSIDIZED LOANS.— 

11 Notwithstanding any provision of this 

12 part or part B, for any period of in13 struction beginning on or after July 1, 

14 2025, the maximum annual amount of 

15 Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford 

16 loans that an undergraduate student 

17 may borrow in any academic year (as 

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

19 equivalent shall be the difference be20 tween— 

21 ‘‘(aa) the median cost of col22 lege (as defined in section 472A) 

23 of the program of study in which 

24 the student is enrolled; and 

25 ‘‘(bb) the sum of— 


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1 ‘‘(AA) the amount of 

2 Federal Direct Stafford loans 

3 awarded to such student for 

4 such academic year; and 

5 ‘‘(BB) the amount of the 

6 Federal Pell Grant under 

7 section 401 awarded to the 

8 student for such academic 

9 year, 

10 except that the sum of all Federal 

11 financial aid under this title and 

12 other financial assistance (as de13 fined in section 480(i)) that such 

14 student receives for such academic 

15 year may not exceed the cost of 

16 attendance for such student. 

17 ‘‘(ii) AGGREGATE LIMITS.—Notwith18 standing any provision of this part or part 

19 B, for any period of instruction beginning 

20 on or after July 1, 2025, with respect to an 

21 undergraduate student— 

22 ‘‘(I) the maximum aggregate 

23 amount of Federal Direct Stafford 

24 loans and Federal Direct Unsubsidized 


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1 Stafford loans that may be borrowed 

2 shall be $50,000; 

3 ‘‘(II) the maximum aggregate 

4 amount of Federal Direct Stafford 

5 loans that may be borrowed shall be 

6 $23,000; and 

7 ‘‘(III) the maximum aggregate 

8 amount of Federal Direct Unsubsidized 

9 Stafford loans that may be borrowed 

10 shall be $50,000. 

11 ‘‘(B) STUDENTS IN A QUALIFYING UNDER12 GRADUATE PROGRAM.— 

13 ‘‘(i) AGGREGATE LIMITS.—Notwith14 standing the aggregate limits described in 

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

16 a qualifying undergraduate program shall 

17 be subject to the aggregate limits for profes18 sional students described in paragraph 

19 (3)(D)(ii). 

20 ‘‘(ii) QUALIFYING UNDERGRADUATE

21 PROGRAM DEFINED.—For purposes of this 

22 subparagraph, the term ‘qualifying under23 graduate program’ means a program of 

24 study— 


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1 ‘‘(I) for which the total tuition 

2 and fees (including the required costs 

3 described in section 124(b)(3)(A)(i)(I)) 

4 exceeds the aggregate limits for under5 graduate students described in sub6 paragraph (A)(ii); 

7 ‘‘(II) that meets certification re8 quirements of the Federal agency that 

9 directly regulates the program and 

10 provides final licensing and credentials 

11 to students upon completion; and 

12 ‘‘(III) the institution of higher 

13 education offering such program of 

14 study notifies the Secretary that the 

15 program desires to be a qualifying un16 dergraduate program. 

17 ‘‘(C) ALL STUDENTS.—The maximum ag18 gregate amount of loans made, insured, or guar19 anteed under this title to a student shall be 

20 $200,000.’’. 

21 (3) INSTITUTIONALLY DETERMINED LIMITS.— 

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

23 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(a)) is further amended by adding at 

24 the end the following: 

25 ‘‘(5) INSTITUTIONALLY DETERMINED LIMITS.— 


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

2 other provision of this subsection, an eligible in3 stitution (at the discretion of a financial aid ad4 ministrator at the institution) may prorate or 

5 limit the amount of a loan any student who is 

6 enrolled in a program of study for a period of 

7 instruction beginning on or after July 1, 2024, 

8 at that institution, may borrow under this part 

9 for an academic year— 

10 ‘‘(i) if the institution can reasonably 

11 demonstrate that outstanding amounts owed 

12 of loans made under this title are or would 

13 be excessive for students who complete such 

14 program, based on the most recently avail15 able data from the College Scorecard (or 

16 successor website of the Department) on— 

17 ‘‘(I) the median of the value18 added earnings of students who com19 plete such program; and 

20 ‘‘(II) the median debt owed, and 

21 the repayment rate, on loans made 

22 under this part, of such students; 

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

24 enrolled on a less than full-time basis or the 

25 student is enrolled for less than the period 


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1 of enrollment to which the annual loan 

2 limit applies under this subsection, based 

3 on the student’s enrollment status; or 

4 ‘‘(iii) based on the year of the program 

5 for which the student is seeking such loan. 

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

7 Any proration or limiting of loan amounts 

8 under subparagraph (A) shall be applied in the 

9 same manner to all students enrolled in a pro10 gram of study. 

11 ‘‘(C) INCREASES FOR INDIVIDUAL STU12 DENTS.—Upon the request of a student whose 

13 loan amount for an academic year has been pro14 rated or limited under subparagraph (A), an eli15 gible institution (at the discretion of the finan16 cial aid administrator at the institution) may 

17 increase such loan amount to an amount not ex18 ceeding the annual loan amount applicable to 

19 such student under this paragraph for such aca20 demic year.’’. 

21 (b) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY TO MAKE FEDERAL

22 DIRECT PLUS LOANS TO ANY STUDENT OR PARENT BOR23 ROWER.—Section 455(a) of the Higher Education Act of 

24 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(a)) is amended by adding at the 

25 end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(6) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY TO MAKE

2 FEDERAL DIRECT PLUS LOANS.—Notwithstanding 

3 any provision of this part or part B, except as pro4 vided in paragraph (3)(E), for any period of instruc5 tion beginning on or after July 1, 2025, no Federal 

6 Direct PLUS loans may be made to any parent bor7 rower or graduate or professional student borrower.’’. 

8 SEC. 222. LOAN REPAYMENT. 

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

10 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(d)) is amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (1)(D) by inserting ‘‘(includ12 ing a repayment assistance plan under section 

13 455(e)(9))’’ after ‘‘an income contingent repayment 

14 plan’’; and 

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

16 ‘‘(6) REPAYMENT PLANS FOR LOANS MADE ON OR

17 AFTER JULY 1, 2024.— 

18 ‘‘(A) DESIGN AND SELECTION.—Notwith19 standing paragraph (1), beginning on July 1, 

20 2024, the Secretary shall offer a borrower of a 

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

22 2024, two plans for repayment of such loan, in23 cluding principal and interest on the loan. The 

24 borrower shall be entitled to accelerate, without 


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1 penalty, repayment on such loans. The borrower 

2 may choose— 

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

4 fixed monthly repayment amount paid over 

5 a fixed period of time, not to exceed 10 

6 years; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) a repayment assistance plan 

8 under section 455(e)(9). 

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

10 borrower does not select a repayment plan de11 scribed in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall 

12 provide the borrower with the repayment plan 

13 described in subparagraph (A)(i). 

14 ‘‘(C) CHANGES IN SELECTION.— 

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

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

17 selection of a repayment plan under sub18 paragraph (A), or the Secretary’s selection 

19 of a plan for the borrower under subpara20 graph (B), as the case may be. Nothing in 

21 this subsection shall prohibit the Secretary 

22 from encouraging distressed borrowers from 

23 enrolling in the repayment assistance plan 

24 under section 455(e)(9). 


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1 ‘‘(ii) SAME REPAYMENT PLAN RE2 QUIRED.—All loans made under this part 

3 on or after July 1, 2024, to a borrower shall 

4 be repaid under the same repayment plan 

5 under subparagraph (A), except that the 

6 borrower may repay an excepted PLUS 

7 loan or an excepted consolidation loan (as 

8 such terms are defined in section 455(e)(9)) 

9 separately from other loans made under this 

10 part to the borrower. 

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

12 Secretary may require a borrower who has de13 faulted on a loan made under this part to— 

14 ‘‘(i) pay all reasonable collection costs 

15 associated with such loan; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) repay the loan pursuant to the re17 payment assistance plan under section 

18 455(e)(9). 

19 ‘‘(E) PROHIBITIONS.—The Secretary may 

20 not— 

21 ‘‘(i) authorize a borrower of a loan 

22 made under this part on or after July 1, 

23 2024, to repay such loan pursuant to a re24 payment plan that is not described in 

25 clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A); or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) carry out or modify a repayment 

2 plan for any loan made under this part on 

3 or after July 1, 2024, that is not described 

4 in such clause (i) or (ii).’’. 

5 (b) REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE PLAN.—Section 455(e) of 

6 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(e)) is 

7 amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(9) REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE PLAN.— 

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

10 other provision of this Act, beginning on July 1, 

11 2024, the Secretary shall carry out a repayment 

12 assistance program that shall have the terms and 

13 conditions of an income-contingent repayment 

14 plan described in paragraphs (1) through (8), 

15 except that— 

16 ‘‘(i) a borrower of any loan made 

17 under this part (other than an excepted 

18 PLUS loan or excepted consolidation loan), 

19 may elect to have the borrower’s aggregate 

20 monthly payment for all such loans not ex21 ceed the applicable monthly payment for the 

22 borrower, except that a borrower may not be 

23 precluded from repaying an amount that 

24 exceeds such applicable monthly payment 

25 for any month; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary shall apply the bor2 rower’s monthly payment under this para3 graph first toward interest due on such a 

4 loan, next toward any fees due on the loan, 

5 and then toward the principal of the loan; 

6 ‘‘(iii) any principal due and not paid 

7 under clause (ii) shall be deferred; 

8 ‘‘(iv) the amount of time the borrower 

9 makes monthly payments under clause (i) 

10 may exceed 10 years; 

11 ‘‘(v) notwithstanding paragraph (7), 

12 the Secretary shall repay or cancel any out13 standing balance of principal and interest 

14 due on all loans made under this part 

15 (other than excepted PLUS loans or ex16 cepted consolidation loans) to a borrower— 

17 ‘‘(I) who, at any time, elected to 

18 participate in a repayment assistance 

19 plan under clause (i); 

20 ‘‘(II) whose final monthly pay21 ment for such loans prior to the loan 

22 cancellation under this clause was 

23 made under such repayment assistance 

24 plan; and 


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1 ‘‘(III) who has repaid on such 

2 loans (pursuant to a repayment assist3 ance plan under clause (i), a standard 

4 repayment plan under subsection 

5 (d)(6)(A)(i), or a combination of any 

6 such plan or any of the repayment 

7 plans listed in clause (ii), (iii), (iv), or 

8 (v) of paragraph (7)(B), or, in the case 

9 of a consolidation loan, pursuant to a 

10 repayment schedule described item 

11 (aa)(BB) of this subclause) an amount 

12 that is equal to— 

13 ‘‘(aa)(AA) the total amount 

14 of principal and interest that the 

15 borrower would have repaid under 

16 a standard repayment plan under 

17 paragraph (1)(A) or (6)(A)(i) of 

18 subsection (d), based on a 10-year 

19 repayment period, when the bor20 rower entered repayment on such 

21 loans; or 

22 ‘‘(BB) in the case of a Fed23 eral Direct Consolidation Loan, 

24 the total amount of principal and 

25 interest that the borrower would 


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1 have repaid under the repayment 

2 schedule established for the loan 

3 under section 428C(c)(2) on the 

4 date on which such loan was 

5 made; plus 

6 ‘‘(bb) an amount equal to the 

7 amount of any unpaid interest 

8 that has accrued, but was not in9 cluded in the calculation of the 

10 total amount of principal and in11 terest that would have been repaid 

12 under the standard repayment 

13 plan or schedule described in item 

14 (aa)— 

15 ‘‘(AA) during any 

16 deferment period described in 

17 clause (i) or (ii) of subsection 

18 (f)(2)(A); or 

19 ‘‘(BB) during any for20 bearance period while serving 

21 in a medical or dental in22 ternship or residency pro23 gram as described in section 

24 428(c)(3)(A)(i)(I); and 


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1 ‘‘(vi) a borrower who is repaying a 

2 loan pursuant to a repayment assistance 

3 plan under clause (i) may elect, at any 

4 time, to terminate repayment pursuant to 

5 such plan and repay such loan under the 

6 standard repayment plan under subsection 

7 (d)(6)(A)(i). 

8 ‘‘(B) REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE FOR DIS9 TRESSED BORROWERS.— 

10 ‘‘(i) INTEREST SUBSIDY.—For each 

11 month for which a borrower’s aggregate 

12 monthly payment under this paragraph is 

13 insufficient to pay the total amount of in14 terest that accrues on a loan for the month, 

15 the amount of interest accrued and not paid 

16 for the month shall be subtracted from the 

17 total amount of interest due on such loan 

18 for the month. 

19 ‘‘(ii) PRINCIPAL SUBSIDY.—For each 

20 month for which a borrower’s aggregate 

21 monthly payment under this paragraph re22 pays an amount due on an individual loan 

23 that is less than twice the total amount of 

24 interest that accrues on such loan for the 

25 month, the amount of the total principal 


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1 due on such loan shall be reduced by an 

2 amount equal to half of the monthly pay3 ment under this paragraph on such loan for 

4 the month. 

5 ‘‘(C) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(i) ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME.—The 

7 term ‘adjusted gross income’ has the mean8 ing given the term in section 62 of the In9 ternal Revenue Code of 1986. 

10 ‘‘(ii) APPLICABLE MONTHLY PAY11 MENT.—The term ‘applicable monthly pay12 ment’ means, when used with respect to a 

13 borrower, the amount obtained by dividing 

14 by 12, 10 percent of the result obtained by 

15 calculating, on at least an annual basis, the 

16 amount by which— 

17 ‘‘(I) the adjusted gross income of 

18 the borrower or, if the borrower is mar19 ried and files a Federal income tax re20 turn jointly with or separately from 

21 the borrower’s spouse, the adjusted 

22 gross income of the borrower and the 

23 borrower’s spouse; exceeds 

24 ‘‘(II) 150 percent of the poverty 

25 line applicable to the borrower’s family 


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1 size as determined under section 673(2) 

2 of the Community Services Block 

3 Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)). 

4 ‘‘(iii) EXCEPTED CONSOLIDATION

5 LOAN.—The term ‘excepted Consolidation 

6 Loan’ means a Federal Direct Consolida7 tion Loan, if the proceeds of such loan were 

8 used to the discharge the liability on— 

9 ‘‘(I) an excepted PLUS loan; or 

10 ‘‘(II) a Federal Direct Consolida11 tion loan, if the proceeds of such loan 

12 were used to discharge the liability on 

13 an excepted PLUS loan. 

