II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2506 

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 

JUNE 19, 2014 

Mrs. HAGAN (for herself and Mr. HARKIN) 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’s degree 

15 but did not receive one; 

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

17 are within 12 credits of earning an associate’s de18 gree; 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. 

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

25 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU26 CATION.—In this section, the term ‘institution of higher 


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1 education’ has the meaning given the term in section 

2 101(a). 

3 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appro5 priated under subsection (j), the Secretary shall 

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

7 enable the States to carry out the activities de8 scribed in subsections (e) and (f) in order to support 

9 efforts at institutions of higher education to increase 

10 degree attainment. 

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

12 apply for a grant under this section in partnership 

13 with a nonprofit organization. In any such partner14 ship, the State higher education agency or other 

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

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

17 ‘‘(c) SUBMISSION AND CONTENTS OF APPLICA18 TION.— 

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

20 the State higher education agency or other State 

21 agency determined appropriate by the Governor or 

22 chief executive officer of the State, shall submit an 

23 application to the Secretary at such time, in such 

24 manner, and containing such information as the Sec25 retary may require. 


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

2 under paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

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

4 to administer the grant under this section and 

5 report annually to the Secretary on the 

6 progress of the activities and services described 

7 in subsection (e). 

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

9 meet the purposes of the grant program under 

10 this part through outreach and memoranda of 

11 understanding with institutions of higher edu12 cation, including the State’s plan for using 

13 grant funds to meet the requirements of sub14 sections (e) and (g) and, if the State elects to 

15 use grant funds under such subsection to create 

16 strong articulation agreements, subsection 

17 (f)(2). 

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

19 coordinate with appropriate stakeholders, in20 cluding institutions of higher education, data21 sharing agencies within the State, and other 

22 States. 

23 ‘‘(D) A description of— 

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

25 in place to administer the activities and 


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1 services described in subsection (e), includ2 ing— 

3 ‘‘(I) the capacity of the State’s 

4 longitudinal data system to— 

5 ‘‘(aa) be clean of record du6 plication and ensure alignment of 

7 State and institutional credit 

8 completion records; 

9 ‘‘(bb) include transfer flags 

10 and course and credit data to 

11 allow the State to run initial de12 gree audits for institutions; 

13 ‘‘(cc) include all postsec14 ondary educational institutions in 

15 the State, including public, pri16 vate nonprofit, and private for17 profit institutions; 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’s degrees to 

20 students; or 

21 ‘‘(2) that have a commitment to initiatives re22 garding the retroactive awarding of associate’s de23 grees 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 current and 

11 former students at the institution of higher 

12 education, or at the institutions of higher edu13 cation within the system of higher education, as 

14 the case may be, that, based on the data held 

15 by the institution or system, meet both of the 

16 following requirements: 

17 ‘‘(i) Each individual has earned not 

18 less than 60 postsecondary credit hours (or 

19 the minimum required by the State to earn 

20 an associate’s degree) at the institution. 

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

22 postsecondary degree, of any kind, issued 

23 to the student by an institution of higher 

24 education. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Identify a subset of those current and 

2 former students described in subparagraph (A) 

3 who have not already earned an associate’s or 

4 bachelor’s degree elsewhere. 

5 ‘‘(C) Perform a degree audit on each stu6 dent remaining in the subset described in sub7 paragraph (B), and identify each such student 

8 as one of the following: 

9 ‘‘(i) Eligible to obtain an associate’s 

10 degree. 

11 ‘‘(ii) Eligible to obtain an associate’s 

12 degree upon the completion of 12 or fewer 

13 postsecondary credit hours (or the equiva14 lent). 

15 ‘‘(iii) Not eligible under either clause 

16 (i) or (ii). 

17 ‘‘(D) Provide outreach to each student 

18 identified in subparagraph (C)(i), and award 

19 the earned associate’s degree to such student, 

20 unless such student declines through a written 

21 or oral declaration. 

22 ‘‘(E) Provide outreach to each student 

23 identified in subparagraph (C)(ii) that includes 

24 information regarding next steps toward degree 

25 attainment, including financial aid options. 


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

2 higher education or system of higher education de3 siring a subgrant under this subsection shall submit 

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

5 manner, and containing such information as the 

6 State may require. Such application shall include a 

7 written commitment from the institution or system 

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

9 the institution or system will carry out all of the ac10 tivities described in paragraph (1). 

11 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—Each State awarding sub12 grants under this part shall give priority to applica13 tions from institutions of higher education or sys14 tems of higher education that— 

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

16 or systems; 

17 ‘‘(B) use an opt-out, rather than an opt-in, 

18 policy to award associate’s degrees, if such pol19 icy is permissible under applicable accreditation 

20 or State standards; 

21 ‘‘(C) waive nonacademic barriers to grad22 uation, such as swimming tests, library fines, 

23 graduation fees, or parking tickets; 

24 ‘‘(D) waive or amend residency and 

25 recency requirements to prevent earned credits 


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1 from expiring, if such action is permissible 

2 under accreditation or State standards; 

3 ‘‘(E) provide students with tuition waivers 

4 or prior learning assessments for those who 

5 need to earn remaining credits; and 

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

7 activities described in paragraph (1) and con8 tinuing after the end of the grant period, the 

9 institution or system will— 

10 ‘‘(i) conduct degree audits for all en11 rolled students once the students earn 45 

12 credits; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) provide information about grad14 uation deadlines to remind students of rel15 evant requirements at least 4 months be16 fore the students graduate and again 1 

17 month before graduation. 

