II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3359 

To award grants to States to support efforts at institutions of higher 

education to increase degree attainment, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 9, 2021 

Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. KAINE, and Mr. CARDIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To award grants to States to support efforts at institutions 

of higher education to increase degree attainment, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Correctly Recognizing 

5 Educational Achievements To Empower Graduates Act’’ 

6 or the ‘‘CREATE Graduates Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CREATE GRADUATES. 

2 Title VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

3 U.S.C. 1133 et seq.) is amended by inserting after part 

4 B the following: 

5 ‘‘PART C—CREATE GRADUATES 

6 ‘‘SEC. 751. PURPOSE. 

7 ‘‘The purpose of this part is to award grants to 

8 States to support efforts at institutions of higher edu9 cation or within systems of higher education to increase 

10 postsecondary degree attainment by— 

11 ‘‘(1) locating, and conferring degrees to, stu12 dents who have accumulated sufficient applicable 

13 postsecondary credits and maintained a sufficient 

14 grade point average to earn an associate degree but 

15 did not receive one; 

16 ‘‘(2) providing outreach to those students who 

17 are within 12 credits of earning an associate degree; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(3) establishing partnerships between 2-year 

20 and 4-year institutions of higher education in States, 

21 in order to strengthen the transition pathways into 

22 4-year institutions of higher education for transfer 

23 students. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 752. GRANTS TO INCREASE DEGREE ATTAINMENT. 

2 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU3 CATION.—In this part, the term ‘institution of higher edu4 cation’ has the meaning given the term in section 101(a). 

5 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appro7 priated under subsection (j), the Secretary shall 

8 award grants, on a competitive basis, to States to 

9 enable the States to carry out the activities de10 scribed in subsections (e) and (f) in order to support 

11 efforts at institutions of higher education to increase 

12 degree attainment. 

13 ‘‘(2) PARTNERSHIPS ALLOWED.—A State may 

14 apply for a grant under this section in partnership 

15 with a nonprofit organization. In any such partner16 ship, the State higher education agency or other 

17 State agency described in subsection (c)(1) shall 

18 serve as the fiscal agent for purposes of the grant. 

19 ‘‘(c) SUBMISSION AND CONTENTS OF APPLICA20 TION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The State, acting through 

22 the State higher education agency or other State 

23 agency determined appropriate by the Governor or 

24 chief executive officer of the State, shall submit an 

25 application to the Secretary at such time, in such 


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1 manner, and containing such information as the Sec2 retary may require. 

3 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—An application submitted 

4 under paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

5 ‘‘(A) A description of the State’s capacity 

6 to administer the grant under this section and 

7 report annually to the Secretary on the 

8 progress of the activities and services described 

9 in subsection (e). 

10 ‘‘(B) A description of how the State will 

11 meet the purposes of the grant program under 

12 this part through outreach and memoranda of 

13 understanding with institutions of higher edu14 cation, including the State’s plan for using 

15 grant funds to meet the requirements of sub16 sections (e) and (g) and, if the State elects to 

17 use grant funds under such subsection to create 

18 strong articulation agreements, subsection 

19 (f)(2). 

20 ‘‘(C) A description of how the State will 

21 coordinate with appropriate stakeholders, in22 cluding institutions of higher education, data23 sharing agencies within the State, and other 

24 States. 

25 ‘‘(D) A description of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the structure that the State has 

2 in place to administer the activities and 

3 services described in subsection (e), includ4 ing— 

5 ‘‘(I) the capacity of the State’s 

6 longitudinal data system to— 

7 ‘‘(aa) be clean of record du8 plication and ensure alignment of 

9 State and institutional credit 

10 completion records; 

11 ‘‘(bb) include transfer flags 

12 and course and credit data to 

13 allow the State to run initial de14 gree audits for institutions; 

15 ‘‘(cc) include all institutions 

16 of higher education in the State; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(dd) have in place mecha19 nisms to share data across insti20 tutions, systems, and States; 

21 ‘‘(II) the capacity of the agency 

22 governing the State’s longitudinal sys23 tem to respond to data requests accu24 rately and in a timely manner; and 


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1 ‘‘(III) the State’s plan to protect 

2 student privacy with respect to data 

3 in the State longitudinal data system 

4 and comply with section 444 of the 

5 General Education Provisions Act 

6 (commonly referred to as the ‘Family 

7 Educational Rights and Privacy Act 

8 of 1974’); or 

9 ‘‘(ii) the State’s plan to develop such 

10 administrative capacity as part of the ac11 tivities carried out under the grant. 