14 ‘‘(iv) EXCEPTED PLUS LOAN.—The 

15 term ‘excepted PLUS Loan’ has the mean16 ing given the term in section 493C.’’. 

17 SEC. 223. LOAN REHABILITATION. 

18 Section 428F(a)(5) of the Higher Education Act of 

19 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078–6(a)(5)) is amended by striking ‘‘one 

20 time’’ and inserting ‘‘two times’’. 

21 SEC. 224. INTEREST CAPITALIZATION. 

22 (a) FEDERAL PLUS LOANS.—Section 428B(d)(2) of 

23 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078–2(d)(2)) 

24 is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(2) NO CAPITALIZATION OF INTEREST.—Interest 

2 on loans made under this section for which payments 

3 of principal are deferred pursuant to paragraph (1) 

4 shall be paid monthly or quarterly, if agreed upon by 

5 the borrower and the lender.’’. 

6 (b) FEDERAL CONSOLIDATION LOANS DEFERRALS.— 

7 Section 428C(b)(4)(C)(ii)(III) of the Higher Education Act 

8 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078–3(b)(4)(C)(III)) is amended by 

9 striking ‘‘or capitalized,’’. 

10 (c) LOAN LIMITS FOR UNSUBSIDIZED STAFFORD

11 LOANS.—Section 428H(d)(5) of the Higher Education Act 

12 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078–8(d)(5)) is amended by inserting 

13 ‘‘before the date of enactment of the College Cost Reduction 

14 Act’’ after ‘‘Interest capitalized’’. 

15 (d) UNSUBSIDIZED STAFFORD LOANS FOR MIDDLE IN16 COME BORROWERS.—Section 428H(e)(2) of the Higher 

17 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078–8(e)(2)) is amend18 ed— 

19 (1) in subparagraph (A), in the matter before 

20 clause (i), by striking ‘‘, if agreed upon by the bor21 rower and the lender’’ and all that follows through 

22 clause (ii)(IV) and inserting ‘‘be paid monthly or 

23 quarterly, if agreed upon by the borrower and the 

24 lender.’’; 

25 (2) by striking subparagraph (B); and 


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1 (3) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub2 paragraph (B). 

3 (e) INCOME CONTINGENT REPAYMENT.—Section 

4 455(e)(5) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

5 1087e(e)(5)) is amended by striking the last sentence and 

6 inserting ‘‘No interest may be capitalized on such loan on 

7 or after the date of the enactment of the College Cost Reduc8 tion Act, and the Secretary shall promulgate regulations 

9 with respect to the treatment of accrued interest that is not 

10 capitalized’’. 

11 (f) EFFECT OF DEFERMENT ON PRINCIPAL AND INTER12 EST.—Section 455(f)(1)(B) of the Higher Education Act of 

13 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(f)(1)(B)) is amended by striking 

14 ‘‘capitalized or’’. 

15 (g) INCOME-BASED REPAYMENT PROGRAM.—Section 

16 493C(b)(3)(B) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

17 U.S.C. 1098e(b)(3)(B)) is amended by inserting ‘‘shall ac18 crue but not’’ before ‘‘be capitalized’’. 

19 SEC. 225. ORIGINATION FEES. 

20 (a) REPEAL OF ORIGINATION FEES.—Subsection (c) 

21 of section 455 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

22 U.S.C. 1087e(c)) is repealed. 

23 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub24 section (a) shall apply with respect to loans made under 

25 part D of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 


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1 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.) for which the first disbursement of 

2 principal is made, or, in the case of a Federal Direct Con3 solidation Loan, the application is received, on or after 

4 July 1, 2024. 

5 TITLE III—ACCOUNTABILITY 

6 AND STUDENT SUCCESS 

7 PART A—ACCOUNTABILITY 

8 Subpart 1—Department of Education 

9 SEC. 301. AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS. 

10 Section 454 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

11 U.S.C. 1087d) is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

14 after the semicolon; 

15 (B) by redesignating paragraph (6) as 

16 paragraph (7); and 

17 (C) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol18 lowing new paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(6) provide annual reimbursements to the Sec20 retary in accordance with the requirements under 

21 subsection (d); and’’; and 

22 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub23 section: 

24 ‘‘(d) REIMBURSEMENT REQUIREMENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) ANNUAL REIMBURSEMENTS REQUIRED.— 

2 Beginning in award year 2024–2025, each institution 

3 of higher education participating in the direct student 

4 loan program under this part shall, for qualifying 

5 student loans, remit to the Secretary, at such time as 

6 the Secretary may specify, an annual reimbursement 

7 for each student cohort of the institution, based on the 

8 non-repayment balance of such cohort and calculated 

9 in accordance with paragraph (3). 

10 ‘‘(2) STUDENT COHORTS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) COHORTS ESTABLISHED.—For each 

12 institution of higher education, the Secretary 

13 shall establish student cohorts, beginning with 

14 award year 2023–2024, as follows: 

15 ‘‘(i) COMPLETING STUDENT COHORT.— 

16 For each program of study at such institu17 tion, a student cohort comprised of all stu18 dents who received Federal financial assist19 ance under this title and who completed 

20 such program during such award year. 

21 ‘‘(ii) UNDERGRADUATE NON-COM22 PLETING STUDENT COHORT.—For such in23 stitution, a student cohort comprised of all 

24 students who received Federal financial as25 sistance under this title, who were enrolled 


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1 in the institution during the previous 

2 award year in a program of study leading 

3 to an undergraduate credential, and who at 

4 the time the cohort is established— 

5 ‘‘(I) have not completed such pro6 gram of study; and 

7 ‘‘(II) are not enrolled at the insti8 tution in any program of study lead9 ing to an undergraduate credential. 

10 ‘‘(iii) GRADUATE NON-COMPLETING

11 STUDENT COHORT.—For each program of 

12 study leading to a graduate credential at 

13 such institution, a student cohort comprised 

14 of all students who received Federal finan15 cial assistance under this title, who were en16 rolled in such program during the previous 

17 award year, and who at the time the cohort 

18 is established— 

19 ‘‘(I) have not completed such pro20 gram of study; and 

21 ‘‘(II) are not enrolled in such pro22 gram. 

23 ‘‘(B) QUALIFYING STUDENT LOAN.—For the 

24 purposes of this subsection, the term ‘qualifying 

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1 cluding a Federal Direct Consolidation loan, 

2 made under this part that— 

3 ‘‘(i) was made to a student included in 

4 a student cohort of an institution; 

5 ‘‘(ii) except in the case of a loan de6 scribed in clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph 

7 (C), is not included in any other student co8 hort of any institution of higher education; 

9 ‘‘(iii) is not in— 

10 ‘‘(I) a medical or dental intern11 ship or residency forbearance described 

12 in section 428(c)(3)(A)(i)(I), section 

13 428B(a)(2), section 428H(a), or section 

14 685.205(a)(3) of title 34, Code of Fed15 eral Regulations; 

16 ‘‘(II) a graduate fellowship 

17 deferment described in section 

18 455(f)(2)(A)(ii) 

19 ‘‘(III) rehabilitation training pro20 gram deferment described under section 

21 455(f)(2)(A)(ii); 

22 ‘‘(IV) an in-school deferment de23 scribed under section 455(f)(2)(A)(i); 

24 ‘‘(V) a cancer deferment described 

25 under section 455(f)(3); 


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1 ‘‘(VI) a military service deferment 

2 described under section 455(f)(2)(C); or 

3 ‘‘(VII) a post-active duty student 

4 deferment described under section 

5 493D; and 

6 ‘‘(iv) is not in default. 

7 ‘‘(C) SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES.— 

8 ‘‘(i) MULTIPLE CREDENTIALS.—In the 

9 case of a student who completes two or more 

10 programs of study during the same award 

11 year, each qualifying student loan of the 

12 student shall be included in the student co13 hort for each of such program of study for 

14 such award year. 

15 ‘‘(ii) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN CON16 SOLIDATION LOANS.—A Federal Direct Con17 solidation loan made under this title shall 

18 not be considered a qualifying student loan 

19 for a student cohort for an award year if all 

20 of the loans included in such consolidation 

21 loan are attributable to another student co22 hort. 

23 ‘‘(iii) CONSOLIDATION AFTER INCLU24 SION IN A STUDENT COHORT.—If a quali25 fying student loan is consolidated into a 


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1 consolidation loan under this title after such 

2 qualifying student loan has been included 

3 in a student cohort, the percentage of the 

4 consolidation loan that was attributable to 

5 such student cohort at the time of consolida6 tion shall remain attributable to the student 

7 cohort for the life of the consolidation loan. 

8 ‘‘(3) CALCULATION OF REIMBURSEMENT.— 

9 ‘‘(A) REIMBURSEMENT PAYMENT FOR10 MULA.—For each student cohort of an institution 

11 of higher education established under this sub12 section, the annual reimbursement for such co13 hort shall be equal to— 

14 ‘‘(i) the reimbursement percentage de15 termined for the cohort in accordance with 

16 subparagraph (B); multiplied by 

17 ‘‘(ii) the non-repayment balance for the 

18 cohort for the award year, determined in 

19 accordance with subparagraph (C). 

20 ‘‘(B) REIMBURSEMENT PERCENTAGE.—The 

21 reimbursement percentage of a student cohort of 

22 an institution shall be determined by the Sec23 retary when the cohort is established, shall re24 main constant for the life of the student cohort, 

25 and shall be determined as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(i) COMPLETING STUDENT CO2 HORTS.—The reimbursement percentage of 

3 a completing student cohort shall be equal 

4 to the percentage determined by— 

5 ‘‘(I) subtracting from one the 

6 quotient of— 

7 ‘‘(aa) the median value8 added earnings of students who 

9 completed such program of study 

10 in the most recent award year for 

11 which such earnings data is avail12 able; divided by 

13 ‘‘(bb) the median total price 

14 charged to students included in 

15 such cohort; and 

16 ‘‘(II) multiplying the difference 

17 determined under subclause (I) by 100. 

18 ‘‘(ii) SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES FOR

19 COMPLETING STUDENT COHORTS.— 

20 ‘‘(I) HIGH-RISK COHORTS.—Not21 withstanding clause (i), if the median 

22 value-added earnings of a completing 

23 student cohort under clause (i)(I)(aa) 

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1 age of the student cohort shall be 100 

2 percent. 

3 ‘‘(II) LOW-RISK COHORTS.—Not4 withstanding clause (i), if the median 

5 value-added earnings of a completing 

6 student cohort under clause (i)(I)(aa) 

7 exceeds the median total price of such 

8 cohort under clause (i)(I)(bb), the re9 imbursement percentage of the student 

10 cohort shall be 0 percent. 

11 ‘‘(iii) NON-COMPLETING STUDENT CO12 HORTS.—The reimbursement percentage of 

13 a non-completing student cohort shall be de14 termined based on the most recent data 

15 available in the award year in which the 

16 cohort is established, and— 

17 ‘‘(I) for an undergraduate non18 completing student cohort, shall be 

19 equal to the percentage of under20 graduate students who received Federal 

21 financial assistance under this title at 

22 such institution who— 

23 ‘‘(aa) did not complete an 

24 undergraduate program of study 

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1 cent of the program length of such 

2 program; or 

3 ‘‘(bb) only in the case of a 

4 two-year institution, did not, 

5 within 6 years after first enrolling 

6 at the two-year institution, com7 plete a program of study at a 

8 four-year institution for which a 

9 bachelor’s degree (or substantially 

10 similar credential) is awarded; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(II) for a graduate non-com13 pleting student cohort, shall be equal to 

14 the percentage of students who received 

15 Federal financial assistance under this 

16 title at the institution for the applica17 ble graduate program of study and 

18 who did not complete such program of 

19 study within 150 percent of the pro20 gram length. 

21 ‘‘(C) NON-REPAYMENT LOAN BALANCE.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For each award 

23 year, the Secretary shall determine the non24 repayment loan balance for such award 

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1 tion of higher education by calculating the 

2 sum of— 

3 ‘‘(I) for loans in such cohort, the 

4 difference between the total amount of 

5 payments due from all borrowers on 

6 such loans during such year and the 

7 total amount of payments made by all 

8 such borrowers on such loans during 

9 such year; plus 

10 ‘‘(II) the total amount of interest 

11 waived, paid, or otherwise not charged 

12 by the Secretary during such year 

13 under an income-based repayment 

14 plan described in section 493C or an 

15 income-contingent repayment plan de16 scribed in section 455(e); plus 

17 ‘‘(III) the total amount of prin18 cipal and interest forgiven, cancelled, 

19 waived, discharged, repaid, or other20 wise reduced by the Secretary under 

21 any act during such year that is not 

22 included in subclause (II) and was not 

23 discharged or forgiven under section 

24 437(a) or 428J. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES.—For 

2 the purpose of calculating the non-repay3 ment loan balance of student cohorts under 

4 this paragraph, the Secretary shall— 

5 ‘‘(I) for each qualifying student 

6 loan in a student cohort that is in7 cluded in another student cohort be8 cause the student who borrowed such 

9 loan completed two or more programs 

10 of study during the same award year, 

11 the sum of the amounts described in 

12 subclauses (I) through (III) of clause 

13 (i) for such qualifying student loan 

14 shall be divided equally among each of 

15 the student cohorts in which such loan 

16 is included; and 

17 ‘‘(II) for each consolidation loan 

18 in a student cohort— 

19 ‘‘(aa) determine the percent20 age of the outstanding principal 

21 balance of the consolidation loan 

22 attributable to such student co23 hort— 

24 ‘‘(AA) at the time of 

25 that loan was included in 


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1 such cohort, in the case of a 

2 loan consolidated before in3 clusion in such cohort; or 

4 ‘‘(BB) at the time of 

5 consolidation, in the case of 

6 a loan consolidated after in7 clusion in such cohort; and 

8 ‘‘(bb) include in the calcula9 tions under clause (i) for such stu10 dent cohort only the percentage of 

11 the sum of the amounts described 

12 in subclauses (I) through (III) of 

13 clause (i) for the consolidation 

14 loan for such year that is equal to 

15 the percentage of the consolidation 

16 loan determined under item (aa). 

17 ‘‘(D) TOTAL PRICE.—With respect to a stu18 dent who received Federal financial assistance 

19 under this title and who completes a program of 

20 study, the term ‘total price’ means the total 

21 amount, before Federal financial assistance 

22 under this title was applied, a student was re23 quired to pay to complete the program of study. 

