IIB 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4983 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 24, 2014 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

AN ACT 

To simplify and streamline the information regarding institutions of higher education made publicly available by the 

Secretary of Education, and for other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strengthening Trans3 parency in Higher Education Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. COLLEGE DASHBOARD WEBSITE. 

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

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

7 (1) in subsection (a)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘first9 time,’’; 

10 (B) in paragraph (3) in the matter pre11 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘first12 time,’’; and 

13 (C) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘first14 time,’’; 

15 (2) in subsection (b)— 

16 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘first17 time’’; and 

18 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘first19 time’’; 

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

21 and (l); 

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

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

24 (5) by striking subsection (d) (as so redesig25 nated) and inserting the following new subsection: 

26 ‘‘(d) CONSUMER INFORMATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) AVAILABILITY OF TITLE IV INSTITUTION

2 INFORMATION.—The Secretary shall develop and 

3 make publicly available a website to be known as the 

4 ‘College Dashboard website’ in accordance with this 

5 section and prominently display on such website, in 

6 simple, understandable, and unbiased terms for the 

7 most recent academic year for which satisfactory 

8 data are available, the following information with re9 spect to each institution of higher education that 

10 participates in a program under title IV: 

11 ‘‘(A) A link to the website of the institu12 tion. 

13 ‘‘(B) An identification of the type of insti14 tution as one of the following: 

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

16 higher education. 

17 ‘‘(ii) A four-year private, nonprofit in18 stitution of higher education. 

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

20 institution of higher education. 

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

22 higher education. 

23 ‘‘(v) A two-year private, nonprofit in24 stitution of higher education. 


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1 ‘‘(vi) A two-year private, for-profit in2 stitution of higher education. 

3 ‘‘(vii) A less than two-year public in4 stitution of higher education. 

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

6 nonprofit institution of higher education. 

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

8 for-profit institution of higher education. 

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

10 the institution— 

11 ‘‘(i) as undergraduate students; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) as graduate students, if applica13 ble. 

14 ‘‘(D) The student-faculty ratio. 

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

16 certificate-seeking undergraduate students en17 rolled at the institution who obtain a degree or 

18 certificate within— 

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

20 for completion of, or graduation from, the 

21 program in which the student is enrolled; 

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

23 for completion of, or graduation from, the 

24 program in which the student is enrolled; 

25 and 


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

2 for completion of, or graduation from, the 

3 program in which the student is enrolled. 

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

5 undergraduate students receiving Federal stu6 dent financial aid under title IV based on an in7 come category selected by the user from a list 

8 containing the following income categories: 

9 ‘‘(i) $0 to $30,000. 

10 ‘‘(ii) $30,001 to $48,000. 

11 ‘‘(iii) $48,001 to $75,000. 

12 ‘‘(iv) $75,001 to $110,000. 

13 ‘‘(v) $110, 001 to $150,000. 

14 ‘‘(vi) Over $150,000. 

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

16 such institution. 

17 ‘‘(H) The percentage of undergraduate 

18 students who obtained a certificate or degree 

19 from the institution who borrowed Federal stu20 dent loans and the average Federal student 

21 loan debt incurred by an undergraduate student 

22 who obtained a certificate or degree from the 

23 institution and borrowed Federal student loans 

24 in the course of obtaining such certificate or de25 gree. 


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

2 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on starting 

3 salaries in all major occupations. 

4 ‘‘(J) A link to the webpage of the institu5 tion containing campus safety data with respect 

6 to such institution. 

7 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—The Sec8 retary shall publish on Internet webpages that are 

9 linked to through the College Dashboard website for 

10 the most recent academic year for which satisfactory 

11 data is available the following information with re12 spect to each institution of higher education that 

13 participates in a program under title IV: 

14 ‘‘(A) ENROLLMENT.— 

15 ‘‘(i) The percentages of male and fe16 male undergraduate students enrolled at 

17 the institution. 

18 ‘‘(ii) The percentages of under19 graduate students enrolled at the institu20 tion— 

21 ‘‘(I) full-time; and 

22 ‘‘(II) less than full-time. 

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

24 other than an institution that provides all 

25 courses and programs through distance 


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1 education, of the undergraduate students 

2 enrolled at the institution— 

3 ‘‘(I) the percentage of such stu4 dents who are from the State in which 

5 the institution is located; 

6 ‘‘(II) the percentage of such stu7 dents who are from other States; and 

8 ‘‘(III) the percentage of such stu9 dents who are international students. 

10 ‘‘(iv) The percentages of under11 graduate students enrolled at the institu12 tion, disaggregated by— 

13 ‘‘(I) race and ethnic background; 

14 ‘‘(II) classification as a student 

15 with a disability; 

16 ‘‘(III) recipients of a Federal Pell 

17 Grant; 

18 ‘‘(IV) recipients of assistance 

19 under a tuition assistance program 

20 conducted by the Department of De21 fense under section 1784a or 2007 of 

22 title 10, United States Code, or other 

23 authorities available to the Depart24 ment of Defense or veterans’ eduVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:39 Jul 25, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4983.RFS H4983

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1 cation benefits (as defined in section 

2 480); and 

3 ‘‘(V) recipients of a Federal stu4 dent loan. 