12 ‘‘(d) AWARD BASIS AND PRIORITY.—The Secretary 

13 shall award grants under this section to States based on 

14 the quality of the applications submitted under subsection 

15 (c). In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary 

16 shall give priority to applications from States— 

17 ‘‘(1) that do not have, as of the time of the ap18 plication, statewide policies or statewide initiatives in 

19 place to retroactively award associate degrees to stu20 dents; or 

21 ‘‘(2) that have a commitment to initiatives re22 garding the retroactive awarding of associate degrees 

23 that will continue after the period of the grant. 

24 ‘‘(e) MANDATORY USE OF FUNDS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) SUBGRANTS.—A State that receives a 

2 grant under this section shall use not less than 80 

3 percent of the grant funds provided to award sub4 grants, on a competitive basis, to institutions of 

5 higher education or systems of higher education. 

6 Each institution of higher education or system of 

7 higher education receiving a subgrant shall carry out 

8 all of the following activities and services, pursuant 

9 to the conditions under subsection (g): 

10 ‘‘(A) Identify the group of students en11 rolled at the institution of higher education on 

12 the date of the identification and former stu13 dents who were enrolled at the institution of 

14 higher education, or at the institutions of high15 er education within the system of higher edu16 cation, as the case may be, that, based on the 

17 data held by the institution or system, meet 

18 both of the following requirements: 

19 ‘‘(i) Each individual had completed, or 

20 is expected to complete by the end of the 

21 semester, trimester, or quarter, not less 

22 than 45 postsecondary credit hours (or the 

23 minimum required by the State to earn an 

24 associate degree)— 


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1 ‘‘(I) in the case of former stu2 dents who were enrolled at the institu3 tion of higher education or at the in4 stitutions of higher education within 

5 the system of higher education, as the 

6 case may be, at the institution or in7 stitutions; and 

8 ‘‘(II) in the case of students en9 rolled at the institution of higher edu10 cation or at the institutions of higher 

11 education within the system of higher 

12 education, as the case may be, on the 

13 date of the identification, at another 

14 institution of higher education. 

15 ‘‘(ii) Each individual has not had any 

16 postsecondary degree or certificate, at the 

17 associate degree level or higher, issued to 

18 the student by an institution of higher edu19 cation. 

20 ‘‘(B) Perform a degree audit on each stu21 dent described in subparagraph (A), and iden22 tify each such student as one of the following: 

23 ‘‘(i) Eligible to obtain an associate de24 gree. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) Eligible to obtain an associate 

2 degree upon the completion of 12 or fewer 

3 postsecondary credit hours (or the equiva4 lent). 

5 ‘‘(iii) Not eligible under either clause 

6 (i) or (ii). 

7 ‘‘(C) Provide outreach to each student 

8 identified in subparagraph (B)(i), and award 

9 the earned associate degree to such student, un10 less such student declines through a written or 

11 oral declaration. 

12 ‘‘(D) Provide outreach to each student 

13 identified in subparagraph (B)(ii) that includes 

14 information regarding next steps toward degree 

15 attainment, including financial aid options. 

16 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION PROCESS.—An institution of 

17 higher education or system of higher education de18 siring a subgrant under this subsection shall submit 

19 an application to the State at such time, in such 

20 manner, and containing such information as the 

21 State may require. Such application shall include a 

22 written commitment from the institution or system 

23 that, if the institution or system receives a grant, 

24 the institution or system will carry out all of the ac25 tivities described in paragraph (1). 