24 A student’s total price shall be calculated by the 

25 Secretary as the difference between— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the total amount of tuition and 

2 fees (including the required costs described 

3 in section 124(b)(3)(A)(i)(I)) that were 

4 charged to such student before the applica5 tion of any Federal financial assistance 

6 provided under this title; minus 

7 ‘‘(ii) the total amount of grants and 

8 scholarships described in section 480(i) 

9 awarded to such student from non-Federal 

10 sources for such program of study. 

11 ‘‘(4) NOTIFICATION AND REMITTANCE.—Begin12 ning with the first award year for which reimburse13 ments are required under this subsection, and for each 

14 succeeding award year, the Secretary shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) notify each institution of higher edu16 cation of the amounts and due dates of each an17 nual reimbursement calculated under paragraph 

18 (3) for each student cohort of the institution 

19 within 30 days of calculating such amounts; and 

20 ‘‘(B) require the institution to remit such 

21 payments within 90 days of such notification. 

22 ‘‘(5) PENALTY FOR LATE PAYMENTS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) THREE-MONTH DELINQUENCY.—If an 

24 institution fails to remit to the Secretary a reim25 bursement for a student cohort as required under 


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1 this subsection within 90 days of receiving noti2 fication from the Secretary in accordance with 

3 paragraph (4), the institution shall pay to the 

4 Secretary, in addition to such reimbursement, 

5 interest on such reimbursement payment, at a 

6 rate that is the average rate applicable to the 

7 loans in such student cohort. 

8 ‘‘(B) TWELVE-MONTH DELINQUENCY.—If an 

9 institution fails to remit to the Secretary a reim10 bursement for a student cohort as required under 

11 this subsection, plus interest owed in under sub12 paragraph (A), within 12 months of receiving 

13 notification from the Secretary in accordance 

14 with paragraph (4), the institution shall be in15 eligible to make direct loans to any student en16 rolled in the program of study for which the in17 stitution has failed to make the reimbursement 

18 payments until such payment is made. 

19 ‘‘(C) EIGHTEEN-MONTH DELINQUENCY.—If 

20 an institution fails to remit to the Secretary a 

21 reimbursement for a student cohort as required 

22 under this subsection, plus interest owed under 

23 subparagraph (A), within 18 months of receiving 

24 notification from the Secretary in accordance 

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1 eligible to make direct loans or award Federal 

2 Pell Grants under section 401 to any student en3 rolled in the institution until such payment is 

4 made. 

5 ‘‘(D) TWO-YEAR DELINQUENCY.—If an in6 stitution fails to remit to the Secretary a reim7 bursement for a student cohort as required under 

8 this subsection, plus interest owed under sub9 paragraph (A), within 2 years of receiving noti10 fication from the Secretary in accordance with 

11 paragraph (4), the institution shall be ineligible 

12 to participate in any program under this title 

13 for a period of not less than 10 years. 

14 ‘‘(6) RELIEF FOR VOLUNTARY CESSATION OF

15 FEDERAL DIRECT LOANS FOR A PROGRAM OF

16 STUDY.—The Secretary shall, upon the request of an 

17 institution that voluntarily ceases to make Federal 

18 direct loans to students enrolled in a specific program 

19 of study, reduce the amount of the annual reimburse20 ment owed by the institution for each student cohort 

21 associated with such program by 50 percent if the in22 stitution assures the Secretary that the institution 

23 will not make Federal direct loans to any student en24 rolled in such program of study (or any substantially 

25 similar program of study) for a period of not less 


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1 than 10 award years, beginning with the first award 

2 year that begins after the date on which the Secretary 

3 reduces such reimbursement. 

4 ‘‘(7) RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR PROMISE

5 GRANTS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 

6 law, the Secretary shall reserve the funds remitted to 

7 the Secretary as reimbursements in accordance with 

8 this subsection, and such funds shall be made avail9 able to the Secretary only for the purpose of awarding 

10 PROMISE grants in accordance with subpart 4 of 

11 part A of this title.’’. 

12 SEC. 302. REGULATORY RELIEF. 

13 (a) 90/10.— 

14 (1) REGULATION REPEALED.—Section 668.28 of 

15 title 34, Code of Federal Regulations (relating to the 

16 90/10 rule), 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.), is repealed and will have no force 

20 or effect. 

21 (2) AMENDMENTS.—Section 487 of the Higher 

22 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094) is amend23 ed— 

24 (A) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph 

25 (24); 


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1 (B) by striking subsection (d); and 

2 (C) by redesignating subsections (e) through 

3 (j) as subsections (d) through (i), respectively. 

4 (b) FINANCIAL VALUE TRANSPARENCY AND GAINFUL

5 EMPLOYMENT.— 

6 (1) REGULATION REPEALED.—Sections 600.10, 

7 600.21, 668.2, 668.13, 668.43, 668.91, 668.402 

8 through 668.409 (excluding section 668.408), and 

9 668.601 through 668.606 of title 34, Code of Federal 

10 Regulations (relating to financial value transparency 

11 and gainful employment), as added or amended by 

12 the final regulations published by the Department of 

13 Education in the Federal Register on October 10, 

14 2023 (88 FR 70004 et seq.), are repealed and will 

15 have no force or effect. 

16 (2) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary of Education 

17 shall not, on or after the date of enactment of this 

18 Act, promulgate or enforce any regulation or rule 

19 with respect to the definition or application of the 

20 term ‘‘gainful employment’’ for any purpose under 

21 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et 

22 seq.). 

23 (c) CHANGES IN OWNERSHIP.— 

24 (1) REGULATION REPEALED.—Sections 600.2, 

25 600.4, 600.20, 600.21, and 600.31 of title 34, Code of 


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1 Federal Regulations (relating to changes in owner2 ship), as added or amended by the final regulations 

3 published by the Department of Education in the 

4 Federal Register on October 28, 2022 (87 Fed. Reg. 

5 65426 et seq.), are repealed and will have no force or 

6 effect. 

7 (2) AMENDMENTS.—Section 498(i) of the Higher 

8 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099c(i)) is 

9 amended— 

10 (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

11 ‘‘AND PROPOSED CHANGES OF OWNERSHIP’’ 

12 after ‘‘OWNERSHIP’’; 

13 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

14 (i) by striking ‘‘(1) An eligible institu15 tion’’, and inserting the following: ‘‘(1)(A) 

16 An eligible institution’’; 

17 (ii) by striking ‘‘the requirements of 

18 section 102 (other than the requirements in 

19 subsections (b)(5) and (c)(3))’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘the applicable requirements of section 

21 102 or 103(13)’’ 

22 (iii) by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(B)(i) Prior to a change in ownership resulting in 

25 a change of control, an institution may seek a 


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1 pretransaction determination about whether the institution 

2 will meet the applicable requirements of section 102 or 

3 103(13) and this section after such proposed change in own4 ership by submitting to the Secretary a materially complete 

5 pretransaction review application. 

6 ‘‘(ii) In reviewing applications submitted under clause 

7 (i), the Secretary shall only provide a comprehensive review 

8 of each such application, and may not provide an abbre9 viated or partial review. 

10 ‘‘(iii) If an institution submits a materially complete 

11 pretransaction review application at least 90 days prior to 

12 the transaction and the Secretary approves the application, 

13 the subsequent change in ownership application shall also 

14 be approved and the institution shall be certified as meeting 

15 the requirements for such transaction, provided that the in16 stitution— 

17 ‘‘(I) complies with the applicable terms of this 

18 section; and 

19 ‘‘(II) the transaction resulting in a change of 

20 control does not differ materially in its terms from 

21 the transaction proposed in the pretransaction review 

22 application.’’; 

23 (C) in paragraph (2)— 

24 (i) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

25 ‘‘or’’ at the end; 


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1 (ii) in subparagraph (F), by striking 

2 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; 

3 and 

4 (iii) by adding the following at the 

5 end: 

6 ‘‘(G) in the case of a proprietary institution of 

7 higher education, a conversion to a public or other 

8 nonprofit institution of higher education.’’; 

9 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(5)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), when any insti11 tution submits an application for a change in ownership 

12 resulting in a change in control under this section or sub13 mits a pretransaction review application under paragraph 

14 (1)(B) (other than in the case of a conversion transaction), 

15 the institution shall be required to pay to the Secretary an 

16 administrative fee that shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) be in an amount equal to 0.15 percent of the 

18 total institutional revenue derived from this title by 

19 such institution for the most fiscal year for which 

20 data is available; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) be used exclusively for expenses related to 

22 the processing of such application, and be available to 

23 the Secretary without further appropriation, exclu24 sively for expenses related to the processing of such 

25 approval or application. 


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1 ‘‘(B) In the case of a proprietary institution submit2 ting an application for conversion, or a pretransaction re3 view application for conversion, the institution shall be re4 quired to pay to the Secretary an administrative fee that 

5 shall— 

6 ‘‘(i) be in an amount equal to 0.30 percent of the 

7 total institutional revenue derived from this title by 

8 such institution for the most fiscal year for which 

9 data is available; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) be used exclusively for expenses related to 

11 the processing of such application, and of which— 

12 ‘‘(I) 50 percent shall be available to the Sec13 retary without further appropriation, exclusively 

14 for expenses related to the processing of such ap15 plication; and 

16 ‘‘(II) 50 percent shall be remitted by the 

17 Secretary to the Commissioner of the Internal 

18 Revenue, and shall be available, without further 

19 appropriation, to the Commissioner of Internal 

20 Revenue exclusively for purposes of determining 

21 whether the institution seeking such conversion 

22 or pretransaction review is an institution ex23 empt from tax and is otherwise in compliance 

24 with applicable requirements of the Internal 

25 Revenue Code of 1986. 


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1 ‘‘(C) An institution that pays a fee under subpara2 graph (A) or (B) for a pretransaction application with re3 spect to a proposed transaction shall not be required to pay 

4 another fee under such subparagraph for a change in owner5 ship application with respect to such transaction. 

6 ‘‘(D) In no case may any fee remitted under subpara7 graph (A) or (B) exceed $120,000 for any transaction (or 

8 pretransaction) application, nor may the Secretary require 

9 an institution that has paid a fee under subparagraph (B) 

10 to pay an additional fee under subparagraph (A). 

11 ‘‘(6)(A) The Secretary shall approve or deny a materi12 ally complete application (including pretransaction reviews 

13 and conversion applications) submitted under this section 

14 as soon as practicable and not later than the 90-day period 

15 beginning on the date of receipt of such an application, ex16 cept that in a case in which the Secretary determines, on 

17 a nondelegable basis, that good cause exists to not make the 

18 determination during such 90-day period, the Secretary 

19 shall notify the institution in writing detailing the reasons 

20 for a good cause extension. 

21 ‘‘(B) If the Secretary fails to approve or deny a mate22 rially complete application during the period described in 

23 subparagraph (A) and does not find good cause for exten24 sion, the materially complete application shall be deemed 

25 approved. 


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1 ‘‘(C) In no case may the Secretary grant a good cause 

2 extension under this section to an institution for more than 

3 one month at a time, or for a total of more than more than 

4 12 months. 

5 ‘‘(D) To ensure timely submission of all relevant docu6 mentation, the Secretary may deny an application if an 

7 institution does not make a good faith effort to submit to 

8 the Secretary, in a timely manner— 

9 ‘‘(i) all relevant documentation; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) a materially complete application. 

11 ‘‘(E)(i) Upon approving or denying an application 

12 under this paragraph, the Secretary shall publish in the 

13 Federal Register the reasoning for such approval or denial, 

14 including— 

15 ‘‘(I) a copy of the approval or denial letter 

16 sent to the institution; and 

17 ‘‘(II) any analysis regarding how the Sec18 retary determined under paragraph 7(A)(iii) 

19 that a director of the institution was an inter20 ested or disinterested party to the transaction. 

21 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary shall not publish under clause (i) 

22 any information that is otherwise exempt from disclosure 

23 under section 552 of title 5, United States Code (relating 

24 to the Freedom of Information Act), including trade secrets 


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1 and commercial or financial information that is privileged 

2 or confidential. 

3 ‘‘(7)(A) In the case of a proprietary institution that 

4 subsequent to the transaction would be owned and operated 

5 by an entity (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘buyer’) 

6 seeking to be recognized as a public or other nonprofit insti7 tution, the buyer shall meet the definition of a nonprofit 

8 institution under section 103(13) if— 

9 ‘‘(i) the buyer pays no more than fair market 

10 value for any assets of the proprietary institution; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the buyer pays no more than fair market 

12 value for any service or lease contracts, including 

13 such service and lease contracts provided by the entity 

14 selling the proprietary institution; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) to prevent self-dealing in the case where 

16 one or more individuals with a substantial ownership 

17 or controlling interests in the proprietary institution 

18 will also have substantial or controlling interests in 

19 the institution seeking to be recognized as a public or 

20 other nonprofit institution (meaning that one or more 

21 individuals are on both sides of the transaction), the 

22 change of control transaction, and any substantial 

23 asset acquisition, service, or lease agreements with the 

24 proprietary institution shall be approved by a disin25 terested committee of directors of the entity that seeks 


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1 to be recognized as a public or other nonprofit insti2 tution. 

3 ‘‘(B) For the purposes of this paragraph, parties to 

4 the transaction are entitled to a rebuttable presumption 

5 that the assets, lease contracts, and service contracts that 

6 are part of the transaction are purchased at fair market 

7 value if— 

8 ‘‘(i) the acquiring entity pays no more than fair 

9 market value for such assets, lease contracts, or service 

10 contracts; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) the value of the assets, lease contracts, or 

12 service contracts are evaluated by at least one inde13 pendent third-party entity hired by parties on both 

14 sides of the transaction. 

15 ‘‘(8)(A) An institution that has been approved for con16 version by the Secretary shall be subject to a monitoring 

17 period for a 5-year period beginning on the day after the 

18 date of such approval. In conducting the monitoring of the 

19 institution under this paragraph, the Secretary— 

20 ‘‘(i) shall only conduct monitoring to ensure that 

21 the institution is in compliance with the requirements 

22 of section 103(13) and paragraph (7) of this sub23 section; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) may require the institution to submit reg2 ular reports or conduct audits of such institution re3 lating to such compliance. 