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

19 a grant under this section may use— 

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

21 amount received under this section for administra22 tive purposes relating to the grant under this sec23 tion, including technology needed to carry out the 

24 purposes of this part; and 


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

2 amount received under this section to create articu3 lation agreements between 2-year and 4-year institu4 tions of higher education, in order to enhance col5 laboration and strengthen the transition pathways 

6 between such institutions for transfer students. 

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

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

9 institution of higher education, or system of higher 

10 education receiving a grant or subgrant, as the case 

11 may be, under this section shall not charge any stu12 dent an additional fee or charge to participate in the 

13 activities or services supported under this section. 

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

15 of higher education, or system of higher education 

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

17 under this section shall not use any grant or 

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

19 any other purpose outside the goals of the grant. 

20 ‘‘(3) FERPA REQUIREMENTS.—Each State, in21 stitution of higher education, or system of higher 

22 education receiving a grant or subgrant, respectively, 

23 under this section that enters into a contract or 

24 other agreement with any outside entity to assist in 

25 carrying out the activities or services under such 


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1 grant or subgrant, shall ensure that the outside enti2 ty complies with all requirements of section 444 of 

3 the General Education Provisions Act (commonly re4 ferred to as the ‘Family Educational Rights and Pri5 vacy Act of 1974’) that would apply to the State, in6 stitution, or system. 

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

8 grant under this section shall ensure the coordina9 tion of the activities and services carried out under 

10 this section with any other activities carried out in 

11 the State that are similar to the goals of this pro12 gram, and with any other entities that support the 

13 existing activities in the State, with the goal of mini14 mizing duplication. 

15 ‘‘(h) REPORT.— 

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

17 under this section shall prepare and submit an an18 nual report to the Secretary on the activities and 

19 services carried out under this section, and on the 

20 implementation of such activities and services. The 

21 report shall include, for each institution of higher 

22 education or system of higher education receiving a 

23 subgrant, the following information: 


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

2 first identified in the group described in sub3 section (e)(1)(A). 

4 ‘‘(B) The number of students who were re5 moved from such group because the students 

6 had received a degree elsewhere, in accordance 

7 with subsection (e)(1)(B). 

8 ‘‘(C) The number of degree audits per9 formed under subsection (e)(1)(C). 

10 ‘‘(D) The number of students identified 

11 under subsection (e)(1)(C)(i) as eligible to ob12 tain an associate’s degree. 

13 ‘‘(E) The number of students identified 

14 under subsection (e)(1)(C)(ii) as eligible to ob15 tain an associate’s degree upon the completion 

16 of 12 or fewer credits, in the aggregate and 

17 disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, and 

18 status as an individual with a disability. 

19 ‘‘(F) The number of students identified 

20 under subsection (e)(1)(C)(iii) as ineligible to 

21 obtain an associate’s degree and ineligible to 

22 obtain such a degree upon the completion of 12 

23 or fewer credits. 

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

25 associate’s degree under subsection (e)(1)(D). 


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

2 subsection (e)(1)(C)(ii) who are returning to an 

3 institution of higher education after receiving 

4 outreach described in subsection (e)(1)(E). 

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

6 previously earned by students described in sub7 section (e)(1)(C)(i) when the associate’s degrees 

8 are awarded. 

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

10 outreach described in subsection (e)(1)(D) and 

11 who decline to receive the associate’s degree. 

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

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

14 ‘‘(L) The reasons why students identified 

15 in subsection (e)(1)(C)(ii) did not return to an 

16 institution of higher education to receive a de17 gree. 

18 ‘‘(M) Details of any policy changes imple19 mented as a result of implementing this pro20 gram and conducting the required degree au21 dits. 

22 ‘‘(2) DISAGGREGATION.—The report shall in23 clude the information described in subparagraphs 

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

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


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1 status as an individual with a disability, and socio2 economic status (including status as a Federal Pell 

3 grant recipient). 

4 ‘‘(i) ENFORCEMENT PROVISIONS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) RECOVERY OR WITHHOLDING.—The Sec6 retary may, after notice and an opportunity for a 

7 hearing in accordance with chapter 5 of title 5, 

8 United States Code— 

9 ‘‘(A) withhold funds provided under a 

10 grant or subgrant under this section if a State 

11 or institution of higher education is failing to 

12 comply substantially with the requirements of 

13 this section; or 

14 ‘‘(B) take actions to recover funds pro15 vided under a grant or subgrant under this sec16 tion, if the State or institution made an unal17 lowable expense, or otherwise failed to discharge 

18 its responsibility to properly account for funds. 

19 ‘‘(2) USE OF RECOVERED OR UNUSED

20 FUNDS.—Any funds recovered or withheld under 

21 paragraph (1) shall— 

22 ‘‘(A) be credited to the appropriations ac23 count from which amounts are available to 

24 make grants or enter cooperative agreements 

25 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 2015 and 

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

Æ 


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