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1 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—Each State awarding sub2 grants under this part shall give priority to applica3 tions from institutions of higher education or sys4 tems of higher education that— 

5 ‘‘(A) have up-to-date degree audit software 

6 or systems to increase automation of degree au7 dits and transcript exchange, or a plan to invest 

8 and develop such software or systems; 

9 ‘‘(B) if such policy is permissible under ap10 plicable accreditation or State standards, use a 

11 policy that awards associate degrees to any can12 didate identified in paragraph (1)(B)(i) and 

13 provides candidates with a process to opt out of 

14 such award program; 

15 ‘‘(C) waive nonacademic barriers to grad16 uation, such as an application, swimming test, 

17 library fine, transcript exchange fee, graduation 

18 fee, parking ticket, or any other nominal fee; 

19 ‘‘(D) waive or amend residency and 

20 recency requirements to prevent earned credits 

21 from expiring, if such action is permissible 

22 under accreditation or State standards; 

23 ‘‘(E) provide students with tuition waivers, 

24 reduced tuition, or prior learning assessments 


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1 for those who need to earn remaining credits; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(F) agree that, after the conclusion of the 

4 activities described in paragraph (1) and con5 tinuing after the end of the grant period, the 

6 institution or system will— 

7 ‘‘(i) conduct degree audits for all en8 rolled students once the students enroll in 

9 45 postsecondary credit hours; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) provide information about grad11 uation deadlines to remind students of rel12 evant requirements at least 4 months be13 fore the students graduate and again 1 

14 month before graduation. 

15 ‘‘(f) PERMISSIVE USE OF FUNDS.—A State receiving 

16 a grant under this section may use— 

17 ‘‘(1) not more than 15 percent of the total 

18 amount received under this section for administra19 tive purposes relating to the grant under this sec20 tion, including technology needed to carry out the 

21 purposes of this part; and 

22 ‘‘(2) not more than 5 percent of the total 

23 amount received under this section to create articu24 lation agreements between 2-year and 4-year institu25 tions of higher education, in order to enhance colVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Dec 16, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3359.IS S3359

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1 laboration and strengthen the transition pathways 

2 between such institutions for transfer students. 

3 ‘‘(g) SPECIAL CONDITIONS AND PROHIBITIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) AVAILABILITY TO STUDENTS.—A State, 

5 institution of higher education, or system of higher 

6 education receiving a grant or subgrant, as the case 

7 may be, under this section shall not charge any stu8 dent an additional fee or charge to participate in the 

9 activities or services supported under this section. 

10 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITED USES.—A State, institution 

11 of higher education, or system of higher education 

12 receiving a grant or subgrant, as the case may be, 

13 under this section shall not use any grant or 

14 subgrant funds for tuition, fees, room and board, or 

15 any other purpose outside the goals of the grant. 

16 ‘‘(3) FERPA REQUIREMENTS.—Each State, in17 stitution of higher education, or system of higher 

18 education receiving a grant or subgrant, respectively, 

19 under this section that enters into a contract or 

20 other agreement with any outside entity to assist in 

21 carrying out the activities or services under such 

22 grant or subgrant, shall ensure that the outside enti23 ty complies with all requirements of section 444 of 

24 the General Education Provisions Act (commonly re25 ferred to as the ‘Family Educational Rights and PriVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Dec 16, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3359.IS S3359

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1 vacy Act of 1974’) that would apply to the State, in2 stitution, or system. 

3 ‘‘(4) COORDINATION.—A State receiving a 

4 grant under this section shall ensure the coordina5 tion of the activities and services carried out under 

6 this section with any other activities carried out in 

7 the State that are similar to the goals of this pro8 gram, and with any other entities that support the 

9 existing activities in the State, with the goal of mini10 mizing duplication. 

11 ‘‘(h) REPORT.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State receiving a grant 

13 under this section shall prepare and submit an an14 nual report to the Secretary on the activities and 

15 services carried out under this section, and on the 

16 implementation of such activities and services. The 

17 report shall include, for each institution of higher 

18 education or system of higher education receiving a 

19 subgrant, the following information: 

20 ‘‘(A) The number of students who were 

21 first identified in the group described in sub22 section (e)(1)(A)(i). 

23 ‘‘(B) The number of students who were re24 moved from such group because the students 


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1 had received a degree elsewhere, in accordance 

2 with subsection (e)(1)(A)(ii). 

3 ‘‘(C) The number of degree audits per4 formed under subsection (e)(1)(B). 