4 ‘‘(B) Each institution that is subject to the monitoring 

5 period under this paragraph shall remit an annual fee to 

6 the Secretary— 

7 ‘‘(i) in an amount equal to 0.15 percent of the 

8 total revenue derived from this title by such institu9 tion for the most recent fiscal year for which data is 

10 available; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) that shall be exclusively for expenses related 

12 to monitoring of the institution for the period de13 scribed in subparagraph (A)— 

14 ‘‘(I) of which 50 percent shall be used by the 

15 Secretary, without further appropriation, exclu16 sively for expenses related to monitoring of the 

17 institution during such period; and 

18 ‘‘(II) of which 50 percent shall be remitted 

19 by the Secretary to the Commissioner of Internal 

20 Revenue, to be available to such Commissioner, 

21 without further appropriation, exclusively for 

22 monitoring compliance with the Internal Rev23 enue Code of such institution during such period. 


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1 ‘‘(C) An institution may not be subject to an annual 

2 fee under subparagraph (B) for monitoring related to a con3 version that exceeds $60,000. 

4 ‘‘(D) If the Secretary determines that an institution 

5 should be subject to the monitoring under this paragraph 

6 beyond the 5-year period described in subparagraph (A), 

7 the Secretary shall provide the reasons justifying an exten8 sion in writing to the institution (and in the Federal Reg9 ister) at least 30 days before the expiration of such period. 

10 ‘‘(E) Any institution that is subject to monitoring 

11 under this paragraph may seek a waiver to be exempt from 

12 such monitoring (including the annual fee under subpara13 graph (B)) on an annual basis for any year during the 

14 monitoring period and the Secretary shall grant such waiv15 er if there is no ongoing contractual or financial relation16 ship between the institution and the former entity or indi17 viduals that previously owned the institution. The Sec18 retary may grant a waiver for more than 1 year in the 

19 case where the entity that formerly owned the proprietary 

20 institution has closed or no longer exists and the Secretary 

21 determines the institution is not at risk of violating the re22 quirements of section 103(13) or paragraph (7) of this sub23 section. 

24 ‘‘(9) Any institution that submits an application for 

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1 ner, as a public or other nonprofit institution of higher edu2 cation unless— 

3 ‘‘(A) the Secretary has provided final approval 

4 of the conversion of the institution to a public or 

5 other nonprofit institution of higher education under 

6 this section; 

7 ‘‘(B) an accrediting agency or association recog8 nized by the Secretary pursuant to section 496 has 

9 approved such public or nonprofit status of the insti10 tution; 

11 ‘‘(C) the State has given final approval to the 

12 institution as a public or nonprofit institution of 

13 higher education, as applicable; and 

14 ‘‘(D) in the case of an institution seeking non15 profit status, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue 

16 has approved the institution as tax exempt pursuant 

17 to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

18 ‘‘(10) Not later than 270 days after the date of enact19 ment of the College Cost Reduction Act, and periodically 

20 thereafter, the Secretary shall publish (and update as nec21 essary) in the Federal Register— 

22 ‘‘(A) descriptions of the documents and materials 

23 the Secretary expects or requires institutions of higher 

24 education to submit (including any standardized 

25 forms) as part of any pretransaction application or 


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1 change in ownership application under this section, 

2 including a description of what the Secretary con3 siders to be a materially complete application; and 

4 ‘‘(B) after at least a 30-day notice and comment 

5 period, responses to any public comments received 

6 with respect to such descriptions or updates to such 

7 descriptions. 

8 ‘‘(11) In a case in which the Secretary requests a docu9 ment under this section as part of a pretransaction or 

10 change in ownership application that is not described in 

11 the Federal Register under paragraph (10), the Secretary 

12 shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) substantiate, in writing to the institution, 

14 the reasons why the Secretary is requesting such docu15 ments; and 

16 ‘‘(B) publish such reasons in the Federal Reg17 ister, including whether the Secretary may request 

18 other institutions that submit applications under this 

19 section to produce similar documentation. 

20 ‘‘(12)(A) Not later than 18 months after the date of 

21 enactment of the College Cost Reduction Act, and annually 

22 thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a report to author23 izing committees, and post such report on a publicly avail24 able website regarding implementation of the amendments 


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1 made to this section by such Act, including the following 

2 information: 

3 ‘‘(i) The mean and median length of time taken 

4 by the Secretary to review applications under this 

5 section during the preceding 12-month period. 

6 ‘‘(ii) The number of applications approved or de7 nied during the preceding 12-month period. 

8 ‘‘(iii) For any application not processed during 

9 the 90-day period beginning on the date of receipt of 

10 the application for which the Secretary found good 

11 cause under paragraph (6)(A) to extend the deadline 

12 in which the application shall be processed, a copy of 

13 the letter sent to the institution explaining why the 

14 Secretary believed good cause existed for such exten15 sion. 

16 ‘‘(iv) For any application not processed during 

17 such 90-day period, which was deemed to be auto18 matically approved by the requirements of this section 

19 under paragraph (6)(B), the name of each institution 

20 involved and an explanation for why the application 

21 was not processed in a timely manner. 

22 ‘‘(v) Any legislative suggestions the Secretary 

23 may have to improve the application or monitoring 

24 process under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(B) If the Secretary fails to submit a report under 

2 this paragraph by not later than 90 days after the deadline 

3 for such submission under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

4 may not, for the 12-month period following such failure, 

5 spend the fees remitted by institutions under this section 

6 or remit such fees to the Commissioner unless Congress pro7 vides for such use by further appropriation. 

8 ‘‘(13) For the purposes of this subsection, the term 

9 ‘conversion’ means any transaction under which— 

10 ‘‘(A) a proprietary institution is reorganized 

11 and seeks recognition as a public or other nonprofit 

12 institution; or 

13 ‘‘(B) the control of a proprietary institution is 

14 transferred as a result of a sale, donation, or other 

15 method to an entity that seeks certification under this 

16 section as a public or other nonprofit institution.’’. 

17 (3) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by 

18 this section shall be apply with respect to applica19 tions submitted for change of control or conversion 

20 submitted on or after January 1, 2023. 

21 (4) REPORT.—Not later than 5 years after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

23 shall submit to the Committee on Education and 

24 Labor of the House of Representatives and the Com25 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of 


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1 the Senate, a report on the implementation of the 

2 amendments made by this subsection, including rec3 ommendations to improve— 

4 (A) the application process under section 

5 498(i) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

6 U.S.C. 1099c(i)), as amended by paragraph (2), 

7 for institutions of higher education seeking a 

8 change in ownership resulting in a change in 

9 control; or 

10 (B) the monitoring process under such sec11 tion for institutions of higher education that 

12 have recently converted from being recognized as 

13 a proprietary institution to a public or other 

14 nonprofit institution. 

15 (d) FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.— 

16 (1) REGULATION REPEALED.—Sections 668.15, 

17 668.23, 668.171, and 668.174 through 668.177 of title 

18 34, Code of Federal Regulations (relating to financial 

19 responsibility), as added or amended by the final reg20 ulations published by the Department of Education in 

21 the Federal Register on October 31, 2023 (87 Fed. 

22 Reg. 74568 et seq.) are repealed and will have no 

23 force or effect. 


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1 (2) AMENDMENTS.—Section 498(c) of the Higher 

2 Education Act of 1965 (20 6 U.S.C. 1099c(c)) is 

3 amended— 

4 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), 

5 (5), and (6) as paragraphs (4), (5), (6), and (7), 

6 respectively; 

7 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

8 (i) by striking ‘‘paragraph (1), if’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘paragraph (1), the Secretary 

10 shall prescribe criteria regarding ratios that 

11 aid in the determination financial responsi12 bility. Such ratios shall be first issued in 

13 draft form to the institution to allow for 

14 adequate review, consisting of an appeals 

15 process, by such institutions of higher edu16 cation. If’’; and 

17 (ii) by striking ‘‘prescribed by the Sec18 retary regarding ratios’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘prescribed by the Secretary regarding the 

20 final ratios’’; 

21 (C) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), the Secretary 

24 shall take into account an institution’s current total finan25 cial circumstances, including any subsequent change in the 


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1 institution’s overall fiscal health based on the standards in 

2 paragraph (2), when making a determination of its ability 

3 to meet the standards herein required before any subsequent 

4 action is taken under paragraph (4). If an institution meets 

5 the standards in paragraph (2), the institution shall be seen 

6 as financially responsible.’’; 

7 (D) in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (4), 

8 as so redesignated, by striking ‘‘establishes to the 

9 satisfaction of the Secretary, with’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘establishes, with’’; 

11 (E) in paragraph (5), as so redesignated— 

12 (i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

13 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the end; 

14 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

15 ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a period; and 

16 (iii) by striking subparagraph (C); 

17 (F) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated, by 

18 striking ‘‘(3)(C)’’ and inserting ‘‘(4)(C)’’; and 

19 (G) by adding at the end the following new 

20 paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(8) Not later than 18 months after the date of enact22 ment of the College Cost Reduction Act, the Secretary shall 

23 pursue a process to update the ratios regarding financial 

24 responsibility as identified in paragraph (2). The Secretary 

25 shall report the revised ratios to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Education and the Work2 force of the House of Representatives; and 

3 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Health, Education, 

4 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate.’’. 

5 (e) INCENTIVE COMPENSATION; THIRD PARTY

6 SERVICER.— 

7 (1) AMENDMENTS.—Section 487(a)(20) (20 

8 U.S.C. 1094(a)(20)) is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(20) The institution will not provide any com10 mission, bonus, or other incentive payment based di11 rectly or indirectly on success in securing enrollments 

12 or financial aid to any persons or entities engaged in 

13 any student recruiting or admission activities, or in 

14 making decisions regarding the award of student fi15 nancial assistance, except that this paragraph shall 

16 not apply— 

17 ‘‘(A) to the recruitment of foreign students 

18 residing in foreign countries who are not eligible 

19 to receive Federal student assistance; or 

20 ‘‘(B) to a third party where— 

21 ‘‘(i) the third party is providing the 

22 institution recruiting or admissions activi23 ties as part of a larger bundle of services 

24 not covered by this paragraph and which 

25 may include marketing or advertising acVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:11 Nov 18, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00149 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6951.RH H6951

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1 tivities that broadly disseminate or dis2 tribute widely available information; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the third party does not provide 

4 any commission, bonus, or other incentive5 based payments to its employees or sub6 contractors who are providing services to 

7 the institution covered in this paragraph; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(iii) the third party is not awarding 

10 or disbursing Federal financial aid 

11 awards.’’. 

12 (2) DEFINITION.—Section 481(c) (20 U.S.C. 

13 1088(c)) is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(c) THIRD PARTY SERVICER.— 

15 ‘‘(1) For purposes of this title, the term ‘third 

16 party servicer’— 

17 ‘‘(A) means any individual, any State, or 

18 any private, for-profit or nonprofit organization, 

19 which enters into a contract with— 

20 ‘‘(i) any eligible institution of higher 

21 education to administer, through either 

22 manual or automated processing, any as23 pect of such institution’s student assistance 

24 programs under this title; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) any guaranty agency, or any eli2 gible lender, to administer, through either 

3 manual or automated processing, any as4 pect of such guaranty agency’s or lender’s 

5 student loan programs under part B of this 

6 title, including originating, guaranteeing, 

7 monitoring, processing, servicing, or col8 lecting loans; and 

9 ‘‘(B) does not include any individual, any 

10 State, or any private, for-profit or nonprofit or11 ganization, which conducts activities or interacts 

12 with prospective or enrolled students for the pur13 poses of— 

14 ‘‘(i) marketing or recruiting, such as 

15 soliciting potential enrollments through the 

16 dissemination of information and adver17 tising; 

18 ‘‘(ii) assisting with the completion of 

19 applications for enrollment, such as screen20 ing pre-enrollment information and offering 

21 admission counseling; 

22 ‘‘(iii) administering ability-to-benefit 

23 tests or establishing any aspect of an eligi24 ble career pathway program; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) conducting activities for the re2 tention of students, such as monitoring aca3 demic engagement and conducting outreach 

4 to student regarding attendance; and 

5 ‘‘(v) providing instructional content, 

6 such as evaluating course completion, deliv7 ering mandatory tutoring, assessing student 

8 learning, including through electronic 

9 means, or developing curricula or course 

10 materials. 

11 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall not regulate on the defi12 nition of a ‘third party servicer’.’’. 

13 (f) OTHER REPEALS.—The following regulations (in14 cluding any supplement or revision to such regulations) are 

15 repealed and shall have no legal effect: 

16 (1) CLOSED SCHOOL DISCHARGES.—Sections 

17 674.33(g), 682.402(d), and 685.214 of title 34, Code 

18 of Federal Regulations (relating to closed school dis19 charges), as added or amended by the final regula20 tions published by the Department of Education in 

21 the Federal Register on November 1, 2022 (87 Fed. 

22 Reg. 65904 et seq.). 

23 (2) BORROWER DEFENSE TO REPAYMENT.—Sec24 tion 685.401 of title 34, Code of Federal Regulations 

25 (relating to borrower defense to repayment), as added 


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1 or amended by the final regulations published by the 

2 Department of Education in the Federal Register on 

3 November 1, 2022 (87 Fed. Reg. 65904 et seq.). 

4 (3) PRE-DISPUTE ARBITRATION.—Sections 

5 668.41, 685.300, and 685.304 of title 34, Code of Fed6 eral Regulations (relating to pre-dispute arbitration), 

7 as added or amended by the final regulations pub8 lished by the Department of Education in the Federal 

9 Register on November 1, 2022 (87 Fed. Reg. 65904 et 

10 seq.). 

11 (4) FALSE CERTIFICATION.—Sections 682.402(e), 

12 685.215(c) and 685.215(d) of title 34, Code of Federal 

13 Regulations (relating to false certification), as added 

14 or amended by the final regulations published by the 

15 Department of Education in the Federal Register on 

16 November 1, 2022 (87 Fed. Reg. 65904 et seq.). 

17 (5) ADMINISTRATIVE CAPABILITY.—Sections 

18 668.16 of title 34, Code of Federal Regulations (relat19 ing to administrative capability), as added or amend20 ed by the final regulations published by the Depart21 ment of Education in the Federal Register on October 

22 31, 2023 (87 Fed. Reg. 74568 et seq.). 

23 (6) CERTIFICATION PROCEDURES.—Sections 

24 668.13, 668.14, and 668.43 of title 34, Code of Fed25 eral Regulations (relating to certification procedures) 


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1 as added or amended by the final regulations pub2 lished by the Department of Education in the Federal 

3 Register on October 31, 2023 (87 Fed. Reg. 74568 et 

4 seq.). 