5 ‘‘(B) COMPLETION.—The information re6 quired under paragraph (1)(E), disaggregated 

7 by— 

8 ‘‘(i) recipients of a Federal Pell 

9 Grant; 

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

11 part D (other than a Federal Direct Un12 subsidized Stafford Loan) who did not re13 ceive a Federal Pell Grant; 

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

15 Federal Pell Grant or a loan made under 

16 part D (other than a Federal Direct Un17 subsidized Stafford Loan); 

18 ‘‘(iv) race and ethnic background; 

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

20 disability; and 

21 ‘‘(vi) recipients of assistance under a 

22 tuition assistance program conducted by 

23 the Department of Defense under section 

24 1784a or 2007 of title 10, United States 

25 Code, or other authorities available to the 


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1 Department of Defense or veterans’ edu2 cation benefits (as defined in section 480). 

3 ‘‘(C) COSTS.— 

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

6 the institution who live on campus. 

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

9 the institution who live off campus. 

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

11 full-time undergraduate students enrolled 

12 in the institution. 

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

14 credit hour or credit hour equivalency for 

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

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

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

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

23 the institution who are residents of 

24 the State in which the institution is 

25 located; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) full-time students enrolled 

2 in the institution who are not resi3 dents of such State. 

4 ‘‘(vi) In the case of a public institu5 tion of higher education that offers dif6 ferent tuition rates for students who are 

7 residents of a geographic subdivision small8 er than a State and students not located in 

9 such geographic subdivision and notwith10 standing subsection (b)(1), the costs de11 scribed in clauses (i) and (ii) for— 

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

13 the institution who are residents of 

14 such geographic subdivision; 

15 ‘‘(II) full-time students enrolled 

16 at the institution who are residents of 

17 the State in which the institution is 

18 located but not residents of such geo19 graphic subdivision; and 

20 ‘‘(III) full-time students enrolled 

21 at the institution who are not resi22 dents of such State. 

23 ‘‘(D) FINANCIAL AID.— 

24 ‘‘(i) The average annual grant amount 

25 (including Federal, State, and institutional 


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1 aid) awarded to an undergraduate student 

2 enrolled at the institution who receives fi3 nancial aid. 

4 ‘‘(ii) The percentage of undergraduate 

5 students enrolled at the institution receiv6 ing Federal, State, and institutional 

7 grants, student loans, and any other type 

8 of student financial assistance known by 

9 the institution, provided publicly or 

10 through the institution, such as Federal 

11 work-study funds. 

12 ‘‘(iii) The cohort default rate (as de13 fined in section 435(m)) for such institu14 tion. 

15 ‘‘(E) FACULTY INFORMATION.— 

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

17 sections taught by part-time instructors to 

18 the number of course sections taught by 

19 full-time faculty, disaggregated by course 

20 sections intended primarily for under21 graduate students and course sections in22 tended primarily for graduate students. 

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

24 employment for part-time instructors. 

25 ‘‘(3) OTHER DATA MATTERS.— 


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

3 the information required under paragraph 

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

5 students at an institution, including students 

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

7 students who transfer to another institution, in 

8 a manner that the Commissioner considers ap9 propriate. 

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

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

14 change in the Consumer Price Index for All 

15 Urban Consumers as determined by the Bureau 

16 of Labor Statistics if the Secretary determines 

17 an adjustment is necessary. 

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

20 website a method for users to easily compare the in21 formation required under paragraphs (1) and (2) be22 tween institutions. 

23 ‘‘(5) UPDATES.— 


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

2 the College Dashboard website not less than an3 nually. 

4 ‘‘(B) TECHNOLOGY AND FORMAT.—The 

5 Secretary shall regularly assess the format and 

6 technology of the College Dashboard website 

7 and make any changes or updates that the Sec8 retary considers appropriate. 

9 ‘‘(6) CONSUMER TESTING.— 

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

11 maintaining the College Dashboard website, the 

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

17 such students, institutions of higher education, 

18 and experts, to ensure that the College Dash19 board website is usable and easily understand20 able and provides useful and relevant informa21 tion to students and families. 

22 ‘‘(B) RECOMMENDATIONS FOR

23 CHANGES.—The Secretary shall submit to the 

24 authorizing committees any recommendations 

25 that the Secretary considers appropriate for 


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1 changing the information required to be pro2 vided on the College Dashboard website under 

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

4 the consumer testing conducted under subpara5 graph (A). 

6 ‘‘(7) PROVISION OF APPROPRIATE LINKS TO

7 PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS AFTER SUBMISSION OF

8 FAFSA.—The Secretary shall provide to each stu9 dent that submits a Free Application for Federal 

10 Student Aid described in section 483 a link to the 

11 webpage of the College Dashboard website that con12 tains the information required under paragraph (1) 

13 for each institution of higher education such student 

14 includes on such Application. 