5 ‘‘(D) The number of students identified 

6 under subsection (e)(1)(B)(i) as eligible to ob7 tain an associate degree. 

8 ‘‘(E) The number of students identified 

9 under subsection (e)(1)(B)(ii) as eligible to ob10 tain an associate degree upon the completion of 

11 12 or fewer credits. 

12 ‘‘(F) The number of students identified 

13 under subsection (e)(1)(B)(iii) as ineligible to 

14 obtain an associate degree and ineligible to ob15 tain such a degree upon the completion of 12 

16 or fewer credits. 

17 ‘‘(G) The number of students awarded an 

18 associate degree under subsection (e)(1)(C). 

19 ‘‘(H) The number of students identified in 

20 subsection (e)(1)(B)(ii) who are returning to an 

21 institution of higher education after receiving 

22 outreach described in subsection (e)(1)(D). 

23 ‘‘(I) The average amount of credit hours 

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1 section (e)(1)(B)(i) when the associate degrees 

2 are awarded. 

3 ‘‘(J) The number of students who received 

4 outreach described in subsection (e)(1)(C) and 

5 who decline to receive the associate degree. 

6 ‘‘(K) The number of students who could 

7 not be located or reached as part of the process. 

8 ‘‘(L) The reasons why students identified 

9 in subsection (e)(1)(B)(ii) did not return to an 

10 institution of higher education to receive a de11 gree. 

12 ‘‘(M) Details of any policy changes imple13 mented as a result of implementing this pro14 gram and conducting the required degree au15 dits. 

16 ‘‘(2) DISAGGREGATION.—The report shall in17 clude the information described in subparagraphs 

18 (A) through (L) of paragraph (1) in the aggregate 

19 and disaggregated by age, gender, race or ethnicity, 

20 status as an individual with a disability, and socio21 economic status (including status as a Federal Pell 

22 Grant recipient), except that such disaggregation 

23 shall not be required in a case in which the number 

24 of students in a category is insufficient to yield sta25 tistically reliable information or the results would reVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Dec 16, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3359.IS S3359

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1 veal personally identifiable information about an in2 dividual student. 

3 ‘‘(i) ENFORCEMENT PROVISIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) RECOVERY OR WITHHOLDING.—The Sec5 retary may, after notice and an opportunity for a 

6 hearing in accordance with chapter 5 of title 5, 

7 United States Code— 

8 ‘‘(A) withhold funds provided under a 

9 grant or subgrant under this section if a State 

10 or institution of higher education is failing to 

11 comply substantially with the requirements of 

12 this section; or 

13 ‘‘(B) take actions to recover funds pro14 vided under a grant or subgrant under this sec15 tion, if the State or institution made an unal16 lowable expense, or otherwise failed to discharge 

17 its responsibility to properly account for funds. 

18 ‘‘(2) USE OF RECOVERED OR UNUSED

19 FUNDS.—Any funds recovered or withheld under 

20 paragraph (1) shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) be credited to the appropriations ac22 count from which amounts are available to 

23 make grants or enter cooperative agreements 

24 under this section; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) remain available until expended for 

2 any purpose of that account authorized by law 

3 that relates to the program under this section. 

4 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

6 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2022 and 

7 each of the 2 subsequent fiscal years.’’. 

8 SEC. 3. RELEASE OF EDUCATION RECORDS TO FACILITATE 

9 THE AWARD OF A RECOGNIZED POSTSEC10 ONDARY CREDENTIAL. 

11 Section 444(b) of the General Education Provisions 

12 Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g(b)) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

14 (A) in subparagraph (K)(ii), by striking ‘‘; 

15 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; and 

16 (B) in subparagraph (L), by striking the 

17 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

18 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (L) the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(M) an institution of postsecondary education 

21 in which the student was previously enrolled, to 

22 which records of postsecondary coursework and cred23 its are sent for the purpose of applying such 

24 coursework and credits toward completion of a rec25 ognized postsecondary credential (as that term is deVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Dec 16, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3359.IS S3359

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1 fined in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and 

2 Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102)), upon condition 

3 that the student provides written consent prior to re4 ceiving such credential.’’. 

Æ 


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