5 (7) ABILITY TO BENEFIT.—Sections 668.2, 

6 668.32, 668.156, and 668.157 of title 34, Code of Fed7 eral Regulations (relating to ability to benefit) as 

8 added or amended by the final regulations published 

9 by the Department of Education in the Federal Reg10 ister on October 31, 2023 (87 Fed. Reg. 74568 et seq.). 

11 (8) PERSONAL LIABILITY.—The electronic an12 nouncement titled ‘‘Establishing Personal Liability 

13 Requirements for Financial Losses Related to the 

14 Title IV Programs’’ (GENERAL–23–11, published on 

15 March 1, 2023). 

16 (g) EFFECT OF REPEAL.—Any regulations repealed by 

17 subsections (c) through (e) that were in effect on June 30, 

18 2023, are restored and revived as if the repeal of such regu19 lations under such subsections had not taken effect. 

20 (h) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary of Education may 

21 not implement any rule, regulation, policy, or executive ac22 tion specified in this section (or a substantially similar 

23 rule, regulation, policy, or executive action) unless author24 ity for such implementation is explicitly provided in an 

25 Act 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 ACTIVITIES.— 

5 In conducting, responding to, and concluding program re6 view 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 written 

14 response to a draft final program review report, pro15 vide 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 such 


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1 delay and provide an anticipated date for conclusion 

2 of the review.’’. 

3 SEC. 303. LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY TO 

4 PROPOSE OR ISSUE REGULATIONS AND EXEC5 UTIVE ACTIONS. 

6 Part G of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

7 (20 U.S.C. 1088 et seq.) is amended by inserting after sec8 tion 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 date 

13 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 (regard17 less 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 an 

23 increase in a subsidy cost, then the Secretary may 

24 take no further action with respect to such regulation. 


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1 ‘‘(b) PROPOSED OR FINAL REGULATIONS AND EXECU2 TIVE ACTIONS.—Beginning after the date of enactment of 

3 this section, the Secretary may not issue a proposed rule, 

4 final regulation, or executive action implementing this title 

5 if the Secretary determines that the rule, regulation, or exec6 utive 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.—The 

11 analyses required under subsections (a) and (b) shall be in 

12 addition to any other cost analysis required under law for 

13 a regulation implementing this title, including any cost 

14 analysis that may be required pursuant to Executive Order 

15 12866 (58 Fed. Reg. 51735; relating to regulatory planning 

16 and review), Executive Order 13563 (76 Fed. Reg. 3821; 

17 relating to improving regulation and regulatory review), or 

18 any related or successor orders. 

19 ‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘economi20 cally significant’, when used with respect to a draft, pro21 posed, or final regulation or executive action, means that 

22 the regulation or executive action is likely, as determined 

23 by the Secretary— 

24 ‘‘(1) to have an annual effect on the economy of 

25 $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 references 

18 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 of 

24 the following activities, as carried out by a qualified 

25 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 term 

19 is defined in section 2.101 of title 48, Code of Federal 

20 Regulations) that instructs such loan servicer to per21 form a function that is new or different from a func22 tion such servicer performs pursuant to an existing 

23 contract, the PBO shall, not later than 30 days before 

24 such contract change takes effect, provide such 

25 servicers with written guidance in the form of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a change order (as such term is de2 fined in section 2.101 of title 48, Code of Federal 

3 Regulations); 

4 ‘‘(B) a dear colleague letter; or 

5 ‘‘(C) an electronic announcement. 

6 ‘‘(2) NON-BINDING DIRECTIVES.—A student loan 

7 servicer that is notified of a final contract modifica8 tion described in paragraph (1) and receives guidance 

9 in a form other than a form described in paragraph 

10 (1) (including through emails or phone calls) shall 

11 not be subject to such contract modification.’’. 

12 Subpart 2—Accreditors 

13 SEC. 311. ACCREDITING AGENCY RECOGNITION. 

14 (a) CRITERIA REQUIRED.—Section 496(a) of the 

15 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b(a)) is 

16 amended— 

17 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), in 

18 the first sentence, by striking ‘‘or training’’ and in19 serting ‘‘skills development’’; 

20 (2) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol21 lows: 

22 ‘‘(1) the accrediting agency or association (other 

23 than an accrediting agency or association described 

24 in paragraph (2)(D)) shall be a State or national 

25 agency or association and shall demonstrate the abilVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:11 Nov 18, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00160 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6951.RH H6951

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1 ity to operate as an institutional or programmatic 

2 accrediting agency or association within the State or 

3 nationally, as appropriate;’’; 

4 (3) in paragraph (2)— 

5 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

6 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘prin7 cipal’’; and 

8 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘its 

9 principal’’ and inserting ‘‘a’’; and 

10 (B) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ‘‘or’’ 

11 at the end; and 

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

13 ‘‘(D) is an entity (such as an industry-spe14 cific quality assurance entity) that has been— 

15 ‘‘(i) determined by a State to be a reli16 able authority as to the quality of education 

17 or skills development offered in such State 

18 for the purposes of this Act; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) designated (in accordance with 

20 subsection (b)(1)) by such State as an ac21 crediting agency or association with respect 

22 to such State for such purposes;’’; 

23 (4) in paragraph (3)— 

24 (A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read 

25 as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(A) subparagraph (A), (C), or (D) of para2 graph (2), then such agency or association is— 

3 ‘‘(i) distinctly incorporated or orga4 nized; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) both administratively and finan6 cially separate from, and independent of, 

7 any related, associated, or affiliated trade 

8 association or membership organization, by 

9 ensuring that— 

10 ‘‘(I) the members of the board or 

11 governing body of the accrediting agen12 cy or association are not elected or se13 lected by the board or chief executive 

14 officer (or the representative of such 

15 board or officer) of any related, associ16 ated, or affiliated trade association or 

17 membership organization; 

18 ‘‘(II) among the membership of 

19 the board or governing body of the ac20 crediting agency or association— 

21 ‘‘(aa) if such board or body 

22 is comprised of 5 or fewer mem23 bers, there is a minimum of one 

24 public member who represents 

25 business and who is not a member 


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1 of any related, associated, or af2 filiated trade association or mem3 bership organization; and 

4 ‘‘(bb) if such board or body is 

5 comprised of 6 or more members, 

6 there is a minimum of 1 such 

7 public member for every 6 mem8 bers; 

9 ‘‘(III) guidelines are established 

10 for such members to avoid conflicts of 

11 interest, including specific guidelines 

12 to ensure that no such member is an 

13 employee of any institution accredited 

14 by the agency or association or has a 

15 financial interest in any such institu16 tion; 

17 ‘‘(IV) dues to the accrediting 

18 agency or association are paid sepa19 rately from any dues paid to any re20 lated, associated, or affiliated trade as21 sociation or membership organization; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(V) the budget of the accrediting 

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1 iting agency or association without 

2 any review by, consultation with, or 

3 approval by any related, associated, or 

4 affiliated trade association or member5 ship organization;’’; 

6 (B) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subpara7 graph (B); and 

8 (C) by striking subparagraph (C); 

9 (5) in paragraph (4)— 

10 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

11 (i) by inserting ‘‘(in the manner de12 scribed in subparagraph (B))’’ after ‘‘reli13 gious missions’’; and 

14 (ii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

15 (B) by striking subparagraph (B) and in16 serting the following: 

17 ‘‘(B) such accrediting agency or association 

18 consistently applies and enforces standards that 

19 respect the stated religious mission of an institu20 tion of higher education by— 

21 ‘‘(i) basing decisions regarding accred22 itation and preaccreditation on the stand23 ards of accreditation of such agency or asso24 ciation; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) not using as a negative factor the 

2 institution’s religious mission based poli3 cies, decisions, and practices in the areas 

4 covered by subparagraphs (B), (C), (D), 

5 (E), and (F) of paragraph (5), except that 

6 the agency or association may require that 

7 the institution’s or a program of study’s 

8 curricula include all core components re9 quired by the agency or association that are 

10 not inconsistent with the institution’s reli11 gious mission; and 

12 ‘‘(C) such agency or association dem13 onstrates the ability to review, evaluate, and as14 sess the quality of any instruction delivery model 

15 or method such agency or association has or 

16 seeks to include within its scope of recognition, 

17 without giving preference to or differentially 

18 treating a particular instruction delivery model 

19 or method offered by an institution of higher 

20 education or program, except that— 

21 ‘‘(i) in a case in which the instruction 

22 delivery model allows for the separation of 

23 the student from the instructor, the agency 

24 or association shall not be required to have 

25 separate standards, procedures, or policies 


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1 for the evaluation of the quality of any in2 struction delivery model or method in order 

3 to meet the requirements of this subpara4 graph; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) in the case in which the instruc6 tion delivery model allows for the separa7 tion of the student from the instructor— 

8 ‘‘(I) the agency or association re9 quires the institution to have processes 

10 through which the institution estab11 lishes that the student who registers in 

12 a course or program is the same stu13 dent who participates in the program 

14 (including, to the extent practicable, 

15 the testing or other assessments re16 quired under the program), completes 

17 the program, and receives the academic 

18 credit; and 

19 ‘‘(II) the agency or association re20 quires that any process used by an in21 stitution to comply with the require22 ment under clause (I) does not infringe 

23 upon student privacy and is imple24 mented in a manner that is minimally 

25 burdensome to the student;’’; and 


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1 (6) in paragraph (5)— 

2 (A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read 

3 as follows: 

4 ‘‘(A) success with respect to student achieve5 ment outcomes in relation to the institution’s 

6 mission and to the programs the institution of7 fers, or the mission of a specific degree, certifi8 cate, or credential program, which may include 

9 different standards for different institutions or 

10 programs, and which shall include— 

11 ‘‘(i) standards for consideration of the 

12 median total price charged to students for a 

13 program of study in relation to the median 

14 value-added earnings of students who com15 pleted such program; 

16 ‘‘(ii) standards for consideration of 

17 learning outcomes measures (such as com18 petency attainment and licensing examina19 tion passage rates); 

20 ‘‘(iii) standards for consideration of 

21 labor market outcomes measures (such as 

22 employer satisfaction surveys, employability 

23 measures, earnings gains, employment 

24 rates, or other similar approaches); and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) standards for consideration of 

2 student success outcomes measures (such as 

3 completion rates, retention rates, and loan 

4 repayment rates);’’; 

5 (B) by amending subparagraph (I) to read 

6 as follows: 

7 ‘‘(I) record of student complaints received 

8 by, or available to, the agency or association, 

9 and a process for resolving complaints received 

10 by the institution; and’’; and 

11 (C) in subparagraph (J), by inserting ‘‘and 

12 the median total price charged to students for a 

13 program of study in relation to the median 

14 value-added earnings of students who completed 

15 such program provided by the Secretary’’ after 

16 ‘‘student loan default rate data provided by the 

17 Secretary’’. 

18 (b) SECRETARIAL REQUIREMENTS AND AUTHORITY.— 

19 Subsection (b) of section 496 of the Higher Education Act 

20 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b) is amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(b) SECRETARIAL REQUIREMENTS AND AUTHOR22 ITY.— 

23 ‘‘(1) STATE DESIGNATED ACCREDITING AGEN24 CY.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) APPROVAL OF STATE PLANS.—The 

2 Secretary shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) approve a State’s designation of 

4 an entity as an accrediting agency or asso5 ciation for the purposes described in sub6 section (a)(2)(D) for a 5-year period, begin7 ning not later than 30 days after receipt of 

8 the plan from such State with respect to 

9 such designation, if such plan includes each 

10 of the elements listed in subparagraph (B); 

11 ‘‘(ii) submit to the State and the au12 thorizing committees, and make publicly 

13 available the Secretary’s response to the 

14 State with respect to such plan, including 

15 whether the plan includes each of the ele16 ments listed in subparagraph (B); and 

17 ‘‘(iii) if a State’s designation of an en18 tity as an accrediting agency or association 

19 is approved pursuant to this subparagraph, 

20 publish in the Federal Register with a 30- 

21 day public comment period— 

22 ‘‘(I) the plan submitted by such 

23 State with respect to such designation; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(II) the Secretary’s response to 

2 such plan. 

3 ‘‘(B) REQUIRED PLAN ELEMENTS.—The re4 quired elements of a State plan submitted under 

5 subparagraph (A) with respect to the designation 

6 of an entity as an accrediting agency or associa7 tion are as follows: 

8 ‘‘(i) A description of the process the 

9 State used to select the entity for such des10 ignation. 

11 ‘‘(ii) A justification of the State’s deci12 sion to select the entity for such designation. 

13 ‘‘(iii) A description of any require14 ments (in addition to the requirements of 

15 this section), that the State required the en16 tity to comply with as a condition of receiv17 ing and maintaining such designation. 

18 ‘‘(iv) A copy of the standards, policies, 

19 and procedures of the entity that the State 

20 considered in selecting the entity for such 

21 designation. 

22 ‘‘(v) The State’s assessment of how the 

23 standards for accreditation of the entity 

24 will be effective in meeting the requirements 

25 of subsection (a)(5). 


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1 ‘‘(vi) Evidence that at least one other 

2 State has determined that such entity is a 

3 reliable authority as to the quality of edu4 cation offered for the purposes of this Act. 

5 ‘‘(vii) An assurance that the State will 

6 comply with the monitoring requirements 

7 described in subparagraph (C). 

8 ‘‘(C) STATE MONITORING.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A State that has 

10 designated an entity as an accrediting 

11 agency or association for the purposes de12 scribed in subsection (a)(2)(D) shall submit 

13 to the Secretary, and to the State author14 izing entity, as appropriate, a report at the 

15 end of the 5-year period for which the entity 

16 has received such designation, which shall 

17 include, with respect to each postsecondary 

18 education program or institution that has 

19 been accredited by such entity during such 

20 period, and disaggregated by type of creden21 tial, certification, or degree— 

22 ‘‘(I) the number and percentage of 

23 students who have successfully obtained 

24 a postsecondary education credential, 


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1 certification, or degree offered by such 

2 program or institution; and 

3 ‘‘(II) the number and percentage 

4 of students who were enrolled and did 

5 not successfully obtain such a creden6 tial, certification, or degree within 150 

7 percent of the program length. 

8 ‘‘(ii) COUNTING TRANSFER STU9 DENTS.—For purposes of clause (i)(I), a 

10 student shall be counted as obtaining a cre11 dential, certification, or degree offered by a 

12 program or institution that was accredited 

13 by the entity during the period for which 

14 the report under this subparagraph is being 

15 submitted, if the student obtains such cre16 dential, certification, or degree after trans17 ferring to another institution during such 

18 period. 