15 ‘‘(8) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—The Sec16 retary, in consultation with each appropriate head of 

17 a department or agency of the Federal Government, 

18 shall ensure to the greatest extent practicable that 

19 any information related to higher education that is 

20 published by such department or agency is con21 sistent with the information published on the College 

22 Dashboard website. 

23 ‘‘(9) REFERENCES TO COLLEGE NAVIGATOR

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


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1 Navigator website shall be considered a reference to 

2 the College Dashboard website.’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Higher Edu4 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), as amended 

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

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

7 striking ‘‘College Navigator’’ and inserting ‘‘College 

8 Dashboard’’; and 

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

10 striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following 

11 new paragraph: 

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

13 term ‘College Dashboard website’ means the College 

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

15 (c) DEVELOPMENT.—The Secretary of Education 

16 shall develop and publish the College Dashboard website 

17 required under section 132 of the Higher Education Act 

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

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

20 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

21 (d) COLLEGE NAVIGATOR WEBSITE MAINTE22 NANCE.—The Secretary shall maintain the College Navi23 gator website required under section 132 of the Higher 

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

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


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1 the manner required under the Higher Education Act of 

2 1965, as in effect on such day, until the College Dash3 board website referred to in subsection (c) is complete and 

4 publicly available on the Internet. 

5 SEC. 3. NET PRICE CALCULATORS. 

6 Subsection (c) of section 132 of the Higher Edu7 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1015a), as redesignated 

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

9 (1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para10 graph (6); and 

11 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol12 lowing new paragraphs: 

13 ‘‘(4) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR NET PRICE

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

15 of the enactment of the Strengthening Transparency 

16 in Higher Education Act, a net price calculator for 

17 an institution of higher education shall meet the fol18 lowing requirements: 

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

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

21 calculator and prominently, clearly, and 

22 conspicuously posted in locations on the 

23 website of such institution where informa24 tion on costs and aid is provided and any 


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1 other location that the institution considers 

2 appropriate; and 

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

4 other prominent links on the webpage 

5 where the link for the calculator is dis6 played. 

7 ‘‘(B) The webpage displaying the results 

8 for the calculator shall specify at least the fol9 lowing information: 

10 ‘‘(i) The net price (as calculated 

11 under subsection (a)(2)) for such institu12 tion, which shall be the most visually 

13 prominent figure on the results screen. 

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

15 ‘‘(I) tuition and fees; 

16 ‘‘(II) average annual cost of 

17 room and board for the institution for 

18 a full-time undergraduate student en19 rolled in the institution; 

20 ‘‘(III) average annual cost of 

21 books and supplies for a full-time un22 dergraduate student enrolled in the 

23 institution; and 

24 ‘‘(IV) estimated cost of other ex25 penses (including personal expenses 


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1 and transportation) for a full-time un2 dergraduate student enrolled in the 

3 institution. 

4 ‘‘(iii) Estimated total need-based 

5 grant aid and merit-based grant aid from 

6 Federal, State, and institutional sources 

7 that may be available to a full-time under8 graduate student. 

9 ‘‘(iv) Percentage of the full-time un10 dergraduate students enrolled in the insti11 tution that received any type of grant aid 

12 described in clause (iii). 

13 ‘‘(v) The disclaimer described in para14 graph (6). 

15 ‘‘(vi) In the case of a calculator 

16 that— 

17 ‘‘(I) includes questions to esti18 mate the eligibility of a student or 

19 prospective student for veterans’ edu20 cation benefits (as defined in section 

21 480) or educational benefits for active 

22 duty service members, such benefits 

23 are displayed on the results screen in 

24 a manner that clearly distinguishes 


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1 such benefits from the grant aid de2 scribed in clause (iii); or 

3 ‘‘(II) does not include questions 

4 to estimate eligibility for the benefits 

5 described in subclause (I), the results 

6 screen indicates that certain students 

7 (or prospective students) may qualify 

8 for such benefits and includes a link 

9 to information about such benefits. 

10 ‘‘(C) The institution shall populate the cal11 culator with data from an academic year that 

12 is not more than 2 academic years prior to the 

13 most recent academic year. 

14 ‘‘(5) PROHIBITION ON USE OF DATA COL15 LECTED BY THE NET PRICE CALCULATOR.—A net 

16 price calculator for an institution of higher edu17 cation shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) clearly indicate which questions are 

19 required to be completed for an estimate of the 

20 net price from the calculator; 

21 ‘‘(B) in the case of a calculator that re22 quests contact information from users, clearly 

23 mark such requests as optional and provide for 

24 an estimate of the net price from the calculator 


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1 without requiring users to enter such informa2 tion; and 

3 ‘‘(C) prohibit any personally identifiable in4 formation provided by users from being sold or 

5 made available to third parties.’’. 

6 SEC. 4. FUNDING. 

7 (a) USE OF EXISTING FUNDS.—Of the amount au8 thorized to be appropriated to the Department of Edu9 cation to maintain the College Navigator website, 

10 $1,000,000 shall be available to carry out this Act and 

11 the amendments made by this Act. 

12 (b) NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.—No 

13 funds are authorized by this Act to be appropriated to 

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

Passed the House of Representatives July 23, 2014. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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