19 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE AN ACCELERATED

20 PATH TO RECOGNITION.—With respect to a prospec21 tive accrediting agency or association that submits to 

22 the Secretary an application for initial recognition 

23 under this Act, the Secretary may provide such rec24 ognition to such agency or association within 2 years 


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1 after receipt of such application, if such applica2 tion— 

3 ‘‘(A) demonstrates that the agency or asso4 ciation— 

5 ‘‘(i) has at least one year of experience 

6 in making accreditation or preaccreditation 

7 decisions; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) has policies in place that meet all 

9 the criteria under subsection (a) for recogni10 tion covering the range of the specific de11 grees, certificates, institutions, or program 

12 of study for which the agency or association 

13 seeks such recognition; and 

14 ‘‘(B) provides an assurance that if the agen15 cy or association receives such recognition, the 

16 agency or association will submit to the Sec17 retary monitoring reports regarding accredita18 tion or preaccreditation decisions, as appro19 priate. 

20 ‘‘(3) DEVELOPMENT OF COMMON TERMI21 NOLOGY.—Not later than 18 months after the date of 

22 enactment of the College Cost Reduction Act, the Sec23 retary shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) convene a panel of experts to develop 

25 common terminology for accrediting agencies or 


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1 associations to use in making accrediting deci2 sions with respect to program of study or insti3 tutions, such as a common understanding of 

4 monitoring, warning, show cause, and other rel5 evant statuses, as appropriate; and 

6 ‘‘(B) publish the recommendations for such 

7 common terminology in the Federal Register 

8 with a 60-day public comment period.’’. 

9 (c) OPERATING PROCEDURES REQUIRED.— 

10 (1) ON-SITE INSPECTIONS AND REVIEWS.—Para11 graph (1) of section 496(c) (20 U.S.C. 1099b(c)) is 

12 amended— 

13 (A) by inserting ‘‘(which may vary based 

14 on institutional risk consistent with policies pro15 mulgated by the agency or association to deter16 mine such risk and interval frequency as author17 ized under subsection (p))’’ after ‘‘intervals’’; 

18 and 

19 (B) by striking ‘‘, including those regarding 

20 distance education’’. 

21 (2) MECHANISM TO IDENTIFY INSTITUTIONS AND

22 PROGRAMS EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTIES.—Section 

23 496(c) (20 U.S.C. 1099b(c)) is further amended— 


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1 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

2 through (9) as paragraphs (3) through (10), re3 spectively; and 

4 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(2) develops a policy process to identify any in7 stitution or program of study accredited by the agen8 cy or association that is not meeting the standards for 

9 accreditation of the agency or association, with a 

10 focus on the standards assessing an institution’s or 

11 program of study’s student achievement outcomes de12 scribed in subsection (a)(5)(A), and other indicators, 

13 which shall include— 

14 ‘‘(A) not less than annually, evaluating the 

15 extent to which such an identified institution or 

16 program of study continues to be in compliance 

17 with such standards or other indicators; and 

18 ‘‘(B) as appropriate, requiring the institu19 tion or program of study to submit a plan, on 

20 an annual basis, to the accrediting agency or as21 sociation to— 

22 ‘‘(i) address and remedy performance 

23 issues with respect to such compliance; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) ensure that such plan is success25 fully implemented;’’. 


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1 (3) PROCEDURES WITH RESPECT TO SUB2 STANTIVE CHANGES.—Paragraph (5) of section 496(c) 

3 (20 U.S.C. 1099b(c)) (as redesignated by paragraph 

4 (2)(A)) is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(5) establishes and applies or maintains poli6 cies, which ensure that any substantive change to the 

7 educational mission, program of study, or program of 

8 study of an institution after the agency or association 

9 has granted the institution accreditation or 

10 preaccreditation status does not adversely affect the 

11 capacity of the institution to continue to meet the 

12 agency’s or association’s standards for such accredita13 tion or preaccreditation status, which shall include 

14 policies that— 

15 ‘‘(A) require the institution to obtain the 

16 agency’s or association’s approval of the sub17 stantive change before the agency or association 

18 includes the change in the scope of the institu19 tion’s accreditation or preaccreditation status; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(B) define substantive change to include, 

22 at a minimum— 

23 ‘‘(i) any change in the established mis24 sion or objectives of the institution; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) any change in the legal status, 

2 form of control, or ownership of the institu3 tion, including the acquisition or addition 

4 of any other institution or new location 

5 where more than 50 percent of a program 

6 is offered; 

7 ‘‘(iii) the addition of program of study 

8 at a higher credential level from the creden9 tial level previously accredited by the agen10 cy or association; or 

11 ‘‘(iv) the entering into a contract 

12 under which an institution or organization 

13 not certified to participate in programs 

14 under this title offers more than 25 percent 

15 but less than 50 percent of the instruction 

16 of an educational program of the institution 

17 with such accreditation or preaccreditation 

18 status;’’. 

19 (4) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Section 496(c) (20 

20 U.S.C. 1099b(c)) is further amended— 

21 (A) in paragraph (8) (as redesignated by 

22 paragraph (2)(A))— 

23 (i) in the matter preceding subpara24 graph (A), by inserting ‘‘, on the agency’s 


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1 or association’s website,’’ after ‘‘public’’; 

2 and 

3 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by inserting 

4 before the semicolon at the end the fol5 lowing: ‘‘, and a summary of why such ac6 tion was taken or such placement was 

7 made’’; 

8 (B) in paragraph (9) (as so redesignated), 

9 by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

10 (C) in paragraph (10)(B) (as so redesig11 nated), by striking the period at the end and in12 serting the following: ‘‘, including an assurance 

13 that the institution does not deny a transfer of 

14 credit based solely on the accreditation of the in15 stitution at which the credit was earned;’’; and 

16 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(11) such agency or association shall make pub18 licly available, on the agency or association’s website, 

19 a list of the institutions of higher education or pro20 gram of study accredited by such agency or associa21 tion, which includes, with respect to each such insti22 tution or program of study— 

23 ‘‘(A) the year accreditation was granted; 

24 ‘‘(B) the most recent date of an award of 

25 accreditation or reaccreditation; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) the anticipated date of the institution’s 

2 next evaluation for reaccreditation;’’. 

3 (5) PROHIBITION ON LITMUS TESTS.—Section 

4 496(c) (20 U.S.C. 1099b(c)) is further amended by 

5 adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(12) confirms that the standards for accredita7 tion of the agency or association do not— 

8 ‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraph 

9 (B)— 

10 ‘‘(i) require, encourage, or coerce any 

11 institution to— 

12 ‘‘(I) support, oppose, or commit to 

13 supporting or opposing— 

14 ‘‘(aa) a specific partisan, po15 litical, or ideological viewpoint or 

16 belief or set of such viewpoints or 

17 beliefs; or 

18 ‘‘(bb) a specific viewpoint or 

19 belief or set of viewpoints or be20 liefs on social, cultural, or polit21 ical issues; or 

22 ‘‘(II) support or commit to sup23 porting the disparate treatment of any 

24 individual or group of individuals on 

25 the basis of any protected class under 


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1 Federal civil rights law, except as re2 quired by Federal law or a court order; 

3 or 

4 ‘‘(ii) assess an institution’s or program 

5 of study’s commitment to any ideology, be6 lief, or viewpoint; or 

7 ‘‘(B) prohibit an institution— 

8 ‘‘(i) from having a religious mission or 

9 from requiring an applicant, student, em10 ployee, or independent contractor (such as 

11 an adjunct professor) of such an institution 

12 to— 

13 ‘‘(I) provide or adhere to a state14 ment of faith; or 

15 ‘‘(II) adhere to a code of conduct 

16 consistent with the stated religious 

17 mission of such institution or the reli18 gious tenets of such organization; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) from requiring an applicant, stu20 dent, employee, or contractor to take an 

21 oath to uphold the Constitution of the 

22 United States; or 

23 ‘‘(C) require, encourage, or coerce an insti24 tution of higher education to violate any right 

25 protected by the Constitution;’’. 


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1 (6) PROHIBITION ON ASSESSMENT OF ELECTED

2 OR APPOINTED OFFICIALS.—Section 496(c) (20 U.S.C. 

3 1099b(c)) is further amended by adding at the end the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(13) confirms that the standards for accredita6 tion of the agency or association do not assess the 

7 roles (including actions or statements) of elected and 

8 appointed State and Federal officials and legislative 

9 bodies; and’’. 

10 (7) PROHIBITION OF PRACTICES THAT DRIVE

11 CREDENTIAL INFLATION.—Section 496(c) (20 U.S.C. 

12 1099b(c)) is further amended by adding at the end the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(14) confirms that the standards for accredita15 tion of the agency or association do not require an in16 stitution to develop a program of study leading to a 

17 degree, certificate, or recognized postsecondary creden18 tial that is not in response to the needs of an industry 

19 or occupation.’’. 

20 (d) LENGTH OF RECOGNITION.—Subsection (d) of sec21 tion 496 (20 U.S.C. 1099b) is amended— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘No accrediting’’ and inserting 

23 the following: 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided 

25 in paragraph (2), no accrediting’’; and 


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1 (2) by adding at the end the following new para2 graph: 

3 ‘‘(2) LONGER RECOGNITION AUTHORIZED FOR

4 CERTAIN AGENCIES AND ASSOCIATIONS.—Notwith5 standing paragraph (1), an accrediting agency or as6 sociation that has been recognized by the Secretary for 

7 the purpose of this Act for a period of 5 years, may 

8 be recognized for an additional period of up to 3 

9 years, if the Secretary determines, based on the per10 formance of the accrediting agency or association dur11 ing its recognition period under this Act, that the ac12 crediting agency or association— 

13 ‘‘(A) has the capability to evaluate the qual14 ity of institutions or program of study; and 

15 ‘‘(B) has maintained compliance with the 

16 criteria for accrediting agencies or associations 

17 required by this section.’’. 

18 (e) LIMITATION ON SCOPE OF CRITERIA.—Section 496 

19 (20 U.S.C. 1099b) is further amended by amending sub20 section (g) to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(g) LIMITATION ON SCOPE OF CRITERIA.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall not es23 tablish criteria for accrediting agencies or associa24 tions that are not required by this section. 


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1 ‘‘(2) INSTITUTIONAL ELIGIBILITY.—An institu2 tion of higher education shall be eligible for participa3 tion in programs under this title if the institution is 

4 in compliance with the standards of its accrediting 

5 agency or association that assess the institution in ac6 cordance with subsection (a)(5), regardless of any ad7 ditional standards adopted by the agency or associa8 tion for purposes unrelated to participation in pro9 grams under this title.’’. 

10 (f) CHANGE OF ACCREDITING AGENCY.—Section 496 

11 (20 U.S.C. 1099b) is further amended by amending sub12 section (h) to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(h) CHANGE OF ACCREDITING AGENCY OR ASSOCIA14 TION.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall recognize 

16 the accreditation of any otherwise eligible institution 

17 or program of study if the institution (or program) 

18 is in the process of changing its accrediting agency or 

19 association, unless the institution (or program) is 

20 subject to one or more covered actions. 

21 ‘‘(2) COVERED ACTION DEFINED.—For purposes 

22 of this subsection, the term ‘covered action’ means one 

23 or more of the following, when used with respect to an 

24 institution or program of study: 


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1 ‘‘(A) A pending or final action brought by 

2 a State agency to suspend, revoke, withdraw, or 

3 terminate the institution’s legal authority to pro4 vide postsecondary education in the State. 

5 ‘‘(B) A decision by a recognized accrediting 

6 agency or association to deny accreditation or 

7 preaccreditation to the institution or program of 

8 study. 

9 ‘‘(C) A pending or final action brought by 

10 a recognized accrediting agency or association to 

11 suspend, revoke, withdraw, or terminate the in12 stitution’s or program of study’s accreditation or 

13 preaccreditation. 

14 ‘‘(D) Probation or an equivalent status im15 posed on the institution or program of study by 

16 a recognized accrediting agency or association. 

17 ‘‘(3) INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION NOT

18 SUBJECT TO COVERED ACTIONS.—An institution (or 

19 program of study ) that is not subject to a covered ac20 tion described in paragraph (1) and that desires to 

21 change its accrediting agency or association for a rea22 son not related to any such covered action (such as 

23 compliance with State law) may make such a change 

24 without the approval of the Secretary, as long as the 

25 institution (or program) and the new accrediting 


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1 agency or association of the institution (or program), 

2 not later than 30 days after the accreditation decision 

3 by such agency or association, notify the Secretary, in 

4 writing, of the effective date of the institution’s (or 

5 program’s)accreditation by such agency or associa6 tion.’’. 

7 (g) DUAL ACCREDITATION RULE.—Section 496 (20 

8 U.S.C. 1099b) is further amended by amending subsection 

9 (i) to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(i) DUAL ACCREDITATION RULE.— 

11 ‘‘(1) RECOGNITION BY SECRETARY.—The Sec12 retary shall recognize the accreditation of any other13 wise eligible institution of higher education if the in14 stitution of higher education is accredited, as an in15 stitution, by more than one accrediting agency or as16 sociation. 

17 ‘‘(2) DESIGNATION BY INSTITUTION.—If the in18 stitution is accredited, as an institution, by more 

19 than one accrediting agency or association, the insti20 tution— 

21 ‘‘(A) shall designate which agency’s or asso22 ciation’s accreditation shall be utilized in deter23 mining the institution’s eligibility for participa24 tion in programs under this Act; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) may change this designation at the 

2 end of the institution’s period of recognition.’’. 

3 (h) RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS RULE.—Section 496 (20 

4 U.S.C. 1099b) is further amended by amending subsection 

5 (k) to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(k) RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION RULE.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding subsection 

8 (j), the Secretary shall allow an institution that has 

9 had its accreditation withdrawn, revoked, or other10 wise terminated, or has voluntarily withdrawn from 

11 an accreditation agency, to remain certified as an in12 stitution of higher education under section 102 and 

13 subpart 3 of this part for a period sufficient to allow 

14 such institution to obtain alternative accreditation, if 

15 the Secretary determines that the withdrawal, revoca16 tion, or termination— 

17 ‘‘(A) is related to the religious mission or 

18 affiliation of the institution; and 

19 ‘‘(B) is not related to the accreditation cri20 teria provided for in this section. 

21 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT FOR FAILURE

22 TO RESPECT RELIGIOUS MISSION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 

24 ‘‘(i) INSTITUTION.—If an institution of 

25 higher education believes that an adverse 


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1 action of an accrediting agency or associa2 tion fails to respect the institution’s reli3 gious mission in violation of subsection 

4 (a)(4)(B), the institution— 

5 ‘‘(I) may file a complaint with 

6 the Secretary to review the adverse ac7 tion of the agency or association; and 

8 ‘‘(II) prior to filing such com9 plaint, shall notify the Secretary and 

10 the agency or association of an intent 

11 to file such complaint not later than 30 

12 days after— 

13 ‘‘(aa) receiving the adverse 

14 action from the agency or associa15 tion; or 

16 ‘‘(bb) determining that dis17 cussions with or the processes of 

18 the agency or association to rem19 edy the failure to respect the reli20 gious mission of the institution 

21 will fail to result in the with22 drawal of the adverse action by 

23 the agency or association. 

24 ‘‘(ii) ACCREDITING AGENCY OR ASSO25 CIATION.—Upon notification of an intent to 


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1 file a complaint and through the duration 

2 of the complaint process under this para3 graph, the Secretary and the accrediting 

4 agency or association shall treat the accred5 itation status of the institution of higher 

6 education as if the adverse action for which 

7 the institution is filing the complaint had 

8 not been taken. 

9 ‘‘(B) COMPLAINT.—Not later than 45 days 

10 after providing notice of the intent to file a com11 plaint, the institution shall file the complaint 

12 with the Secretary (and provide a copy to the 

13 accrediting agency or association), which shall 

14 include— 

15 ‘‘(i) a description of the adverse action; 

16 ‘‘(ii) how the adverse action fails to re17 spect the institution’s religious mission in 

18 violation of subsection (a)(4)(B); and 

19 ‘‘(iii) any other information the insti20 tution determines relevant to the complaint. 

21 ‘‘(C) RESPONSE.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The accrediting 

23 agency or association shall have 30 days 

24 from the date the complaint is filed with the 

25 Secretary to file with the Secretary (and 


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1 provide a copy to the institution) a response 

2 to the complaint, which response shall in3 clude— 

4 ‘‘(I) how the adverse action is 

5 based on a violation of the agency or 

6 association’s standards for accredita7 tion; and 

8 ‘‘(II) how the adverse action does 

9 not fail to respect the religious mission 

10 of the institution and is in compliance 

11 with subsection (a)(4)(B). 

12 ‘‘(ii) BURDEN OF PROOF.— 

13 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The accred14 iting agency or association shall bear 

15 the burden of proving that the agency 

16 or association has not taken the ad17 verse action as a result of the institu18 tion’s religious mission, and that the 

19 action does not fail to respect the insti20 tution’s religious mission in violation 

21 of subsection (a)(4)(B), by showing 

22 that the adverse action does not impact 

23 the aspect of the religious mission 

24 claimed to be affected in the complaint. 


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1 ‘‘(II) INSUFFICIENT PROOF.—Any 

2 evidence that the adverse action results 

3 from the application of a neutral and 

4 generally applicable rule shall be insuf5 ficient to prove that the action does not 

6 fail to respect an institution’s religious 

7 mission. 

8 ‘‘(D) ADDITIONAL INSTITUTION RE9 SPONSE.—The institution shall have 30 days 

10 from the date on which the agency or associa11 tion’s response is filed with the Secretary to— 

12 ‘‘(i) file with the Secretary (and pro13 vide a copy to the agency or association) a 

14 response to any issues raised in the response 

15 of the agency or association; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) inform the Secretary and the 

17 agency or association that the institution 

18 elects to waive the right to respond to the 

19 response of the agency or association. 

20 ‘‘(E) SECRETARIAL ACTION.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 

22 days of receipt of the institution’s response 

23 under subparagraph (D) or notification 

24 that the institution elects not to file a re25 sponse under such subparagraph— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the Secretary shall review the 

2 materials to determine if the accred3 iting agency or association has met its 

4 burden of proof under subparagraph 

5 (C)(ii)(I); or 

6 ‘‘(II) in a case in which the Sec7 retary fails to conduct such review— 

8 ‘‘(aa) the Secretary shall be 

9 deemed as determining that the 

10 adverse action fails to respect the 

11 religious mission of the institu12 tion; and 

13 ‘‘(bb) the accrediting agency 

14 or association shall be required to 

15 reverse the action immediately 

16 and take no further action with 

17 respect to such adverse action. 

18 ‘‘(ii) REVIEW OF COMPLAINT.—In re19 viewing the complaint under clause (i)(I)— 

20 ‘‘(I) the Secretary shall consider 

21 the institution to be correct in the as22 sertion that the adverse action fails to 

23 respect the institution’s religious mis24 sion and shall apply the burden of 

25 proof described in subparagraph 


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1 (C)(ii)(I) with respect to the accred2 iting agency or association; and 

3 ‘‘(II) if the Secretary determines 

4 that the accrediting agency or associa5 tion fails to meet such burden of 

6 proof— 

7 ‘‘(aa) the Secretary shall no8 tify the institution and the agency 

9 or association that the agency or 

10 association is not in compliance 

11 with subsection (a)(4)(B), and 

12 that such agency or association 

13 shall carry out the requirements of 

14 item (bb) to be in compliance 

15 with subsection (a)(4)(B); and 

16 ‘‘(bb) the agency or associa17 tion shall reverse the adverse ac18 tion immediately and take no fur19 ther action with respect to such 

20 adverse action. 

21 ‘‘(iii) FINAL DEPARTMENTAL AC22 TION.—The Secretary’s determination under 

23 this subparagraph shall be the final action 

24 of the Department on the complaint. 


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1 ‘‘(F) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

2 this paragraph shall prohibit— 

3 ‘‘(i) an accrediting agency or associa4 tion from taking an adverse action against 

5 an institution of higher education for a fail6 ure to comply with the agency or associa7 tion’s standards of accreditation as long as 

8 such standards are in compliance with sub9 section (a)(4)(B) and any other applicable 

10 requirements of this section; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) an institution of higher education 

12 from exercising any other rights to address 

13 concerns with respect to an accrediting 

14 agency or association or the accreditation 

15 process of an accrediting agency or associa16 tion. 

17 ‘‘(G) GUIDANCE.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

19 only issue guidance under this paragraph 

20 that explains or clarifies the process for pro21 viding notice of an intent to file a com22 plaint or for filing a complaint under this 

23 paragraph. 

24 ‘‘(ii) CLARIFICATION.—The Secretary 

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1 mine or suggest, when discussions to remedy 

2 the failure by an accrediting agency or as3 sociation to respect the religious mission of 

4 an institution of higher education referred 

5 to in subparagraph (A)(i)(II)(bb) have 

6 failed or will fail. 

7 ‘‘(3) RELIGIOUS MISSION DEFINED.—In this Act, 

8 the term ‘religious mission’— 

9 ‘‘(A) means a published institutional mis10 sion that is approved by the governing body of 

11 an institution of higher education and that in12 cludes, refers to, or is predicated upon religious 

13 tenets, beliefs, or teachings; and 

14 ‘‘(B) may be reflected in any of the institu15 tion’s policies, decisions, or practices related to 

16 such tenets, beliefs, or teachings (including any 

17 policies or decisions concerning housing, employ18 ment, curriculum, self-governance, or student ad19 mission, continuing enrollment, or gradua20 tion).’’. 

21 (i) INDEPENDENT EVALUATION.—Section 496(n)(3) 

22 (20 U.S.C. 1099b(n)(3)) is amended by striking the last sen23 tence. 

24 (j) REGULATIONS.—Section 496(o) (20 U.S.C. 

25 1099b(o)) is amended by inserting before the period at the 


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1 end the following: ‘‘, or with respect to the policies and pro2 cedures of an accreditation agency or association described 

3 in paragraph (2) or (5) of subsection (c) or how the agency 

4 or association carries out such policies and procedures’’. 

5 (k) RISK-BASED REVIEW PROCESSES OR PROCE6 DURES; WAIVER.—Section 496 (20 U.S.C. 1099b) is further 

7 amended— 

8 (1) by striking subsections (p) and (q); and 

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

10 ‘‘(p) RISK-BASED OR DIFFERENTIATED REVIEW PROC11 ESSES OR PROCEDURES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

13 provision of law (including subsection (a)(4)(A)), an 

14 accrediting agency or association shall establish risk15 based processes or procedures for assessing compliance 

16 with the accrediting agency or association’s standards 

17 (including policies related to substantive change and 

18 award of accreditation statuses) under which the 

19 agency or association— 

20 ‘‘(A) creates a system for understanding an 

21 institution’s or program of study’s performance 

22 in comparison with other similarly situated in23 stitutions or programs of study (which may in24 clude past performance with respect to meeting 

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1 ards, including the standards relating to the stu2 dent achievement outcomes described in sub3 clauses (I) through (IV) of subsection (a)(5)(A)); 

4 ‘‘(B) requires for each institution and pro5 gram of study designated as high-risk, in accord6 ance with the accrediting agency or association’s 

7 system in subparagraph (A), to submit the an8 nual plans described in subsection (c)(2)(B) to 

9 the agency or association that address the per10 formance issues of such institution or program of 

11 study that resulted in such designation; 

12 ‘‘(C) with respect to institutions or program 

13 of study meeting or exceeding performance as de14 scribed in subparagraph (A), reduces any com15 pliance requirements with the standards of ac16 creditation of the agency that are not assessing 

17 an institution or program of study under sub18 section (a)(5), such as on-site inspections; and 

19 ‘‘(D) may require an institution or pro20 gram of study that has declining performance 

21 (such as an institution or program of study with 

22 a high-risk designation under subparagraph 

23 (B)), which has not improved as required by the 

24 annual plan submitted under subsection 

25 (c)(2)(B), to take actions to avoid or minimize 


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1 the risks that may lead to revocation of accredi2 tation (such as limiting certain program of 

3 study enrollment or recommending to the Sec4 retary to limit funds under this title for such an 

5 institution or program. 

6 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION.—Any risk-based review proc7 ess or procedure established pursuant to this sub8 section shall not discriminate against, or otherwise 

9 preclude, institutions of higher education based on in10 stitutional sector or category, including an institution 

11 of higher education’s tax status.’’. 

12 (l) TOTAL PRICE DEFINED.—Section 496 (20 U.S.C. 

13 1099b) is further amended by adding at the end the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(q) TOTAL PRICE DEFINED.—For purposes of this 

16 section, the term ‘total price’ has the meaning given such 

17 term in section 454(d)(3).’’. 

18 SEC. 312. NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON INSTITU19 TIONAL QUALITY AND INTEGRITY (NACIQI). 

20 Section 114 (20 U.S.C. 1011c) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (b)— 

22 (A) in paragraph (2), by redesignating sub23 paragraphs (A) through (C) as clauses (i) 

24 through (iii), respectively, and adjusting the 

25 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 of paragraph (2) 

8 the following: 

9 ‘‘(B) DISQUALIFICATION.—No individual 

10 may be appointed as a member of the Committee 

11 if such individual has a significant conflict of 

12 interest, such as being a current regulator (such 

13 as a State authorizer), that would require the in14 dividual to frequently be recused from serving as 

15 a member of the Committee.’’; 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 Com3 mittee who has been recused with respect to an agen4 da item of the meeting shall be included in such agen5 da.’’; 

6 (4) in subsection (e)(2)(D), by striking ‘‘, includ7 ing any additional functions established by the Sec8 retary through regulation’’; and 

9 (5) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘September 30, 

10 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 (20 

14 U.S.C. 1094a) is amended— 

15 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection 

16 (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 entities, 

3 during such 5-year period, can maintain high student 

4 achievement outcomes while participating in pro5 grams under this title without being accredited by an 

6 accrediting agency or association recognized under 

7 section 496. 

8 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED.—For purposes 

9 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 edu14 cation; 

15 ‘‘(ii) does not receive funding under 

16 this Act; 

17 ‘‘(iii) is not accredited by an accred18 iting agency or association for the purposes 

19 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 de24 siring to participate in the experimental site ini25 tiative under this subsection shall submit an apVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:11 Nov 18, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00200 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6951.RH H6951

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1 plication to the Secretary, at such time and in 

2 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 enti14 ty that is an institution of higher edu15 cation, an attestation that such pro16 gram meets the standards of accredita17 tion of the institution’s accrediting 

18 agency or association described in 

19 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), docu3 mentation and verified administrative 

4 data that the program meets standards 

5 similar to the standards of accredita6 tion referenced in subclause (I); 

7 ‘‘(ii) a justification of the reason why 

8 the eligible entity seeks to receive the waiver 

9 described in paragraph (5)(A), including es10 timates or documentation of the potential 

11 savings to the entity of receiving such waiv12 er; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) a description of how the eligible 

14 entity plans to share the financial risk with 

15 the Secretary of receiving the waivers de16 scribed in paragraph (5), such as by— 

17 ‘‘(I) providing matching non-Fed18 eral funds to the Secretary to cover the 

19 cost of at least half of the expected dis20 bursements under this title to the stu21 dents that enroll in such program for 

22 the first year of the experiment; 

23 ‘‘(II) providing a letter of credit 

24 to the Secretary to cover the cost de25 scribed in subclause (I); or 


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1 ‘‘(III) requesting to be placed on a 

2 reimbursement system of payment. 

3 ‘‘(4) SELECTION.—No later than 6 months after 

4 the experimental site initiative is announced, the Sec5 retary shall select eligible entities to participate in the 

6 initiative based on the applications submitted under 

7 paragraph (3). In making such selections, the Sec8 retary— 

9 ‘‘(A) shall consider— 

10 ‘‘(i) the number and quality of appli11 cations; 

12 ‘‘(ii) each applicant’s ability to effec13 tively share the financial risk as required 

14 under paragraph (3)(B)(iii); and 

15 ‘‘(iii) in the case of an applicant that 

16 is an institution of higher education, the 

17 applicant’s history of compliance with the 

18 requirements of this Act; 

19 ‘‘(B) shall ensure that the selected eligible 

20 entities represent a variety of eligible entities 

21 with respect to size, mission, and geographic dis22 tribution; 

23 ‘‘(C) shall ensure that the number of eligible 

24 entities selected that are institutions of higher 

25 education described in paragraph (2)(B) is equal 


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1 to the number of eligible entities selected that are 

2 educational providers described in paragraph 

3 (2)(B); and 

4 ‘‘(D) may not select any eligible entity 

5 whose approval to operate in a State is at risk. 

6 ‘‘(5) WAIVERS.—The Secretary is authorized to 

7 waive, for any eligible entity participating in the ex8 perimental site initiative under this subsection— 

9 ‘‘(A) any requirements conditioning an eli10 gible entity’s eligibility to participate in pro11 grams under this title to being accredited by an 

12 accrediting agency or association recognized 

13 under section 496; and 

14 ‘‘(B) any other requirements of this title de15 termined necessary by the Secretary to carry out 

16 such initiative (including requirements related to 

17 the award process and disbursement of student 

18 financial aid, or other management procedures 

19 or processes), except that the Secretary shall not 

20 waive any provisions with respect to award rules 

21 (other than an award rule related to an experi22 ment in modular or compressed schedules), grant 

23 and loan maximum award amounts, and need 

24 analysis requirements, unless the waiver of such 


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1 provisions is authorized by another provision 

2 under this title. 

3 ‘‘(6) REVIEW AND EVALUATION.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall re5 view and evaluate the experimental site initia6 tive conducted under this subsection, including 

7 by evaluating, with respect to each participating 

8 program of each participating eligible entity, 

9 whether— 

10 ‘‘(i) the median value-added earnings 

11 of students who complete the program of 

12 study are greater than the median total 

13 price charged to students for such program; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(ii) the program of study is meeting 

16 other student achievement outcomes (such as 

17 outcomes based on standards of accredita18 tion described in section 496(a)(5)(A)), as 

19 appropriate for the program. 

20 ‘‘(B) RECOMMENDATIONS.—If, based on 

21 such evaluation, the Secretary determines that 

22 participating eligible entities were able to meet 

23 the requirement of subparagraph (A)(i) and the 

24 other student achievement outcomes evaluated by 

25 the Secretary under subparagraph (A)(ii), the 


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1 Secretary shall submit to the authorizing com2 mittees recommendations regarding amendments 

3 to this Act that will streamline and enhance the 

4 quality assurance process of institutions of high5 er education, and educational providers de6 scribed in paragraph (2)(B).’’. 

7 PART B—STUDENT SUCCESS 

8 SEC. 321. POSTSECONDARY STUDENT SUCCESS GRANTS. 

9 Part B of title VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

10 (20 U.S.C. 1138 et seq.) is amended— 

11 (1) in section 741— 

12 (A) by striking subsections (b), (c), (e), and 

13 (f); 

14 (B) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub15 section (c); and 

16 (C) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

20 ‘‘(A) COMPLETION RATE.—The term ‘com21 pletion rate’ means— 

22 ‘‘(i) the percentage of students from an 

23 initial cohort enrolled at an institution of 

24 higher education that is a 2-year institution 

25 who have graduated from the institution or 


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1 transferred to a 4-year institution of higher 

2 education; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) the percentage of students from 

4 an initial cohort enrolled at an institution 

5 of higher education in the State that is a 4- 

6 year institution who have graduated from 

7 the institution. 

8 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible 

9 entity’ means— 

10 ‘‘(i) an institution of higher education; 

11 ‘‘(ii) a partnership between a non12 profit educational organization and an in13 stitution of higher education; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) a consortium of institutions of 

15 higher education. 

16 ‘‘(C) ELIGIBLE INDIAN ENTITY.—The term 

17 ‘eligible Indian entity’ means the entity respon18 sible for the governance, operation, or control of 

19 a Tribal College or University. 

20 ‘‘(D) EVIDENCE-BASED.—The term ‘evi21 dence-based’ has the meaning given the term in 

22 section 8101(21)(A) of the Elementary and Sec23 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

24 7801(21)(A)), except that such term shall also 

25 apply to institutions of higher education. 


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1 ‘‘(E) EVIDENCE TIERS.— 

2 ‘‘(i) EVIDENCE TIER 1 REFORM OR

3 PRACTICE.—The term ‘evidence tier 1 re4 form or practice’ means a reform or prac5 tice that prior research suggests has promise 

6 for the purpose of successfully improving 

7 student achievement or attainment for high8 need students. 

9 ‘‘(ii) EVIDENCE TIER 2 REFORM OR

10 PRACTICE.—The term ‘evidence tier 2 re11 form or practice’ means a reform or prac12 tice described in clause (i), or other practice 

13 meeting similar criteria, that measures im14 pact and cost effectiveness of student success 

15 activities, and, through rigorous evaluation 

16 (including through the use of existing ad17 ministrative data, as applicable), has been 

18 found to be successfully implemented. 

19 ‘‘(iii) EVIDENCE TIER 3 REFORM OR

20 PRACTICE.—The term ‘evidence tier 3 re21 form or practice’ means a reform or prac22 tice described in clause (ii), or other prac23 tice meeting similar criteria, that has been 

24 found to produce sizable, important impacts 

25 on student success and— 


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1 ‘‘(I) determines whether such im2 pacts can be successfully reproduced 

3 and sustained over time; and 

4 ‘‘(II) identifies the conditions in 

5 which such reform or practice is most 

6 effective. 

7 ‘‘(F) FIRST GENERATION COLLEGE STU8 DENT.—The term ‘first generation college stu9 dent’ has the meaning given the term in section 

10 402A(h) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

11 U.S.C. 1070a–11(h)). 

12 ‘‘(G) HIGH-NEED STUDENT.—The term 

13 ‘high-need student’ means— 

14 ‘‘(i) a student from low-income back15 ground; 

16 ‘‘(ii) first generation college students; 

17 ‘‘(iii) caregiver students; 

18 ‘‘(iv) students with disabilities; 

19 ‘‘(v) students who stopped out before 

20 completing; 

21 ‘‘(vi) reentering justice-impacted stu22 dents; and 

23 ‘‘(vii) military-connected students. 

24 ‘‘(H) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

25 means the Secretary of Education. 


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1 ‘‘(I) TRIBAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY.— 

2 The term ‘Tribal College or University’ has the 

3 meaning given the term in section 316(b) of the 

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

5 1059c(b)). 

6 ‘‘(2) RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR ELIGIBLE IN7 DIAN ENTITIES.—From the total amount appro8 priated to carry out this subsection for a fiscal year, 

9 the Secretary shall reserve 2 percent for grants to eli10 gible Indian entities to increase participation and 

11 completion rates of high-need students. 

12 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION OF POSTSECONDARY STU13 DENT SUCCESS COMPETITIVE GRANTS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) GRANT AUTHORIZATION.—For each of 

15 fiscal years 2025 through 2030, the Secretary 

16 shall award, on a competitive basis, grants to el17 igible entities to provide student services to in18 crease participation, retention, and completion 

19 rates of high-need students. 

20 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity de21 siring a grant under this section shall submit an 

22 application to the Secretary at such time, in 

23 such manner, and containing the information re24 quired under subparagraph (C). 


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1 ‘‘(C) CONTENTS.—An application submitted 

2 under this paragraph shall include the following: 

3 ‘‘(i) A plan to increase, with respect to 

4 all students enrolled at the institution of 

5 higher education, attainment and comple6 tion rates or graduation rates, including— 

7 ‘‘(I) a description of which evi8 dence tiers would be met by the evi9 dence-based reforms or practices; and 

10 ‘‘(II) a particular focus on serv11 ing high-need students through student 

12 services and collaboration among 2- 

13 year programs, 4-year programs, and 

14 workforce systems. 

15 ‘‘(ii) Annual benchmarks for student 

16 outcomes with respect to evidence-based re17 forms or practices. 

18 ‘‘(iii) A plan to evaluate the evidence19 based reforms or practices carried out pur20 suant to a grant received under this sub21 section. 

22 ‘‘(iv) Rates of enrolled students who re23 ceived a Federal Pell Grant under section 

24 401. 


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1 ‘‘(v) Demographics of enrolled students, 

2 including high-need students. 

3 ‘‘(vi) A description of how the eligible 

4 entity will, directly or in collaboration with 

5 institutions of higher education or nonprofit 

6 organizations, use the grant funds to imple7 ment 1 or more of the following evidence8 based reforms or practices: 

9 ‘‘(I) Providing comprehensive aca10 demic, career, and student services, 

11 which may include mentoring, advis12 ing, or case management services. 

13 ‘‘(II) Providing accelerated learn14 ing opportunities, which may include 

15 dual or concurrent enrollment pro16 grams and early college high school 

17 programs. 

18 ‘‘(III) Reforming course sched19 uling or credit-awarding policies. 

20 ‘‘(IV) Improving transfer path21 ways between the institution of higher 

22 education, or eligible Indian entity, 

23 and other institutions of higher edu24 cation. 


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1 ‘‘(vii) A description of how the evi2 dence-based reforms or practices carried out 

3 pursuant to a grant under this subsection 

4 will be sustained once the grant expires. 

5 ‘‘(D) EVIDENCE-BASED STUDENT SUCCESS

6 PROGRAMS.—From the total amount appro7 priated to carry out this subsection for a fiscal 

8 year and not reserved under paragraph (4), the 

9 Secretary shall reserve not less than 20 percent 

10 to award grants to eligible entities with applica11 tions that propose to include reforms or prac12 tices— 

13 ‘‘(i) at least 1 of which is a tier 3 re14 form or practice; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) the rest of which are tier 1 or tier 

16 2 reforms or practices. 

17 ‘‘(E) REQUIRED USE OF FUNDS.—An eligi18 ble entity that receives a grant under this section 

19 shall use the grant funds to carry out the plans 

20 submitted pursuant to subparagraph (C) and for 

21 evidence-based reforms or practices for improv22 ing retention and completion rates of students 

23 that may include the following: 


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1 ‘‘(i) Student services to support reten2 tion, completion, and success, which may 

3 include— 

4 ‘‘(I) faculty and peer counseling; 

5 ‘‘(II) use of real-time data on stu6 dent progress; 

7 ‘‘(III) improving transfer student 

8 success; and 

9 ‘‘(IV) incentives for students to re10 enroll or stay on track. 

11 ‘‘(ii) Direct student support services, 

12 including a combination of— 

13 ‘‘(I) tutoring, academic supports, 

14 and enrichment services; and 

15 ‘‘(II) emergency financial assist16 ance. 

17 ‘‘(iii) Efforts to prepare students for a 

18 career, which may include— 

19 ‘‘(I) career coaching, career coun20 seling and planning services, and ef21 forts to lower student to advisor ratios; 

22 ‘‘(II) networking and work-based 

23 learning opportunities to support the 

24 development of skills and professional 

25 relationships; 


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1 ‘‘(III) utilizing career pathways; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(IV) boosting experiences nec4 essary to obtain and succeed in high5 wage, high-skilled, (as described in sec6 tion 122 of the Carl D. Perkins Career 

7 and Technical Education Act of 2006 

8 (20 U.S.C. 2342)) or in-demand indus9 try sectors or occupations (as defined 

10 in section 3 of the Workforce Innova11 tion and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

12 3102)). 

13 ‘‘(iv) Efforts to recruit and retain fac14 ulty and other instructional staff. 

15 ‘‘(F) PERMISSIVE USE OF FUNDS.—From 

16 the total amount appropriated to carry out this 

17 subsection for a fiscal year, and not reserved 

18 under paragraph (4) or subparagraph (D), the 

19 Secretary may set aside— 

20 ‘‘(i) not more than 5 percent for ad21 ministration, capacity building, research, 

22 evaluation, and reporting; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) not more than 2 percent for tech24 nical assistance to eligible entities. 

25 ‘‘(G) EVALUATIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of 

2 improving the effectiveness of the evidence3 based reforms or practices carried out by el4 igible entities pursuant to a grant under 

5 this subsection, the Secretary shall make 

6 grants to or enter into contracts with one or 

7 more organizations to— 

8 ‘‘(I) evaluate the effectiveness of 

9 such reforms or practices; and 

10 ‘‘(II) disseminate information on 

11 the impact of such reforms or practices 

12 in increasing completion and retention 

13 activities of students, as well as other 

14 appropriate measures. 

15 ‘‘(ii) ISSUES TO BE EVALUATED.—The 

16 evaluations required under clause (i) shall 

17 measure the effectiveness of the evidence18 based reforms or practices carried out by el19 igible entities pursuant to a grant under 

20 this subsection in— 

21 ‘‘(I) whether such eligible entity 

22 implemented the plans, and carried out 

23 the activities, described in subpara24 graph (C); and 


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1 ‘‘(II) comparing the completion 

2 and retention rates of students who 

3 participated in such reforms or prac4 tices with the rates of students of simi5 lar backgrounds who did not partici6 pate in such reforms or practices. 

7 ‘‘(iii) RESULTS.—Not later than 18 

8 months after the date of the enactment of 

9 this subsection, the Secretary shall submit 

10 to the authorizing committees a final report. 

11 ‘‘(H) GRANT LIMIT.—An institution with 

12 branch campuses that is an eligible entity may 

13 only receive a grant under this subsection for 1 

14 campus of such institution at a time. 

15 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

16 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

17 this subsection, $45,000,000, for each of fiscal years 

18 2026 through 2031.’’; and 

19 (2) by striking sections 742 through 745. 

20 SEC. 322. REVERSE TRANSFER EFFICIENCY ACT. 

21 Section 444(b)(1) of the General Education Provisions 

22 Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g(b)(1)) is amended— 

23 (1) in subparagraph (K)(ii), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

24 and inserting a semicolon; 


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1 (2) in subparagraph (L), by striking the period 

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

3 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (L) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(M) an institution of postsecondary education 

6 in which a student was previously enrolled, to which 

7 records of postsecondary coursework and credits are 

8 sent for the purpose of applying such coursework and 

9 credits toward completion of a recognized postsec10 ondary credential (as that term is defined in section 

11 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

12 (29 U.S.C. 3102)), upon condition that the student 

13 provides written consent prior to receiving such cre14 dential.’’. 

15 SEC. 323. TRANSPARENT AND FAIR TRANSFER OF CREDIT 

16 POLICIES. 

17 Section 485(h) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

18 (20 U.S.C. 1092(h)) is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ‘‘, includ20 ing with respect to the acceptance or denial of such 

21 credit’’ after ‘‘higher education’’; 

22 (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para23 graph (3); and 

24 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(2) DENIAL OF CREDIT TRANSFER.—An institu2 tion may not establish a transfer of credit policy 

3 which denies credit earned at another institution 

4 based solely on the source of accreditation of such 

5 other institution, provided that such other institution 

6 is accredited by an agency or association that is rec7 ognized by the Secretary pursuant to section 496.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 624 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6951 

[Report No. 118–739] 

A BILL 

To lower the cost of postsecondary education for 

students and families. 

NOVEMBER 18, 2024 

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


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